Sunday, October 2, 2011

Battle of Britain film books

This is a selection of the main books that relate to the 1969 Battle of Britain film and related cinema and television depictions of the battle.


'Academic':
The Battle of Britain on Screen. 'The Few' in British Film and Television Drama. S P Mackenzie. Edinburgh University Press. 2007. 9780748623907. Seven 'essays' one on the film.

The Burning Blue. A New History of the Battle of Britain. Ed Paul Addison & Jeremy A Craig. Pimlico. 0712664750. 2000. Five parts, one on film & media, one essay in that on the film.

From the Wright Brothers to Top Gun. Aviation, nationalism and popular cinema. Michael Paris.Manchester University Press. 0719040744. 1995. Passing refs and an entry.

The contemporary 'making of':
Battle of Britain The combined story of Harry Saltzman's production 'Battle of Britain' and the supremely dramatic events of 1940. With 16 pages of full-colour photographs. Leonard Mosley. Pan Books. 330023578. 1969

The modern 'making of':
Battle of Britain The Movie. Robert J Rudhall. Ramrod Publications. 0951983296. 2000. (Note I understand there has been a subsequent edition with changes not made by the late Robert Rudhall, and some of these have added errors. However that is secondhand information.)

Battle of Britain Film The Photo Album. Robert J Rudhall. Ramrod Publications. 0953853934. 2001.

The books by my friend the late Robert Rudhall are particularly treasured; one being signed and dedicated to me, the other with a letter regarding the (very little) help and encouragement I gave Robert when he was writing the books.

3 comments:

  1. A fine collection, James.

    The sad thing is I didn't even know RR had passed away. His work is an astounding legacy and I am glad you have such a tangible memory of him.

    Andy

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sadly Robert went before his time, and I was pleased to call him a good friend as he was a real gentleman. I had the privilege of reading a tribute at Duxford at a memorial service for Robert, building on many people's fond and appreciative memories of him.

    If nothing else, his work on the Battle of Britain film stands as a meaningful legacy, I think.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have both of Robert's books, both signed and dedicated. I met him a couple of times and even gave him a copy of a connected Pan Book that he hadn't got, a great man.

    I can also confirm that Battle of Britain The Movie was republished in 2006 by Victory Books and unfortunately there are a number of errors in this version. I haven't re-read it since then, and I can't remember any specific errors, although I do remember that a number of photos are captioned incorrectly.

    ReplyDelete