"Battle of Britain" fans take note...
It hasn't been released in the United States yet, but I am waiting for the Czech film
Trmavomodry Svet (
Dark Blue World), about Czechoslovakian fighter pilots who served with the British Royal Air Force during World War II.
A teaser and a trailer are availabe at
http://tms2.wo.cz/film/trailer/index.htm
The teaser is 46 seconds (6.5 MB file), and the trailer is almost 3 minutes long (12.5 MB file).
Windows users: To save the vidoes for off-line viewing, right-click on
teaser or
trailer. A menu should pop-open, and then select "Save target as..."
The trailer's in Czech, but worth watching.
It was released in the Czech Republic on May 17, 2001 -- about the same time
Pearl Harbor was in the United States, and drew a lot of comparisons from internet film critics -- mostly how it makes
Pearl Harbor look like a p.o.s.
Here are two reviews, and a press release from the Old Flying Machine Company about the making of the flying sequences. Very interesting stuff.
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http://www.praguepost.cz/krev051601.html
THE PRAGUE POST ONLINE
Flying colors
A war film on a human scale
Dark Blue World
Directed by Jan Sverak
Starring Ondrej Vetchy, Krystof Hadek, Tara Fitzgerald, Charles Dance
After Germany annexed Bohemia and Moravia at the start of World War II, many Czechoslovak pilots made their way to Britain, where they joined the Royal Air Force. Dark Blue World, the latest effort from director Jan Sverak and screenwriter Zdenek Sverak — the father-and-son team who made Kolja — takes that page of history for its starting point.
While there is action in the film, it’s not really an action film. Even though by Czech standards the budget was large— almost $7 million — that is only about 4 percent of what it costs to make a Hollywood blockbuster. The filmmakers chose instead to use action as a backdrop to a complex story about the relationships among the pilots. Two pilots in particular — the older, more experienced Franta (Ondrej Vetchy) and the younger, more innocent Karel (Krystof Hadek) — are the main focus of the plot. They are fish out of water in Britain, where their limited English keeps them grounded. Anybody who has ever taught English will appreciate the humor when the pilots try to learn the difference between land, lend and borrow. They learn just enough English to fly and to flirt, the latter a pastime that most of them quickly embrace.
When the R.A.F. colonel (Charles Dance) judges their English to be airworthy, the film takes on a more somber tone. Every mission takes its toll on the pilots. Some barely make it back; others don’t make it back at all. The aviation scenes — a mix of real planes and computer-generated elements — are more realistic than the often overblown ones in Hollywood war films. When the pilots encounter the enemy, there are a few brief moments of confusion and gunfire, then it is all over.
Between the aviation scenes, there is a bit of romance. Irish actress Tara Fitzgerald has a key role as the love interest and she brings surprising warmth to a character caught between difficult choices.
Rather than being welcomed back as heroes, many of the real-life pilots ended up as political prisoners once they returned to communist postwar Czechoslovakia. Much of the film is told in flashback from a grim prison as one of the pilots reflects back on his glory days. The character of a prison doctor who had previously worked for the Nazi SS is based on a real person, only he turned out slightly more sympathetic than screenwriter Zdenek Sverak originally expected.
Dark Blue World (see also Reaping the wild wind) is an unqualified success for the Oscar-winning Kolja team. The re-creation of the era is quite impressive, the story never loses interest and the special effects lend fine support without overpowering the drama.
Raymond Johnston may be reached at
rjohnston@praguepost.cz
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http://www.hollywoodbitchslap.com/hbs.cgi?feature=374
Dark Blue World: Now THIS is a historical war movie
by Steve In Prague
The Czech film "Dark Blue World", directed by Jan Sverak (who also directed the Oscar winning "Kolja"), does so much with $7 million that it leaves "Pearl Harbor" looking like a cable access endeavor. Jan Sverak is THE MAN. Well, here in the Czech Republic he is anyway. Far beyond Milos Forman, Sverak is this country's favorite cinema son. And his latest effort, "Dark Blue World", which tells the story of the Czech and Slovak fighter pilots in the RAF, is such a brilliant piece of ART that it deserves to be in the Cinema Hall of Fame.
But this isn't a review, this is a feature. And unfortunately, odds are NO ONE in the USA will ever see this masterpiece so that they can see what a piece of **** Pearl Harbor is. Basically what Sverak did was paint a tapestry for almost two hours, a moving, living, breathing work of art about two fighter pilots. Credit to Jan Sverak''s father, the great Zdenek Sverak, for the brilliant script.
The battle scenes, all computer generated, are the most realistic looking I have ever seen, and the most exciting since "Das Boot".
See, this movie is everything a Hollywood war film should be: Episodic, funny, warm, tragic, and flat out exciting. The filmmakers use the stunning action scenes as a backdrop to the complex stories of each of the pilots, and much of the film is told via flashback, because these heroic pilots, upon returning to Czechoslovakia, were immediately imprisoned by the Russian Communist occupiers.
It stars Ondrej Vetchy, Krystof Hadek, Irish actress Tara Fitzgerald, and Charles Dance.
Pick it up on video when it comes out and compare it to "Pearl Harbor" and see how far Hollywood has fallen. Remember, the whole budget for this movie was less than Affleck's asking fee for his role in "Pearl Harbor".
Hollywood couldn't make a movie like this if its life depended on it.
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http://www.warbirdsworldwide.com/messages/5456.html
Re: 'Dark Blue World' film trailer
Posted by
Steve Beebee on May 27, 2001 at 09:16:26:
In Reply to:
'Dark Blue World' film trailer posted by Stephen Lyall on May 21, 2001 at 23:31:24:
The following is a press release about 'Dark Blue World' from Old Flying Machine Company, Duxford, dated May 2000:
OFMC has once again been heavily involved in filmwork. Filming took place in the Czech Republic over a period of three weeks using Spitfires flown by Nigel Lamb (Aerial Co-ordinator), Robs Lamplough and Ray Hanna. A B25 and helicopter were used to capture the air-to-air footage.
Dark Blue World is a feature film about Czech pilots flying in the RAF during the Battle of Britain and is the creation of the same team who produced the Oscar winning ‘Kolya’ – 1997 Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award. Zdenek Sverak wrote the screenplay, his son Jan is the director and they are supported by producer Eric Abraham.
The flying sequences took place at Hradcany airbase north of Prague and involved the use of several Spitfire Mk V and Mk lX replicas plus Robs Lamplough’s Mk Vlll and the Mk V belonging to The Fighter Collection. The sequences provided at Hradcany will supplement out-takes from the Battle of Britain film hence the reason why the two flying Spitfires were painted in identical markings with AI lettering.
