The Dam Busters remake

[Marky B]

Originally Posted by Steve Crook They'll probably replace the classic theme with some [c]rap music in the hope that it'll make it appeal to the kids that most films are aimed at. Steve

I just hope they don't use a modern day written song as the closing credits roll.
For example Pearl Harbour (not a bad film,there have been worse) - a film set in 1941,but closed with a Diane Warren written song,sung by Faith Hill. Don't get me wrong,I like Diane Warren's songs and I like Faith Hill,and the song was good (so good,I can't remember its name),but somehow it didn't gel to that area of history.
Ta Ta
Marky B

[bloodworm]

Originally Posted by penfold It's a fantastic shot, not one I've seen before. I take it that it's the real thing, not a promotional still from the film...Lancs are beautiful too, aren't they??

Yes it is the real thing, thats NIGGER....taken from a Dambusters website. Evidently he was not liked on camp as he was regularly caught urinating on staffs equipment. Yes the Lanc is one of the most beautifull air craft of all time and the sound of its 4 merlins is beyond belief. I went to see the City of Lincoln fly over the Derwent Dams as a tribute and "oh" what a site...

C/U The Worm

[bloodworm]

Originally Posted by Marky B I wonder if they will use the original music. I mean,it would not be the Dambusters wwithout Eric Coates rousing theme. Ta Ta Marky B

They must use the original after all we all know the words to the original dont we :-

DA DA DA DA DD DA DA DA, DA DA DA DD DA DA DD DA DA.

C/U The Worm :rolleyes:

[bloodworm]

Originally Posted by David Brent Unlike the storyline to the film, the real Nigger was killed after being run over by a car outside the camp BEFORE the famous Dam Buster raid and not after. p>Dave.

Surely the film storyline had Nigger killed before the dams raid whist Gibson was in a briefing and buried whilst the raid was taking place at midnight.

C/U the Worm

[Marky B]

Originally Posted by bloodworm Surely the film storyline had Nigger killed before the dams raid whist Gibson was in a briefing and buried whilst the raid was taking place at midnight. C/U the Worm

You're right,Bloodworm. In fact in memory of the dog,Nigger was the code word for when the dams were breached.
Ta Ta
Marky B

[Biffer]

Whew! I had a terrible nightmare last night. I dreamt Hollywood re-made that classic British film, "The Dambusters". It went something like this:-

During a lunch break at Princeton University, Professor Oppenheimer (Willem DaFoe) discusses his idea for a bouncing bomb with his British colleague, Professor 'Barney' Wallace (Marlon Brando - yes, I know he's dead - it was only a dream, remember).

Oppenheimer's bomb just won't work, however, and the idea looks like being shelved. Later, Wallace is watching his students play baseball when he gets a brilliant idea. What the bomb needs to work is backspin - "Like in the jolly old game of cricket", he tells Oppenheimer. They fit a spin device to the bomb and try it out on the Hoover Dam - it works! Since Oppenheimer is now working on 'other things' - "Hey, Barney, if I told ya' I'd have to kill ya'" - it's agreed that Wallace will adopt the bouncing bomb as his own project.

Since 'Wallace' is a direct descendant of Scottish patriot, William Wallace, it's only natural that he takes the idea to the 'English Air Force'. In a meeting with 'Bomber' Harris (Sylvester Stallone), Wallace pitches his bouncing bomb idea - "I'm gonna make you a bomb you can't refuse." Harris listens carefully to the proposal, then declares it, "... the screwiest Goddam idea I ever heard, Goddam it. I love it! Make it happen, Barney."

Enter Wing Commander Guy Gibson (played by his namesake, Mel), who will lead a special RAF squadron to attack (says Harris), " ... the biggest Goddam dam in Germany." Gibson is British (though Mel's foppish English accent hasn't improved since "Mutiny on the Bounty"), whilst his crew are played by 2nd-rate American actors, all pretending to be Canadian. The rest of the squadron are British, played by 2nd-rate British actors, all pretending to be officers (the only NCO's or OA personnel are there to serve tea, fetch messages, or to guard doors).

Training gathers pace, using the squadron's special Lancastershire bombers. But then, two days before the raid, they hit a major snag - vibrations from the Lancastershires' engines are setting up a dangerous resonance within the bombs, causing them to detonate prematurely. Oh no! They'll have to scub the mission. But then they find that the engines of the American B-17 resonate at a more sympathetic rate, causing no problems with the bombs. Harris pleads with the USAAF to loan him a squadron of 'Forts' for the mission. This the Americans are willing to do, but only two of the RAF crews have any experience on the B-17 - Gibson's, and that of his best friend, 'Canadian' pilot Flt.Lt. Berty Fanshawe (Josh Hartnet). There's no time to re-train the others. The only solution is to use the American crews.

And so the mission begins, flying the B-17, with mostly American crews, fitted with the 'British' developed bouncing bomb. Sitting in the co-pilot's seat of Gibson's plane is his faithful black Labrador dog, Nigger (pronounced, 'Nee-jer').

Over the target (oh, by the way, there is only ONE target), Gibson orders Fanshawe into the attack (earlier there's a scene where Fanshawe begs Gibson to allow him the honour of attacking first, since he - Fanshawe - had been thwarted in love by Gibson and felt he was due something in recompence). Berty goes in, all guns blazing, and is duly blown to buggery (but in a heroic fashion, of course). Same thing happens with two more of the all-American crews, so Gibson decides it's his turn.

Skimming low over the water, Gibson turns in to the target. Suddenly, the plane is hit by flak in the nose area. The bomb aimer is killed and the bombsight put out of action. His attack a complete failure, Gibson pulls off the target. Just then a familiar figure appears beside Gibson - it's his girlfriend, Pamela (Kate Winslet) who has stowed aboard the plane because she couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to him without her being there.

After the usual romantic banter, Gibson says he can't attack again because of the bombsight. Undaunted, Pamela removes her knickers (no ... wait for it) and, using the elastic stretched between two lollipop sticks (she just happened to have in her bag), she rigs up a makeshift bombsight and takes up station in the nose.

'Gibbo' goes in once again, straight towards the dam, with Pamela acting as bomb aimer - "Left a bit, darling. Right a bit. Steady. Steady ... ". Suddenly, there's another hit on the cockpit and Gibson is knocked out. It looks like they're doomed to crash, but then Nigger (Nee-jer) leaps onto his master's lap and begins licking Gibson's face. He regains consciousness, just in time to line up the plane as Pamela yells, "Bomb gone, 'Gibbo'!". The bomb bounces across the water and hits the damn right in the centre. There's a helluva great explosion, the damn disintegrates, and a gazillion gallons of water flood most of Nazi Germany.

In the Reichstag in Berlin, Hitler (Samuel L. Jackson) is having a bath when the flood waters burst into his quarters, drowning him ... and so the war ends in 1943.

The last scene is Pamela, snogging in Gibson's lap, as Nigger (Nee-jer) steers the B-17 back to England against a background of the rising sun. THE END.

I was glad when I woke up, believe me. Still, no chance of them ever making a load of blithering tosh like that, eh? :rolleyes:

Biffer

WARNING: THIS POST MAY CONTAIN TRACES OF WIT AND IRONY.

[Marky B]

Originally Posted by Biffer Whew! I had a terrible nightmare last night. I dreamt Hollywood re-made that classic British film, "The Dambusters". It went something like this:- During a lunch break at Princeton University, Professor Oppenheimer (Willem DaFoe) discusses his idea for a bouncing bomb with his British colleague, Professor 'Barney' Wallace (Marlon Brando - yes, I know he's dead - it was only a dream, remember). Oppenheimer's bomb just won't work, however, and the idea looks like being shelved. Later, Wallace is watching his students play baseball when he gets a brilliant idea. What the bomb needs to work is backspin - "Like in the jolly old game of cricket", he tells Oppenheimer. They fit a spin device to the bomb and try it out on the Hoover Dam - it works! Since Oppenheimer is now working on 'other things' - "Hey, Barney, if I told ya' I'd have to kill ya'" - it's agreed that Wallace will adopt the bouncing bomb as his own project. Since 'Wallace' is a direct descendant of Scottish patriot, William Wallace, it's only natural that he takes the idea to the 'English Air Force'. In a meeting with 'Bomber' Harris (Sylvester Stallone), Wallace pitches his bouncing bomb idea - "I'm gonna make you a bomb you can't refuse." Harris listens carefully to the proposal, then declares it, "... the screwiest Goddam idea I ever heard, Goddam it. I love it! Make it happen, Barney." Enter Wing Commander Guy Gibson (played by his namesake, Mel), who will lead a special RAF squadron to attack (says Harris), " ... the biggest Goddam dam in Germany." Gibson is British (though Mel's foppish English accent hasn't improved since "Mutiny on the Bounty"), whilst his crew are played by 2nd-rate American actors, all pretending to be Canadian. The rest of the squadron are British, played by 2nd-rate British actors, all pretending to be officers (the only NCO's or OA personnel are there to serve tea, fetch messages, or to guard doors). Training gathers pace, using the squadron's special Lancastershire bombers. But then, two days before the raid, they hit a major snag - vibrations from the Lancastershires' engines are setting up a dangerous resonance within the bombs, causing them to detonate prematurely. Oh no! They'll have to scub the mission. But then they find that the engines of the American B-17 resonate at a more sympathetic rate, causing no problems with the bombs. Harris pleads with the USAAF to loan him a squadron of 'Forts' for the mission. This the Americans are willing to do, but only two of the RAF crews have any experience on the B-17 - Gibson's, and that of his best friend, 'Canadian' pilot Flt.Lt. Berty Fanshawe (Josh Hartnet). There's no time to re-train the others. The only solution is to use the American crews. And so the mission begins, flying the B-17, with mostly American crews, fitted with the 'British' developed bouncing bomb. Sitting in the co-pilot's seat of Gibson's plane is his faithful black Labrador dog, Nigger (pronounced, 'Nee-jer'). Over the target (oh, by the way, there is only ONE target), Gibson orders Fanshawe into the attack (earlier there's a scene where Fanshawe begs Gibson to allow him the honour of attacking first, since he - Fanshawe - had been thwarted in love by Gibson and felt he was due something in recompence). Berty goes in, all guns blazing, and is duly blown to buggery (but in a heroic fashion, of course). Same thing happens with two more of the all-American crews, so Gibson decides it's his turn. Skimming low over the water, Gibson turns in to the target. Suddenly, the plane is hit by flak in the nose area. The bomb aimer is killed and the bombsight put out of action. His attack a complete failure, Gibson pulls off the target. Just then a familiar figure appears beside Gibson - it's his girlfriend, Pamela (Kate Winslet) who has stowed aboard the plane because she couldn't bear the thought of anything happening to him without her being there. After the usual romantic banter, Gibson says he can't attack again because of the bombsight. Undaunted, Pamela removes her knickers (no ... wait for it) and, using the elastic stretched between two lollipop sticks (she just happened to have in her bag), she rigs up a makeshift bombsight and takes up station in the nose. 'Gibbo' goes in once again, straight towards the dam, with Pamela acting as bomb aimer - "Left a bit, darling. Right a bit. Steady. Steady ... ". Suddenly, there's another hit on the cockpit and Gibson is knocked out. It looks like they're doomed to crash, but then Nigger (Nee-jer) leaps onto his master's lap and begins licking Gibson's face. He regains consciousness, just in time to line up the plane as Pamela yells, "Bomb gone, 'Gibbo'!". The bomb bounces across the water and hits the damn right in the centre. There's a helluva great explosion, the damn disintegrates, and a gazillion gallons of water flood most of Nazi Germany. In the Reichstag in Berlin, Hitler (Samuel L. Jackson) is having a bath when the flood waters burst into his quarters, drowning him ... and so the war ends in 1943. The last scene is Pamela, snogging in Gibson's lap, as Nigger (Nee-jer) steers the B-17 back to England against a background of the rising sun. THE END. I was glad when I woke up, believe me. Still, no chance of them ever making a load of blithering tosh like that, eh? :rolleyes: Biffer WARNING: THIS POST MAY CONTAIN TRACES OF WIT AND IRONY.

Bravo
Ta Ta
Marky B

[Fellwanderer]

Originally Posted by Biffer Whew! I had a terrible nightmare last night. I dreamt Hollywood re-made that classic British film, "The Dambusters". It went something like this:- .......... The last scene is Pamela, snogging in Gibson's lap, as Nigger (Nee-jer) steers the B-17 back to England against a background of the rising sun. THE END. I was glad when I woke up, believe me. Still, no chance of them ever making a load of blithering tosh like that, eh? :rolleyes: Biffer WARNING: THIS POST MAY CONTAIN TRACES OF WIT AND IRONY.

You mean they're not going to film it like that?

[Marky B]

Originally Posted by Biffer In the Reichstag in Berlin, Hitler (Samuel L. Jackson) is having a bath when the flood waters burst into his quarters, drowning him ... and so the war ends in 1943. Biffer WARNING: THIS POST MAY CONTAIN TRACES OF WIT AND IRONY.

Was he playing with toy U-Boats in the bath,and singing rap versions of Horst Wessel songs.
Ta Ta
Marky B

[David Brent]

I hear that Hollywood agents are beating a path to Biffer's door hoping to buy the script from him.

Apparantly to stay true to the real Dam Buster story the Hollywood version will have the words "Based On A True Story" printed in large letters at the beginning of the film.;) That then clears the film makers to produce as much untrue and unrealistic rubbish as they like.

Dave.

[bloodworm]

Originally Posted by Biffer The last scene is Pamela, snogging in Gibson's lap, .

Did she also star in airplane "refreshing" the autopilot ....

C/U The Worm...

[Biffer]

Originally Posted by David Brent I hear that Hollywood agents are beating a path to Biffer's door hoping to buy the script from him. Apparantly to stay true to the real Dam Buster story the Hollywood version will have the words "Based On A True Story" printed in large letters at the beginning of the film.;) That then clears the film makers to produce as much untrue and unrealistic rubbish as they like. Dave.

Well, Dave, they've certainly beaten a path to someone's door ... I've copied this post from a site devoted to WWII RAF re-enactment. Someone there seems well connected to the production (if only obliquely):-

"Scramble!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
September 21 2006 at 10:47 AM Alex: Forum Member

I can confirm that the dambusters remake is 100% on. I have been contacted by a representative of Key Creations and also today by a representative of Paradine Productions, the conpany owned by David Frost who holds the rights to the Dambusters book.

I have been told that the film is being made, with a buget of $30m, while a companion documentary is also being considered for TV and eventual (possible) release on DVD with the film."

Apparently, it's being filmed in New Zealand by Peter Jackson. The only saving grace is that Jackson is (a) not American, and (b) a big fan of WWII aircraft.

SCARY ORSON WELLES VOICE: And so the nightmare begins ... history may never be the same again.

Biffer

[Andy Larkin]

Originally Posted by Quiller nd another thing that's really made me think, is that looking at the list of names of people that fought in the battle of britain, there's one A. McNay that died. McNay is my surname, and it's a pretty rare name. I had one great uncle fight in the second world war, and he was captured by the Japanese, for all I know, I could have have had another fighting in the battle of britain.

Don't know if this will help, but from 'Men of the Battle of Britain' Sgt Pilot Alexander Logan McNay of 73 Squadron was from Shawlands, Glasgow and was reported missing on 5th September 1940. He is remembered at The RAF Memorial, Runnymede, Panel 17. He was 22 years old.

Hope this helps

Andy

[Moor Larkin]

Originally Posted by Biffer I can confirm that the dambusters remake is 100% on. I have been contacted by a representative of Key Creations and also today by a representative of Paradine Productions, the conpany owned by David Frost who holds the rights to the Dambusters book.

Does anyone know who'll be playing the crucial role of "Guard at Door" and will he succeed in saving the dog this time?

Also, if the dog's name is to be changed (as it must be), will the aircraft radio call-sign still be heard as "Foxtrot-Zulu" ?

[PS68060]

In the Dambusters there is some library footage of the actual weapon tests. At the time these had to be censored. How would people feel if these sections could be replaced with the uncensored footage ?