Riders in the Sky (1968)
The story of Czech pilots in RAF service during the Battle of Britain, and the ongoing aerial battle in Northern Europe. It tells the story of the crews of the RAF’s No. 311 Squadron, which was mainly crewed by escaped Czech airmen, and their bombing raids during the Second World War.
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Good , But It Is Overrated By Some
I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
This movie is realistic and even crude, and maybe that is the reason, why it's so impressive. Instead of romantic (nearly melodramatic) scenes, incorporated to the Sverak's "Tmavomodry svet" (Dark Blue World) it offers stories from ordinary, cruel life of Czech pilots in Great Britain. And it's even more deeper. The final scene with two soldiers - Czech and German, which are not enemies more, when the both men are facing their destiny in despair... Some of the most haunting moments includes also story of soldier, which received serious face injury and now must try to reconcile himself... The main storyline follows the story of two young Czech pilots - Student (falling to an unhappy romance with British radio-operator) and Prcek, both excellently acted (by remarkable talents Jiri Bednar and Jiri Hrzan). Music fits the whole film very well, featuring funny scene, where the famous tune "Skoda lasky" (originally Czech and in England known as "Roll out the Barell") is performed by the traveling soldiers in two languages... This is definitely one of the best Czech movies of the 60's and also the greatest Czech war movie at all.