First Light (2010) ( 1st Light ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.0 Import - United Kingdom ]

It's a good movie.

If a person is really looking for a DVD relating to how it really was during the Battle of Britain this film is it. I have been a Spitfire addict since my early childhood growing up around A/C & have been fortunate enough to talk with a few RAF & RCAF pilots who flew Hurricanes & Spitfires during WW2. Actually the Hurricane had a higher kill ratio than the Spitfire during the Battle of Britain but that's another story. For those of you who are pilots , remember your first solo when your instructor told you to stop on the taxi-way, got out turning you loose on your own. That part in the movie as Geoff arrived at the base with the original Spitfire Pilot's notes on his lap to me was a story on it's own , you didn't have the opportunity to have an instructor along for the ride in a single seat fighter to offer advice,help,etc. Progressing through your training you're now deemed fit to fly a fighter A/C . You have no combat experience but you may or may not have anytime flying Spitfires. Can you imagine the pressure on you ? Is it any wonder your memory turns to mush while being briefed by your ground crew on engine starting procedures & the rest is up to you. A new kid on the block & only eighteen years old in control of the latest fighter A/C of it's time, scarey ? But that's the way it was. I find in this day & age a lot of people just can't visualize that these pilots just didn't go up against the enemy who vastly outnumbered them but the weather they often flew in was often to prove fatal to their existence. And remember these young pilots were not seasoned veterans, it was a learning curve of you lived or died , veteran or rookie. I myself completely enjoyed the film,especially the bit parts of the real Geoffrey Wellum speaking of his experiences. Vastly outnumbered & fighting against seasoned German fighter pilots in their latest fighter A/C I think a person has to recognize what a disadvantage Britain was up against. For the true Spitfire lover & history buff you will see a few inaccuracies such as late model Spitfires that never flew in the Battle of Britain with their 4-blade props,dual under wing cooling scoops , late model exhaust stubs & rectangular gun sights BUT we're 70+ years into the future from the projected time period, original Spitfires of the early " Marks & Models " are very scarce so I find such an inaccuracy excusable. As a lover of these A/C & times the movie held my full attention. As a pilot I just loved all the cockpit shots , procedures, etc and as a history buff of this time period in history the movie captured my full attention & most of all this movie wasn't based on a Hollywood script but actually portrays the Battle of Britain from the youngest pilot to fly & fight in the Battle of Britain telling it like it was. " FIVE STARS " !

EXCELLENT! Visually: Unlike the Battle of Britain movie, which overly used some fake looking model scenes (remember the destruction of the JU-87 Stuka where the wings explode off the fuselage that was used at least 2 or 3 times in the movie?), this movie used several scenes from the original Battle of Britain movie but none of the hokey, cheap looking aerial scenes and also did NOT use so many BoB scenes that you felt like you were simply watching the original Battle of Britain movie. For pilots, there’s probably still too few aerial shots but what they have is fantastic! Storytelling: The DVD seamlessly weaves a few live, unscripted interviews and voice-overs of the main character (Mr. Wellum himself) with scenes that depict his adventures as a WWII Spitfire pilot. I didn't expect that at all but it was a nice touch to the movie...almost like a documentary that goes heavy on the storytelling. The emotional side of flying: I've read his book ("First Light") that the movie is based on, too, and both the book and this DVD do a superb job of trying to describe what it's like to fly a high performance, single-seat military plane. The scenes of him slicing around and through the clouds is perfect; I can attest that he describes the romance and thrill of it all perfectly…. the thrill, the anxiety, the frustration, the fear and the joy. A note to those with children: the language of fighter pilots, especially in war, is not what you'd hear in church, so I would not recommend watching this with children around. Cheers!

It's sort of a documentary as it features interviews with a surviving Battle of Britain pilot, Geoffrey Whellum. But it also tells his story with flashbacks to re-enactors and surviving Spitfires and special effects. It is entirely proper to honor one of the very few of the Few to survive to the present day. But I found it unsettling to go from the hero in the flush of his youth to the ancient of today. If the ending is all in the grave, then what matter how a life began? Doubtless the world is a better place than if the Nazis prevailed. But the fate of the individual remains the same in the long run. I was looking for a little more of a glorious entertainment. I got a philosophical insight into the transitory nature of youth, victory and life. Of course, that lesson is inescapable.

Détente

Sam Heughan non delude maiUna parola sola: bravo

This biographical account was very realistic, dealing with the issues of the fliers of the Battle of Britain and the subsequent traumas that impacted their lives. It was brave of Geoffrey Wellam to tell his story - warts and all.

I was transfixed... you know a movie is good, when you forget it is one: It is totally absorbing and a wonderful account of one of the allied air force flyer's experience during World War 11- not violent so much as intriguing.. dealing with loss, survival (psychological and physical) and coming of age in a very violent time. If you wonder what drives the human spirit in time of crises, watch this film- Great photography too.

die Geschichte ist eigentlich kurz erklärt. Es geht um einen Piloten, der während der Luftschlacht un England zu seiner Staffel stößt und dort die erste Begegnung mit dem Krieg und die Tücken der Fliegerei hat. Es werden immer wieder Einspielungen, in denen der Autor seine Eindrücke des damaligen Zeitraums darlegt. Es wird der erste Flug auf einer Spitfire gezeigt und das Etappenleben auf einem Fliegerhorst der damaligen Zeit. Das Bangen und hoffen, wenn auf überfällige Kameraden gewartet wird, die Angst wärend der Luftkämpfe werden sehr authentisch wieder gegeben. Ein wenig Herzschmerz ist auch noch dabei, aber das gehört bei Filmen dieses Genres ja wohl dazu.Gut, die Flugaufnahmen stammen größtenteils aus dem bekannten Film "Die Luftschlacht um England". Sie sind zwar auch schon ziemlich ausgelutscht, aber trotzdem immer noch gut.Wer sich für diese Art Fliegerfilm interessiert, der ist hier gut bedient, vorrausgestzt er ist der englischen Sprache mächtig, denn leider gibt es diesen wirklich guten Film noch nicht in der deutschen Fassung.