Toby Atkin-Wright

With the news of the death of Richard Todd, we took the opportunity to re-watch his finest film this evening: The Dam Busters.

It is a film that is always a pleasure to watch; the performances are uniformly excellent, its connection with history (and the resources provided for the filming) could never be repeated, and the emotional power of the sense of loss expressed in the final scenes is astonishing. There is no celebration of victory; only an acknowledgement of the importance and sadness of sacrifice.

This entry was originally posted at http://tobyaw.dreamwidth.org/169079.html.

With the news of the death of Richard Todd, we took the opportunity to re-watch his finest film this evening: The Dam Busters.

It is a film that is always a pleasure to watch; the performances are uniformly excellent, its connection with history (and the resources provided for the filming) could never be repeated, and the emotional power of the sense of loss expressed in the final scenes is astonishing. There is no celebration of victory; only an acknowledgement of the importance and sadness of sacrifice.