The American backers wanted to ditch Waltons entire score but Olivier threatened to take his name off the credits if they did so. This piece was therefore left in. It remains one of the great pieces of film music & brings a lump to my throat.
Every time I hear this music it makes me think of the brave men and women of the RAF, that in 1940 faced incredible odds against a more powerful. No matter what anyone may ever say, they cannot take away from what they did. The debt of their sacrifices can never be re-payed. Never forget what they did.
I remember going to see the film aged 8 or 9, at the old Regent in Brighton, and apart from the battle scenes I was completely gobsmacked by this music- it jumped right out if the screen at me, and I had to go back and see it again just to hear Waltons music. I still think it's one of the best pieces ever written for film, and this taut, visceral performance does it full justice.
Funny to be back here again: I had forgotten that I had already commented a year ago! There was one scene in this silent sequence where a pilot bails out of his Spitfire and plummets to the earth without his parachute opening. It turns out the scene was shot where a dummy was thrown from a two seat spitfire and it was hoped a chute would open. They kept filming the falling dummy and thought "Oh well that didn't work" and the guys that shot the scene were shocked to find their blooper featured.
I always took that scene to mean the guy's parachute did not open, which sometimes did happen , to just show the horror of war. So for me that was the meaning.
What a performance! The (American) film company who made this film wanted to 'ditch' the entire film score by William Walton. But Laurence Olivier stood up to them and said that he would withdraw from the film if they carried out their threat. So this outstanding peice of music from Walton stayed in. A big shout out to the BBC Concert Orchestra & Conductor John Wilson for the 'tight' and 'focused' preformance of this very evocative peice of music. And also a shout out for the BBC Proms TV coverage team for the way that they presented this peice of music. The camerawork is amazing. The way that they 'focus in' on the strings & brass of the orchestra for certain parts of the music...as is the 'sweeping' action that the camera makes as it moves along the violin section for the battle scenes. It really helps with the overall 'delivery' of this important peice of film music. Well done everyone!
Thank you so much for posting this Marcos. To see "Battle In The Air" performed live is simply stunning. The hairs on my arms stood up on end. Bless you. 👍🏻
Wow, fantastic, thanks for posting. I've always enjoyed Walton's contribution to 'The Battle of Britain', and seeing it played live by an orchestra is terrific. Thanks again!
Give me a squadron of Spitfires! Dolfo Galland really detested Goering. Pity Galland, Molders, Steinhoff, Rall, Prillar, Marseille didn't join us and save a hole load of time and lives. Just these men listed had over 700 kills credited combined. Not all fighters, bombers too with up to ten men inside. War is madness.
My oldest friend was training as an RAF pilot in 1969. One day he was flying in an Anson in the area of The Wash when he was “bounced” by a mixture of Spitfires and Messerschmitt 109s! They were returning from filming a scene and apparently decided to pay their respects.
Indeed! A great show that BBC Proms! The audience enjoyed very m,uch, as we can see. And Sir Richard Attenborough´s words about Bafta were very interesting. As we may be tired of Hollywood aesthetics, it´s great to watch those British productions.
Thanks for uploading this. It's great to see how a piece of music that has been in my memory since 1970 is actually played. 5.05 I always think of the spitfire pilot who bails out and his chute doesn't open.
Walton piece -- possibly best ever performance. Hats off to John Wilson / BBC Orch. marcosnardon ... thx for uploading. Too bad image sides are cropped (modern broadcasts are captured in 16x9 'widescreen' HD). Also, no stereo :( Was this released on DVD or CD? (recall years ago Walton Sym 1 was on BBC Music magazine CD)
The outrageous idea that anyone, much less the idiot producers, would dare replace Walton's superb score with slick music composed by Ron Goodwin is beyond comprehension. Regardless, decades later we can now savour just what a great score Walton's [with a bit of help from Malcolm Arnold, who conducted the original soundtrack] is.
Joseph Carl Breil To be fair, Ron Godwin May have been “slick”, but he knew his craft. It’s one of the few films to benefit from the efforts of a number of composers:
Awesomely tight and thrilling performance; I don't know if the coda was more or less effective for not quite hitting that screaming high note at the crashing end, but I still like this.
@peteste1 how right you are my friend, the music took the film to a whole new level, this is an astonishing sequence, just watching the movie on my 32 inch screen as I write and all I can say is: WOW, WOW, WOW!
One surviving BoB pilot heard part Churchill's pronouncement of 'so much owed by so many to so few', and wondered aloud whether the great man really meant the RAF pilots' mess bills (i.e., bar tabs)...
Superb! Some cross-pollination with Bennett/Rogers "Victory at Sea" which is more Wagner-Turandot....I wonder which came first? Walton for sure has his own sound....idiom.
@h0ll0wm9n ... (cont. 2) Can't find the 2007 Proms on DVD or CD (source, anyone?). I would LOVE to have a higher-quality version -- video, audio-only, whatever. Please reply in-thread or we can communicate off-list. Thx!
Walton was a notoriously slow writer - often causing problems with deadlines. Hi friend, Malcolm Arnold helped him out on this score, even orchestrating and rewriting bits. 4.17 is distinctly Arnold's work
@h0ll0wm9n ... (cont) "Rushed" with what I might call "asymmetric tempo/meter" is how I'd describe Arnold's orig. 1969 performance (but he may have HAD to do this -- i.e., sacrifice pace and flow performance, by compressing or stretching tempo/meter -- to fit film edits/cues). The UA-cam version's sound quality is decent (and hints at what full-rez may be capable of!!), but, alas, not in stereo and image is cropped from 16x9 to 4:3.
The musis would have gone very well with the attack on the Death Star sequence from Star Wars. I may edit it on to see what it looks like. By the way have you noticeed how the opening fanfare sounds like part of the Superman theme by John Williams? (although predating it by 10 years)
I think I've heard almost all versions, including ... orig. 1969 M. Arnold-conducted score (2nd best, but see comments below); Chandos (Neville Marriner, AoSMitF, 1990; So-so perf.); EMI (Carl Davis, 1987. AWFUL perf.!). But this one from BBC Proms 2007 blew me away: Very tight, dynamic, and CONTROLLED performance. It's fast-paced but never rushed.
It is relatively a good piece,there are climax.I can hear the plane were rolling down as same as the film.I can also hear the nervous view. Is it a 3/4 song?or a 4/4 song? And are there any pieces for piano in this title?
The American backers wanted to ditch Waltons entire score but Olivier threatened to take his name off the credits if they did so. This piece was therefore left in. It remains one of the great pieces of film music & brings a lump to my throat.
Every time I hear this music it makes me think of the brave men and women of the RAF, that in 1940 faced incredible odds against a more powerful. No matter what anyone may ever say, they cannot take away from what they did. The debt of their sacrifices can never be re-payed. Never forget what they did.
There are lots of airshows here in the South of England.
It's impossible to see or hear a Spitfire without it bringing a tear to your eyes.
Ah...the lovely Susannah York in that shirt.....
A gorgeous woman.
Lovely woman, indeed.
Red two,You MUST keep up with me!..Alright,red section,here we go stick to me like glue.
Like if you've seen the movie!
Jonathan Pinckney
"...Come in, Blue Two."
*crackling silence*
J. Corson that on scene where the chute failed to open....
Still chilling then, and still chilling today.
Aye. Another quote,"Roger,here we go,attacking now...."
“Repeat Please”
The men...the machines....the battle and the bravery in the air....all summed up in the most wonderful and inspiring piece of music. Sheer genius.
I remember going to see the film aged 8 or 9, at the old Regent in Brighton, and apart from the battle scenes I was completely gobsmacked by this music- it jumped right out if the screen at me, and I had to go back and see it again just to hear Waltons music.
I still think it's one of the best pieces ever written for film, and this taut, visceral performance does it full justice.
Funny to be back here again: I had forgotten that I had already commented a year ago! There was one scene in this silent sequence where a pilot bails out of his Spitfire and plummets to the earth without his parachute opening. It turns out the scene was shot where a dummy was thrown from a two seat spitfire and it was hoped a chute would open. They kept filming the falling dummy and thought "Oh well that didn't work" and the guys that shot the scene were shocked to find their blooper featured.
I always took that scene to mean the guy's parachute did not open, which sometimes did happen , to just show the horror of war. So for me that was the meaning.
What a performance! The (American) film company who made this film wanted to 'ditch' the entire film score by William Walton. But Laurence Olivier stood up to them and said that he would withdraw from the film if they carried out their threat. So this outstanding peice of music from Walton stayed in. A big shout out to the BBC Concert Orchestra & Conductor John Wilson for the 'tight' and 'focused' preformance of this very evocative peice of music. And also a shout out for the BBC Proms TV coverage team for the way that they presented this peice of music. The camerawork is amazing. The way that they 'focus in' on the strings & brass of the orchestra for certain parts of the music...as is the 'sweeping' action that the camera makes as it moves along the violin section for the battle scenes. It really helps with the overall 'delivery' of this important peice of film music. Well done everyone!
Wonderful comment. Thank you for your disposition and knowledge sharing! We can see you are a gifted connaisseur of orchestral music!
Tell me a better score than this ..part of the movie brilliant
'Is everything up?'
'The lot, sir.'
'Reserves?'
'None.'
'That's what I've just told the Prime Minister.'
No bloody CGI! Real aircraft! Real orchestral composer! A timeless classic film.
'come in blue two'
That moment gets me every time.
Love John Wilson's look at the orchestra at the end of the piece!
Fabulous music from Walton.
This and the sight of Susannah York in a man's shirt are the absolute highlights!
Thank you so much for posting this Marcos. To see "Battle In The Air" performed live is simply stunning. The hairs on my arms stood up on end.
Bless you. 👍🏻
Why Walton's superior score for "The Battle of Britain" was replaced by music by Ron Goodwin is still a mystery insofar as I am concerned.
Wow, fantastic, thanks for posting.
I've always enjoyed Walton's contribution to 'The Battle of Britain', and seeing it played live by an orchestra is terrific.
Thanks again!
In the Battle of Britain and Tora, Tora, Tora they used real airplanes doing real aerial maneuvers. What excitement.
Yes. I read somewhere that at the time of its filming, the director of Battle of Britain had under him the fifth largest air force in the world.
Wrong! Read the facts on Wikipedia. More like the 35th largest.
Makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
Give me a squadron of Spitfires!
Dolfo Galland really detested Goering. Pity Galland, Molders, Steinhoff, Rall, Prillar, Marseille didn't join us and save a hole load of time and lives. Just these men listed had over 700 kills credited combined. Not all fighters, bombers too with up to ten men inside.
War is madness.
BOB, love the film...
My oldest friend was training as an RAF pilot in 1969. One day he was flying in an Anson in the area of The Wash when he was “bounced” by a mixture of Spitfires and Messerschmitt 109s! They were returning from filming a scene and apparently decided to pay their respects.
Wow, it sounds almost exactly like the cue used in the film. Rare for that to happen.
Excellent film - most excellent piece - thanks for sharing marcosnardon - thanks for composing Mr Walton.
Still AMAZING !!
Makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and your heart race. The music captures some of the terror those young men must have experienced
What a magnificent piece. You feel the emotion, urgency, chaos, victory, and defeat of the dogfight.
BEAUTIFUL music WELL DONE.
Indeed! A great show that BBC Proms! The audience enjoyed very m,uch, as we can see. And Sir Richard Attenborough´s words about Bafta were very interesting. As we may be tired of Hollywood aesthetics, it´s great to watch those British productions.
Thanks for uploading this. It's great to see how a piece of music that has been in my memory since 1970 is actually played. 5.05 I always think of the spitfire pilot who bails out and his chute doesn't open.
That wasn't meant to happen ...it just did and they thought it'd look good in the film so they used it !
Oh really!
Yes it wasn't planned but they kept it in and the effect is awful but emotional too
Stunning performance!
Committed performance. Well done.
I enjoyed very much this BBC Proms! I wish BBC could produce a similar show but just with theater music. Wouldn´t be nice?
Música soberba, filme espetacular!
Walton piece -- possibly best ever performance. Hats off to John Wilson / BBC Orch.
marcosnardon ... thx for uploading. Too bad image sides are cropped (modern broadcasts are captured in 16x9 'widescreen' HD). Also, no stereo :(
Was this released on DVD or CD? (recall years ago Walton Sym 1 was on BBC Music magazine CD)
Incredible... just.....perfect
ASTONISHING PIECE OF MUSIC, wish to God I was there in the Albert Hall that night!
encapsulates that day of 1940 so brilliantly. Not much dialogue heard, driven relentlessly by the music.
Spring chicken to shite hawk in one easy lesson!
taka taka taka taka taka taka.
The outrageous idea that anyone, much less the idiot producers, would dare replace Walton's superb score with slick music composed by Ron Goodwin is beyond comprehension. Regardless, decades later we can now savour just what a great score Walton's [with a bit of help from Malcolm Arnold, who conducted the original soundtrack] is.
Joseph Carl Breil To be fair, Ron Godwin May have been “slick”, but he knew his craft. It’s one of the few films to benefit from the efforts of a number of composers:
Awesomely tight and thrilling performance; I don't know if the coda was more or less effective for not quite hitting that screaming high note at the crashing end, but I still like this.
@peteste1 how right you are my friend, the music took the film to a whole new level, this is an astonishing sequence, just watching the movie on my 32 inch screen as I write and all I can say is: WOW, WOW, WOW!
never in the field of human conflict have so many owed so much to so few this was our finest hour
One surviving BoB pilot heard part Churchill's pronouncement of 'so much owed by so many to so few', and wondered aloud whether the great man really meant the RAF pilots' mess bills (i.e., bar tabs)...
Superb! Some cross-pollination with Bennett/Rogers "Victory at Sea" which is more Wagner-Turandot....I wonder which came first? Walton for sure has his own sound....idiom.
@h0ll0wm9n ... (cont. 2) Can't find the 2007 Proms on DVD or CD (source, anyone?). I would LOVE to have a higher-quality version -- video, audio-only, whatever. Please reply in-thread or we can communicate off-list. Thx!
Amazing!!!
taka taka taka taka
Demais!!!! Sou fã incondicional deste filme.
Brilliant music - thanks for posting.
Walton was a notoriously slow writer - often causing problems with deadlines. Hi friend, Malcolm Arnold helped him out on this score, even orchestrating and rewriting bits. 4.17 is distinctly Arnold's work
How much Arnold contributed to this cue is still open to debate. Arnold's conducting, however, is top notch.
@h0ll0wm9n ... (cont) "Rushed" with what I might call "asymmetric tempo/meter" is how I'd describe Arnold's orig. 1969 performance (but he may have HAD to do this -- i.e., sacrifice pace and flow performance, by compressing or stretching tempo/meter -- to fit film edits/cues).
The UA-cam version's sound quality is decent (and hints at what full-rez may be capable of!!), but, alas, not in stereo and image is cropped from 16x9 to 4:3.
There is such a device as a 'click-track'. It was used to sync the tempi of Walton's music to the scenes.
Richard E Grant should learn how to tie a Windsor knot.
2:49😊
The musis would have gone very well with the attack on the Death Star sequence from Star Wars. I may edit it on to see what it looks like. By the way have you noticeed how the opening fanfare sounds like part of the Superman theme by John Williams? (although predating it by 10 years)
ewaf88 Ironically the attack on the Death Star also borrowed from another British war film, the “Dambusters”, watch it and see...
Damn that was fucking epic. Rule Britannia.
Watch your language!
***** Fuck... the EU :)
Its Terrifyingly Dark. I still have the original LP
I think I've heard almost all versions, including ... orig. 1969 M. Arnold-conducted score (2nd best, but see comments below); Chandos (Neville Marriner, AoSMitF, 1990; So-so perf.); EMI (Carl Davis, 1987. AWFUL perf.!). But this one from BBC Proms 2007 blew me away: Very tight, dynamic, and CONTROLLED performance. It's fast-paced but never rushed.
CBSO under Marcus Dodds circa 1980 my introduction. Long time since I've heard it.
"Is there everything up? No Reserve? THat's what I told to prime minister..."
Spine-tingling.
wish warthunder was like this
Red 3 behind you! (gets hit, complete fear and sweat as he try's to bail out)
Boy, you can really hear how John Williams was influenced by this great composer.
TREMENDOUSLY.
Stick to me like glue
@Elitist20 Come in Blue 2...
You don't fuck with a Spitfire.
i'm imagining bf109s and spits dogfighting in the sky above english channel........o yea, i love Bf109 btw....(no offense)
I prefer the spitfire mk1a (no offence)
Not only that, I'm also imagining the SE5s and Fokker DVIIFs dogfighting in French skies in 1918
It is relatively a good piece,there are climax.I can hear the plane were rolling down as same as the film.I can also hear the nervous view.
Is it a 3/4 song?or a 4/4 song? And are there any pieces for piano in this title?
First off, the piece is NOT a 'song'. It's an instrumental work.
Unbelievable reproduction. “Come in Red 2”...
Not the real music!
What the bloody Hell are you talking about? You know nothing next to zilch.
Sounds just like the music in the film to me