Forget about special effects - they all look out of date one day. What will never grow old is a good tale well told. "The Dam Busters' could be used as an example of one of the oldest artistic forms in any high school English class. The time and place is quickly established and a protagonist is faced with overarching problem. A series of problems related to the main problem arise and are overcome by the protagonist and a response team of a variety of characters. When all is in place, the mission is launched. The result is in doubt but finally there is triumph. In the denouement, the outcome is weighed up and moral conclusions drawn. Every story from Moses to "The Magnificent Seven" from "The Dam Busters" to "Star Wars" and all the stories yet to be told will use this formula. "The Dam Busters" is not a documentary and so it takes liberties with the facts - another key element in storytelling. It exaggerates, stereotypes and its hyperbolic triumphal march theme music is almost a parody. But it all works. I have watched the film many times and know almost every word before it is spoken but the art of storytelling holds me in its thrall. Like a child who wants its father to tell its favourite bedtime story, I want to hear it one more time.
Review of The Dam Busters
