Dunkirk

I found this film to be educational. I learned a lot of facts that I never knew existed. The scenes with Churchill and his advisers were hypnotic. The acting was touching and down to earth. I am now looking forward to the new rendering of 'Dunkirk'(2017) armed with the knowledge from this remarkable film.

The drama-documentary Dunkirk (2004) was, in my opinion, the finest example of the genre produced by the BBC and was well reviewed by John Keegan of The Telegraph, whose article of 19/02/04 may still be found on the web, although I could not agree with his suggestion that our men were pasty-faced, underfed soldiers not well represented by modern fresh-faced actors, for most of those I saw as a boy during the war, before and after Dunkirk, were neither pale nor hungry; but those of the BEF who formed an army in retreat and rout and who suffered strafing, hunger and fatigue on the beeches as they awaited embarkation, death or surrender, were no doubt not in the best of physical form.

The quality of this production, its direction and the performance of the cast were beyond reproach and should not have been the target of petty criticism. There were so many really excellent, convincing representations of personnel ranging from soldiers to generals and cabinet ministers that one is reluctant to select any of them for special mention, but among the actors whose roles were portrayed with startling realism were Benedict Cumberbatch as Lt Jimmy Langley, James Loye as Lt David Mellis RN (bearing a strong resemblance to the man whose part he played and, in one scene, carrying a photograph of the real Mrs Mellis, as she was in 1940), Adrian Rawlins as Capt Bill Tennant RN, Beechmaster, Simon Russell Beale as Winston Churchill, all outstanding performances.

The interpolation of archive film was very well done and enhanced the general picture of violent action at sea, the plight of the army, and the huge scale of the operations managed and co-ordinated by the Royal Navy, including those of inshore fishing vessels and other small craft. The disembarkations at Dover (including, I think, those of troops rescued by HMS Malcolm and piped ashore by Lt Mellis) and their entrainment for London could not have been more appropriate or more relevant to the drama, which seemed to fill in the gaps between main events and to inform us of the experiences of individuals and the roles of senior officers and politicians who played a part in the evacuation.

My only complaint is that this great work is not available on DVD.

A project of the BBC UK consisting of three parts... Although the director, Alex Holmes, whose films I have not encountered before, hath received one of the most significant awards of its genre, such as the "British Academy Television Award for Best Specialist Factual," with this series, the series doth tire one whilst watching, even with Benedict Cumberbatch in its cast and a legendary name like Timothy Dalton as the narrator.

The series, which doth focus on the four critical days of the Dunkirk evacuation, at times maketh one think, "It doth do justice to being a period piece," yet, at times, it doth fall into scenes/acting so raw that they remind one that it is a TV series.

I propose it to those who cherish period pieces, those who admire Timothy Dalton and Benedict Cumberbatch, and those who are keen on the Second World War, but an average viewer would be bored and turn it off in the first part.

I have just spent a weekend in Dunkirk. Prior to the trip I read a lot about the Fall Of France and Operation Dynamo.

So I am watching this underrated BBC drama documentary again.

I think this is well made and an easy watch. If I was a history teacher or had kids I would get them to watch this as well as doing some old fashioned reading.

I can't understand the heavy criticism of this production,it has few known actors,there is some guy called Benedict Cumberbatch who is good in this,whatever happened to him?

As for Dunkirk the place it is a fascinating place to visit and the locals were freindly.

Having recently watched this again, for a third time, I must strongly disagree with a previous reviewer who described this as meretricious rubbish.

It's true, some of the camera work was a little intrusive, and sometimes the music also got in the way, but these are minor irritations. On the whole, I thought the filmmakers told the story very well. Bearing in mind that at the time the incidents displayed were over over sixty years old, it must have been very difficult to tell the stories of so many men - from the government down to a private on the ground - with complete balance and historical accuracy, but overall I found everything very believable. The acting was top notch, with some well known faces, and Timothy Dalton's narration was also top drawer.

I would recommend this series wholeheartedly.