The Dam Busters Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

The Dam Busters Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 11, 2018

Michael Anderson's "The Dam Busters" (1955) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage promotional materials for the film; documentaries; featurettes; and more. The release also arrives with a 64-page illustrated booklet with brand new essays and a large collection of vintage photographs. In English, with optional English SDH and German subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The boys

Based on Guy Gibson's novel "Enemy Coast Ahead" and Paul Brickhill's novel, Michael Anderson's classic war film The Dam Busters is loosely divided into two halves, each telling a fascinating story. The first is about Dr. Barnes Wallace (Michael Redgrave, The Browning Version) who decides to build a bomb that can bounce on water. It takes awhile before Dr. Wallace impresses the right people with his prototypes, but eventually his work is taken seriously. Shortly after, the "bouncing bomb" becomes a reality.

The second half of the film is about the preparation and execution of Operation Chastise - a sudden air attack by RAF's, the Royal Air Force, 617 Squadron, whose goal was to destroy the vital for the German military complex Mohne dams. The key figure here is Wing Commander Guy Gibson (Richard Todd, The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men), who was in charge with the attack.

The film spends a great deal of time examining the specific challenges Dr.Wallace faced when he began developing the "bouncing bomb", as well as the obstacles Gibson's men had to overcome once they began training. Dr. Wallace, for example, had to determine the exact altitude at which the bomb was to be fired as well as the correct speed for the aircraft carrying it. On the other hand, when Gibson's men began training they did not know what their targets would be, which made them nervous and even suspicious of the entire operation.

The attack of the Mohne dams was launched on May 16, 1943. 19 bombers, divided into three groups, headed to Germany. The first group was led by Gibson, who also delivered the first strike but missed. By the morning hours, however, the Mohne dams were destroyed, though from the 19 bombers that participated in the attack only 11 survived it.

The Dam Busters is an entertaining film whose main goal obviously is to honor those who lost their lives during the attack of the Monhe dams. The actual attack is fairly short but it is notably well done (hence the Oscar nomination for Best Special Effects).

The technical analysis of the development of the "bouncing bomb" is excellent; it is neither too exigent nor too simplistic. During the second half of the film there is a slight tendency to overdramatize certain events, particularly when the Monhe dams are identified as the target, but it never evolves into a serious distraction.

Michael Redgrave is excellent as the enthusiastic scientist who dreams of making history with his invention. Some of his lines, however, occasionally come off as rather pretentious, seriously affecting the integrity of the film.

Richard Todd, who had become a star after earning a nomination for an Academy Award for his role in Vincent Sherman's The Hasty Heart (1949), is genuinely likable as Guy Gibson. His performance is nicely polished and never seriously marred by overused cliches. (Perhaps the only minor exception is the classroom speech).

*George Lucas was very impressed by The Dam Busters and apparently studied the battle scenes in the end of the film, and in in particular the footage from inside the Lancasters, when he prepared for Star Wars.

The Dam Busters Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.75:1 and 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Michael Anderson's The Dam Busters arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal.

This new Collector's Edition is sourced from a recent 4K remaster that was struck from the OCN, which is not the same remaster that was used for the second Blu-ray release of the film. Here are the key improvements that the new release offers:

The film has a widescreen presentation which was not included on the previous release. Density is better and in a number of different areas there is improved shadow definition. As a result, there are better nuances that impact positively the perception of depth. Grain is better exposed. However, you should keep in mind that native fluctuations remain because there is unique footage of variable quality that is used to create key sequences. In other words, the visible density drops/spikes are not introduced by poor digital work. There are no traces of problematic sharpening corrections. The grading is very good. Blacks are solid and nicely balanced with the whites, and there is a proper range of gray nuances. Image stability is very good as well. Some flecks and specks remain, and while not distracting, they are indeed of the type that could have been successfully removed. Also, some minor encoding optimizations could and should have been made to ensure an even better technical presentation. All in all, even though there is still room for minor but meaningful improvements, this is very clearly a superior presentation of the film. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Dam Busters Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and German DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH and German subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I still have the second Blu-ray release of The Dam Busters in my library and was able to do some quick comparisons. I don't know if any additional work was done to improve the audio or it is simply better encoded, but on my system the low end of the lossless audio now sounds fuller. I also checked the music where the bouncing bomb is unleashed, but I did not hear any meaningful dynamic improvements. So the overall intensity remains the same. For the purpose of this review, I viewed the widescreen version of the film in its entirety and can confirm that there are no audio dropouts or digital distortions/errors.

The Dam Busters Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

BLU-RAY DISC ONE

• Feature Presentation - a presentation of the film in the 1.75:1 aspect ratio. (1080p/English and German DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 tracks/optional English SDH and German subtitles for the main feature).

BLU-RAY DISC TWO

• Feature Presentation - a presentation of the film in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio. (1080p/English and German DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 tracks/optional English SDH and German subtitles for the main feature).

• 617 Squadron Remembers - a fascinating documentary about the famous attack on the Mohne dams in Germany during WW2. Max Arthur, author of "Dambusters", and war veterans who participated in the notorious attack on the German dams comment on the event, the invention of the "bouncing bomb", etc. The documentary contains an abundance of archival footage. In English, with optional German subtitles. (57 min).

• The Making of The Dam Busters - this excellent documentary takes a closer look at the production history of The Dam Busters, the evolution of the original studio concept for it, Paul Brickhill's novel, and the historic event that inspired the film. Included it in it are clips from interviews with collector Ray Hepner, Dam Buster historian Charles Foster, second assistant cameraman Kelvin Pike, and grip operator Brian Osborne, amongst others. In English, with optional German subtitles. (40 min).

• Restoration Featurette - a new featurette about the recent 4K restoration of The Dam Busters. Included in it are clips from interviews with restoration technician Owain Morgan and sound engineer Dai Rees as well as before-and-after comparisons. In English, with optional German subtitles. (5 min).

• The Dam Busters Royal Premiere - presented here is vintage footage from the theatrical premiere of The Dam Busters in 1955. In English, with optional German subtitles. (5 min).

• The Dam Busters Reunion - presented here is vintage footage from a 1955 reunion of pilots that participated in the historic attack. In English, with optional German subtitles. (3 min).

• Footage of the Bomb Tests - presented here is vintage footage from the real bomb tests that were performed in 1943, courtesy of the National Film and Television Archive in the UK. Music only. (7 min).

• Sir Barnes Wallis Documentary (1972) - a documentary film about Sir Barnes Wallis, the inventor of the "bouncing bomb". The documentary was directed by David Hardy and produced by Conrad Weyns. In English, with optional German subtitles. (29 min).

• Stills Gallery - a collection of behind-the-scenes stills.

ADDITIONAL LIMITED EDITION CONTENT

• Poster - RAF poster of the Chastise Lancasters.

• Print - a rare print of an aerial photograph of the Mohne Dam post raid, signed by the original 617 squadron.

• Cards - five collectible cards/reproductions of original production stills.

• Booklet - a 64-page illustrated booklet with brand new essays and a large collection of vintage photographs.

The Dam Busters Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you like The Dam Busters get a copy of this Collector's Edition while you still can. It is sourced from a very good 4K remaster -- which is not the same remaster that was used for the previous two Blu-ray releases -- it offers a widescreen presentation of the film, and has a wonderful selection of bonus features. Considering the overall quality of the package, I also think that it is very attractively priced. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.