LANCASTER SKIES [2018 / 2019] [Blu-ray] [UK Release]
United In The Fight For Freedom! Inspired By True Events!
‘LANCASTER SKIES’ is a loving homage to the classic British war films of the 1940’s and 1950’s. This World War II epic action find a battle hardened spitfire ace attempts to lead a new crew over enemy skies. But first he must overcome the demons of his past.
​ Spring 1944: World War II has been ravaging Europe for more than four years. Angry and bereaved by the death of his younger brother, Flight Lieutenant Douglas Miller [Jeffrey Mundell], a broken, solitary, spitfire ace, who survived The Battle of Britain, transfers to Bomber Command, determined to take the war to the skies over Germany and quench his thirst for vengeance.
On arriving at his new posting, he is given the unenviable task of replacing the much loved Skipper of an experienced Lancaster Bomber crew, who was killed in action just days before. Struggling to bond with his new crew, and obsessed with his mission to wage war at any cost, Flight Lieutenant Douglas Miller must find a way to gain their trust, and overcome his inner demons, in order to become the leader they so desperately need.
FILM FACT: ‘LANCASTER SKIES’ is a 2018 British war film focusing on the British bomber campaign in World War II. It is homage to the British war films of the 1940s and 1950s. With the total budget for the film set at only £80k, the small production team knew that the visual element of the film was going to prove very challenging indeed. In keeping with the retro style of the film, scale models of the Lancaster Bombers were used for the majority of the flying at night visual effects scenes. Digital effects were deliberately kept to a bare minimum.
Cast: Rosa Coduri, Kris Saddler, Vin Hawke, Joanne Gale, Josh Collins, David Dobson, Jeffrey Mundell, Tom Gordon, Callum Burn, Steven Hooper, Ed Porter, Steve Healey, Roger Wentworth, Amber Mae, Ben Stacey, Eric Flynn, Tina Hodgson, Dylan Tate, Ewan Howieson, Tony Gordon, Robert Francis, Henry Collie, Matt Davies, Bridgette Burn, Elliot Strother, Daniel Flynn, Bryony James, Fiona Kimberley, Leila Sykes and Orla Sanders
Director: Callum Burn
Producers: Andrew Burn and Callum Burn
Screenplay: Andrew Burn, Callum Burn and Sam Parsons
Composer: James Griffiths
Cinematography: Sam Parsons (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
Audio: English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
English: 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English SDH
Running Time: 98 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment / Tin Hat Production
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘LANCASTER SKIES’ [2018] is a feature film from a small and dedicated group of film makers working under the banner of Tin Hat Productions and set out to produce a film that had the look and feel of the classic British war films of the 1940’s and 1950’s. The film tells the story of Flight Lieutenant Douglas Miller [Jeffrey Mundell], a former solitary Spitfire ace and a veteran of the Battle of Britain. After the tragic death of his younger brother Ron Miller [Eric Flynn], Douglas Miller transfers to Bomber Command. For the first 40 minutes it has a very methodical slow pace, but when it gets near to the bombing raid and this is where the film gets to show us what it is like to be a Lancaster Bomber crew on their way to bomb Berlin. But what is really evocative is the composed film score by James Griffiths, who really adds to the ambience of the overall atmosphere of the film. The only downside that put me off is all the cigarette smoking you get to view; still I suppose it reflected all those Second World War films that were produced in the 1950s and1960s we have viewed, especially since being released on the Blu-ray format and I suppose today we look upon cigarette smoking in films as not very PC. One character I did not like is Charlie Moore played by Kris Saddler who was so arrogant and had a real chip on his shoulder against authority and especially his superior officer, but in real life when you see Kris Saddler in the Q & A special feature, he is quite a nice fella.
After arriving at his new Squadron, Flight Lieutenant Douglas Miller is single minded determination to wage war at any cost puts him into conflict with the bomber crew under his command, who are struggling to come to terms with the death of their much loved skipper on an earlier sortie. In the days leading up to a perilous mission over Berlin, and Flight Lieutenant Douglas Miller must overcome his past and become the leader that his troubled crew so desperately need.
In the true style of an Independent Film, producer Andrew Burn and his son Callum Burn have toiled long and hard to bring their film ‘LANCASTER SKIES’ to the silver screen and is a World War II tale that is strongly character driven, with high production values, which set this film at a stratospheric height. As we see war weary veterans struggle with their demons to keep the fight up against Nazi Germany.
Events are set in the Spring of 1944 as a returning Lancaster makes its way back from a bombing run. It is dark and murky and everybody is on tenterhooks as they make their way back to Blighty, but out of the murk comes a German night fighter. It strafes the squadron and our flight crew Alfie Hammond [Tom Gordon], Sgt. George Williams [David Dobson], Henry Smith [Josh Collins] and tail gunner Charlie Moore [Kris Saddler] frantically tried to shoot down the German fighter after the Lancaster Bomber is hit. Alfie Hammond is hit but says nothing and carries on getting the plane down safely, but sadly he doesn’t survive his injury.
They need a new flight Lieutenant and that is where ex-fighter pilot Flight Lieutenant Douglas Miller [Jeffrey Mundell] comes in. A man of strict moral standing and his own fair share of dark shadows in the wardrobe, which includes his deceased younger brother Ron Miller [Eric Flynn] personal sketch book.
Douglas Miller meets Sgt. George Williams who is a lot more live and let live than Douglas Miller, who wants everybody to follow procedure at Fighter Command, which puts him at odds with the rest of his crew, especially with Charlie Moore who has a massive chip on his shoulder after the death of Alfie Hammond. But near the end of the film we find out a very dark secret of Sgt. George Williams [David Dobson], plus we finally find out who killed Douglas Miller’s younger brother via a very tragic road accident.
Eager to get in on the fight, it is frustrating that his sorties keep getting cancelled for one reason or another so he is forced to interact with his crews social life down the pub where he meets the ladies who look after all the paper work along with AC Daniels [Robert Francis], Jo [Rosa Coduri], a fan of Sgt. George Williams and then there is Kate Hedges [Joanne Gale] who is a big fan of Laurel and Hardy. There is more afoot about this crew and ‘LANCASTER SKIES’ explores all the individuals that make this crew a team and how they sort out their problems to take the fight to the Germans. When we get into the film in just over 60 minutes, you can see on the Lancaster Bomber crew, the fear in their faces and how scared they look, as deep down they were thinking they might not be able to get back to Blighty on their air raids over Berlin.
When writing the screenplay we looked at some of the great British war films, such as ‘The Dam Busters,’ ‘The Cruel Sea’ and ‘Battle of Britain’ and these films informed a generation of the hardships faced by the war time generation, but they did it with a lightness of touch and an innocence that is often missing in contemporary war films. They wanted to make a film that a family could watch together. What better way to keep the story of the war time aircrews alive for decades to come? The team at Tin Hat believe that in order to inform it is also vitally important that a film maker sets out to entertain.
The aim of the film is to tell the incredible story of the war time RAF Bomber crews to audiences who currently know little of the ordeals they faced night after night. Of the 125,000 aircrew that flew with Bomber Command during WW2, more than 55,000 lost their lives. Bomber Command was the most dangerous branch of any of the armed forces to serve in combat operations during the war, with a 44% mortality rate. This film is dedicated to all the men and women who served with Bomber Command in the Second World War. Despite some of the really horrible and negative critical reviews of the film, I really enjoyed the film, and in my opinion they did a superb job on such a limited budget of 80k.
LANCASTER SKIES MUSIC TRACK LIST
AIN’T STOPPIN ME NOW (Written by Paul Michael and David Weston)
PLAY IT AGAIN FRANCISCO (Written by Tim Devine and Francisco)
RAGTIME RAGGLES (Written by Helen Jane Long)
LAST DANCE (Written by Tim Garland)
GI JUMP (Written by David Tobin, Jeff Meegan and Charley Harrison)
JIVING WITH JOHNNY (Written by John Dankworth)
BINGO NIGHTS (Written by Paul Mottram)
MEMORIES OF BENNY (Written by John Dankworth)
Blu-ray Image Quality – Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment presents the film ‘LANCASTER SKIES’ with a wonderful stunning 1080p image and is enhanced with a stunning 2.39:1 aspect ratio and has strong sense of detail and no digital artefacts to not of. Grain, has a tightly controlled structure. When it comes to the night shots with the Lancaster Bombers in the air on their mission to bomb Nazi occupation areas of Europe, the image scenes are quite dark, which annoys me, as I hate trying to make out what I am viewing. The cinematography by Sam Parsons for daylight scenes is very stylized, pin sharp, and the colours are especially outstanding and give you every spectrum of colours that look totally amazing. Black levels in the daylight shots are noticeably elevated. So all in all, this is a totally amazing colour image presentation and definitely gets a 5 star rating. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment brings us ‘LANCASTER SKIES’ with a very solid 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio experience and really enhanced this war time film. It also delivers robust music and plenty of enveloping directional activity throughout all of the speakers. Dialogue is exceptionally good and you can understand all that is said. The sound mix during the action scenes of the Lancaster Bombers gives us a natural experience and when the German air force is in their dogfight mode, again the directional sounds with all the speakers are well enhanced and makes you feel you are in the middle of the action. The only slightly downside is when each of the Lancaster Bomber crew are speaking to each other, it is sometimes a job to hear what they are saying, but when I switched to the 2.0 LPCM Stereo Audio, you could then hear all the crew speaking very clearly to each other in the Lancaster Bombers on their way to Berlin. But despite this, the overall sound experience gets a 5 star rating from me.
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: ‘LANCASTER SKIES’ [Black-and-White Version] [2018] [1080p] [2.39:1] [98:26] Once again, the film ‘LANCASTER SKIES’ is a 2018 British war film focusing on the British bomber campaign in World War II, and is homage to the British war films of the 1940s and 1950s. Flight Lieutenant Douglas Miller is a solitary Spitfire ace pilot, who must overcome his past to lead a Lancaster bomber crew in the pivotal aerial war over Berlin in 1944. With the ‘LANCASTER SKIES’ Black-and-White Version, the images you get to view look even more spectacular, as seeing it in black-and-white images really gives you a feeling that you are watching a film made in the 1950s like ‘The Dame Busters’ but with ‘LANCASTER SKIES’ you really get an enhanced 1080p enhanced spectrum of different shades of black-and-white images and is a joy to view and gives you another viewing aspect of a Second World War experience that really enhances the film in a very enjoyable viewing experience. When you first view the Lancaster Bombers in the air at the start of the film, you really get to see what you are viewing, whereas when you viewed the film in colour these Lancaster Bombers were very hard to make out in the night flying scene against the night sky for some unknown reason. What are equally outstanding are the actors texture skin tones, you get to view all the pours in their skin, making it look very natural. The Black-and-White images are really pronounced and very natural looking and is equally sharp and you get all shades of the grey scale and blacks are really outstanding. Seeing it in Black-and-White gives it a slight edge over the colour version, as it gives everything looks crisp, sharp and so giving it a 100% top quality image that is well worth viewing. Each version of the film in regards whether the colour or black-and-white film is far superior over the other, well both have their merits and I would never dictate which version you should watch, both are an enjoyable experience, but the black-and-white version gives a much more gritty atmosphere towards the film. So all in all, the Black-and-White version definitely gets another 5 star rating from me.
Post Script: When you first load up the Blu-ray disc, wait awhile before you press the link to view the film, wait and watch the amazing animated Menu screen especially of the Lancaster Bomber flying towards you and all the other stuff Second World War stuff floating around the screen, because it is quite an amazing Menu screen I have seen in a very long time and well worth pausing to watch the full animated Menu screen in action.
Special Feature: ‘LANCASTER SKIES’ Q & A with the Filmmakers and Actors [2018] [1080] [1.78:1] [14:08] With this special feature, we find out that after the showing of the film ‘LANCASTER SKIES,’ people sent in questions asking about the making of the film and how it all evolved and all the questions asked get an answer, plus other nuggets of information about what went on behind-the-scene and Callum Burns [Director/Writer/Producer] thanks everyone for viewing the film and from there on we get the following questions read out and inform us of their answers as follows:
Where was the ‘LANCASTER SKIES’ filmed?: The first block of filming took place in February 2015 with the last bit of live filming with the actors taking place at East Kirby Aviation Centre. ‘LANCASTER SKIES’ was also filmed at Thorpe Camp in Woodhall Spa, a cow shed in Culverthorpe and around Sleaford, with the Nene Valley Railway in Cambridgeshire the only location not in the county.
How did you come up with the idea for the ‘LANCASTER SKIES’ film?: Back in 2012 when they shot their first short film ‘Fusilier’ [2013] and a Hercules aircraft flew over then while filming, and there and then the cast and crew said to Callum Burns that he has to make a film about the RAF in the Second World War and from then on the idea started the ball rolling, but of course they first did a rough draft for initially a short film, and then it started the ball rolling and of course the project got bigger.
Is the film ‘LANCASTER SKIES’ based on real people and events?: The quick answer was YES and NO, But there were aspects of the film of stuff they did an in-depth researched on and also read up on the real life crews of the Lancaster Bombers, but 70% of the film is a work of fiction and the characters are not related to anyone in real life, and even the squadron is fiction, but overall it is based on what really happened to the crews of the Lancaster Bombers and their bombing raids into Germany.
Did you ever meet with any of the veterans when developing the film?: Andrew Burns actually met some of the veterans and also went to a couple of talks by the Lancaster Bombers veterans and got a real idea of what it was like for the crews of the Lancaster Bombers and their crazy existence of their lives at the time in the Second World War, in doing very technical job under extreme pressure, despite being in their mind, just ordinary men.
What was the budget for the ‘LANCASTER SKIES’ film?: The budget was really small, but was exactly 80k, but sadly they did not make 80k, the small production team knew that the visual element of the film was going to prove very challenging indeed. In keeping with the retro style of the film, scale models were used for the majority of the visual effects. Digital effects were deliberately kept to a bare minimum.
What was some of the challenges in making the film?: Not having enough money, but despite this, they did have many challenges, especially doing a film about the Second World War and using the Lancaster Bombers, plus of course acquiring the uniforms, light switches on the wall, the look of a room, and physically getting hold of Lancaster Bombers. There was of course the problem of fitting 38 people in one house, which was quite a challenge. Other challenges was trying to make you look the same after 18 months filming, especially their hair styles. Also another challenge was sitting at the controls of the Lancaster Bomber and making out you are actually flying in them. They ask the question on how did David Dobson came on board with the project, and he informs us that he has known Andrew Burns for many years, especially being involved with a Sci-Fi film in 2012 and also two other short films and was kindly asked to come on board with the film ‘LANCASTER SKIES.’ We find out that Kris Saddler knew the Director of Photography Sam Parsons very well and met each other again 10 years later in Costa Rica and both mentioned it would be good to make a film together, then eventually Kris Saddler to also come on board for the film ‘LANCASTER SKIES.’ David Dobson is asked what the best thing about your role was for that character in the film, and David felt his character was very distinct, and had two extreme roles to play of his character and thought it was a fun thing to do is to play around with that character. Kris Saddler on the other hand felt his character was a very physical character and was bigger and stronger, and especially with the fight scenes, which was typical of that type of belligerent man in the Second World War and especially a crew member of the Lancaster Bomber aircraft.
What is your favourite scene and why?: Andrew Burns felt the take-off scene with the Lancaster Bombers, just because it feels like it was a scene from a big budget film, especially for a small budget and was enhance with the help of the composed film music score by James Griffiths. Callum Burns really enjoyed the scenes with the bombing raid, purely because, when they were filming that sequence, over several weeks and then when viewed in the editing suite and when you hear the composed music added, it made the film come alive, that is why he loved those scenes in the film very much. David Dobson felt his favourite scenes in the film were when they were all in the pub drinking their beer towards the beginning of the film, and it was a couple of fund days filming. Kris Saddler’s favourite scene in the film is totally the opposite, and was when he actually got inside the Lancaster Bomber, just because, you are on the airfield and the wind was blowing in your hair, but all in all, it was just an amazing experience, that you were on this journey, and was a lovely moment and one of the best perks in being an actor.
Were all the Lancaster Bombers CGI?: NO, but for the most part they were models, especially for the night time shots, because the Lancaster Bombers are 1:48 scale models with small motors added and a total of 11 were built. But where you see the Lancaster Bombers are taxing are for real, but the rest of the shots were again are of the models, like was used in war films made in the 1950s and 1960s period with British War films. But with the filming of the models in the night scenes, they were filmed at 160 frames a second.
Have any of the veterans seen the film?: In August 2018, they held a screening at the International Bomber Command Centre, that is located on Canwick Hill, overlooking the city of Lincoln and about 30 veterans attended, who also brought all of their families and it was a very nice afternoon, with tea and cake and they all really loved the film and they felt the film captured the period in the Second World War, but there were two slightly negative comments about some of the technical issues in the film they did not quite get right, but Callum Burns and Andrew Burns pointed out that they were primarily filmmakers and that they are not military historians, and they set out to make a film to entertain, but the thing they took away with them was that they felt they had captured, sort of, camp life and that feel of the time period and most of all, if those veteran guys think they have done a good job with the film, then you go away happy.
Did you keep anything from the film?: Andrew Callum says a bad back, and that he also kept one of the Lancaster Bomber model, and the 10 other models were sold off, and that one model Andrew Callum kept, has gone pride of place in his home on the mantel piece, and sometimes his wife breaks bits off it when dusting, but the Andrew Callum fixes it back on the model. All the costumes, the props and the sets went to the We'll Meet Again: World War 2 Home Front Museum based at Freiston Shore, near Boston, Lincolnshire, England.
What is the standout moment in the film?: For Kris Saddler, it was meeting a really bunch of cool people, and made some really close friendships. For David Dobson, his favourite standout moment was walking onto the base set for the first time when the main block of filming was in progress. The second standout moment was when filming the exterior shots, and being involved with the classic car and midway through the days shooting, with a break in the sunshine and suddenly the heavens opened with a torrential downpour of hail stones and while he was sitting in the comfort of the classic car and watching the people scatter and he really laughed out loud and felt it was the funniest thing he had witnessed in a very long time.
What would audiences like to take away with them from seeing the film?: David Dobson comments that he wants people to just enjoy the film, and a fulfilling night at the cinema, and to have an appreciation for the film project and have people say, “WOW, for a feature film made for 80k to look like this, would be something for people to get out of this film.” For Kris Saddler, he hopes the film will encourage people to go out and make films, because we are still trying to pursue things we love. Andrew Burns says, that he hopes people will have some popcorn and a couple of hotdogs when viewing the film, other than that, he wants people to go home after viewing the film, feeling that we’ve honoured the guys that did a very dangerous job and they did it for our freedom, but again he hopes the film will entertain people watching the film, and at the same time learnt something that they did not know before seeing this film and that’s it really. Another feeling Andrew Callum has, is waking up the next day and you still have the film you have watched the night before still in your memory and thinking about what you have viewed, and if the filmmakers have achieved that with their film, and hopefully they will appreciate all our efforts in making our film.
Near the end of this special feature, Callum Burns says, “That is the end of our Q &A session, and once again, and thank you for coming to see our ‘LANCASTER SKIES’ film and have a safe journey home and goodbye.” So all in all, this has been a really fascinating and interesting Q & A special feature and well worth viewing and you learn a lot about the behind-the scenes information about the making of the ‘LANCASTER SKIES’ film, so enjoy. Contributions include: Callum Burns (Director/Writer/Producer), Sam Parsons (Cinematography and Writer), Andrew Burns (Producer/Writer), David Dobson (Sgt. George Williams) and Kris Saddler (Charlie Moore).
Theatrical Trailer [2018] 1080p] [2.39:1] [1:15] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film the ‘LANCASTER SKIES.’
Theatrical Trailers: Here we get to view two Original Theatrical Trailers and they are as follows: ‘HURRICANE’ [2018] [1080p] [2.39:1] [1:58] and ‘WILDLIFE’ [2018] [1080p] [1.85:1] [2:21].
Finally, with the film ‘LANCASTER SKIES’ the production team set about the creative process with those gems from the past firmly in mind. With the total budget for the film set at only £80k, the small production team knew that the visual element of the film was going to prove very challenging indeed. In keeping with the retrospective look and feel of the film scale models were used for the majority of the visual effects. Digital effects were deliberately kept to a bare minimum. The result is a film set during the Second World War with the power to make an audience feel that they have been transported back to the art deco picture houses of the past. I personally feel that the film ‘LANCASTER SKIES’ is hopefully destined to be a sure-fire hit with fans of the Second World War film genre. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
