Piece of Cake [DVD]

This made for television series is a good telling of Derek Robinson's novel. A character driven story about the early years of the war.Piece of Cake was shown on Australian television in an edited version during the 1980's. This is a restored version that fills out the story in 6 episodes very nicely. Although there are one or two scenes I remember differently. One particular scene where Fanny Barton uses his CO's cheque book to pay for a flyer's send off stands out. When it is discovered the payment is not kosher, Fanny threatens the restaurant owner, which seemed out of character for me. I remember it as the owner forgiving the debt without the threat. 'However much you owe, monsieur; I will always be in your debt.' A much more heartfelt, and revealing scene, in my opinion. Apart from that, it's a wonderful show with some great flying sequences. Yes, Hornet Squadron is equipped with Spitfires, not fitting with history, but where are you going to find any airworthy Hurricanes these days?All in all a great purchase with some wonderful characters. The earnest, if little bland Fanny in the video is an Aussie, not NZ as in the book, but still well drawn by Tom Burlinson. Neil Dudgeon's take on Moggy is a great, if cruel character. The whole cast do justice to the nove. Until they bring out a Blu ray with commentaries and the deleted scenes, this will fill the void. I recommend this to all Derek Robinson fans. They did a good job.

You don't have to be a military aviation or World War II buff to enjoy "A Piece of Cake". Originally aired on British television in 1988 and then the following season on Public Television here in the U.S.,"Piece of Cake" is a six-part mini-series, that follows the fortunes of Hornet Squadron - a fictional RAF fighter squadron - during the first year of World War II. Based on the book by Derek Robinson, the story begins on September 3, 1939 and ends on September 7, 1940."Piece of Cake" takes the viewer from Chamberlain's broadcast, through the so-called phony war, the fall of France and finally, the Battle of Britain. "Cake" tells the story of these historic events, not on the grand scale of a "The Longest Day", but on a small, intimate scale. Life and death, love and war, sorrow and joys are told through the stories of the men (boys in many cases) of this squadron - individually and collectively."Piece of Cake" is an example of what British television does so well - the ensemble production. There are no stars in this series, except perhaps the half-dozen or so antique Spitfires rounded up to perform the aerial sequences. The cast assembled were relative unknowns, although some have subsequently became familiar faces to viewers of PBS series such as "Masterpiece Theater" and "Mystery". Certainly the absence of big-name stars contributes to the realistic feel of the series. You are meeting each actor and the character he portrays for the first time.Another factor contributing to authenticity of the series was the way "Piece of Cake" was filmed. According to an article that appeared in the October 1988 issue of "TV Times", the cast lived and worked together on location during the filming - even going as far as calling each other by their fictional nicknames and attending "funerals" for those cast members when they written out of the series.While there are no stars in "Piece of Cake" and all the roles are well acted; several stand out and are worthy of being singled out for special mention. As Squadron Leader Rex, a career RAF officer who leads Hornet Squadron during the first half of the year, Tim Woodward plays Rex as a generous country squire - paying half of his squadron's mess bill. But this benevolence comes at a price - Rex insists upon his pilots flying tight, tidy formations and he tolerates no questioning of these tactics.The pilot who most often dares to question Rex's tactics is the American Christopher Hart III, ably portrayed by Boyd Gaines. A rich-kid and a veteran of the Spanish Civil War, Hart is the officer best positioned to take on Rex. He's the only pilot who has had combat experience against the Luftwaffe.Neil Dudgeon appears in all six episodes as Flying Officer 'Moggy' Cattermole, a cynical pilot who is out - at all times -- for number one. A quick-witted, sarcastic bully, 'Moggy' is - by his own admission - not "an officer and a gentleman". Although his constant sniping gets on everyone's nerves at times, his skill as a pilot and his killer instinct is appreciated - as long as it's aimed at the enemy.The two actors whose characters evolve the most during the course of the year are 'Fanny' Barton and 'Flash' Gordon. Through Tom Burlinson's portrayal, 'Fanny' grows from a conscientious pilot to the leader of Hornet Squadron during the tumultuous days of the Battle of Britain. Nathaniel Parker takes 'Flash' from a well-scrubbed young pilot to a romantic young husband and eventually into madness. His appearance during the first episode is little more than "wallpaper", lounging against a fireplace during the declaration of war radio broadcast. By the final two episodes we find an unshaven 'Flash' shooting seagulls from a shabby beach chair atop the cliffs of Dover, flying his Spitfire upside down, and quoting large "chunks of Churchill" to an RAF medical officer.Supporting the pilots of Hornet Squadron were the Adjutant and Intelligence officers - Flight Lieutenant 'Uncle' Kelleway and Flying Officer 'Skull' Skelton - convincingly played by David Horovitch and Richard Hope. As a veteran pilot of Word War I, Horovitch's Kelleway is the calm, pipe smoking, voice of experience. Hope's "Skull", on the other hand, is a Cambridge don, a Flying Officer who calls flying "unnatural"."Piece of Cake" is visually beautiful. The sequences with the Spitfires are aerial ballets - so graceful that one almost forgets the real horrors these scenes represent. Derek Robinson's excellent novel was well adapted by Leon Griffiths and the excellent cast was well directed by Ian Toynton. Lynnette Cummin's costume designs capture both the spirit of time and the individual eccentricities of pilots of Hornet Squadron.In his speech before the House of Commons at the height of the battle, Prime Minister Winston Churchill said - "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few." The creators, cast and crew of "Piece of Cake" have created a fitting tribute to those "few".

Remember this is a work of fiction set against a historical timeline and so for the purists - you are going to hate the Sptifires in France (in the real war it was Hurricanes) and the wrong marks of Spitfires and Messerschmits used on the set - so set that aside before you even view this. For this 1988 production the special effects are pretty good and rather show up the sometimes overused clips taken from the 1969 Battle of Britain movie. But set that aside too because.....What elevates this mini series are two key components:The first - for Spitfire enthusiasts - are some of the flying sequences shot for this series. The pilots really had a good time and showed off their skills with some flair. Camera angles and careful lens selection can make a Spitfire look like it is flying among tree tops when the trees are in reality some distance from wings but you can's deny just how close to the ground some of these planes really are. When they fly in formation at a camera at almost zero feet you can see the planes bouncing around in each other's turbulence and ground effect and the pilots correcting and jinking to stay in formation. It is as close to being IN an airborne Spitfire as I am ever likely to get. There are also some wonderful shots of planes making the curved landing approaches required by Spitfires' long noses that you could not see over. Tail shots of three point tail dragger landings are quite spectacular too. Watch those unlocked tail wheels spin in the initial shock!The second key part of this production - for those looking for the story - are the characters developing against the timeline and changing as the pressures of battle alter them all in different ways. Recent post war research has shown that the real make up of the RAF during the Battle of Britain had little to do with Univesity educated upper class so often portrayed. But this view is maybe closer to the pre-war squadron portrayed here - at least at the start of the series.Important crunch issues of:- the difficulties of aircraft recognition,- outdated tactics on the British side,- friendly fire in battle,- how horribly people really died in their planes when hit,- how you could be just plain unlucky if your plane faltered in the heat of the moment- and just how hard it was for the RAF pilots to learn and pass on experience as they often failed to make it home to tellall make a showing as "Hornet Squadron" falls back from France to literally sit on the edge of the White Cliffs of Dover in the front line of those trying to fend off the maurauding Luftwaffe.For the less well developed characters there is a horrific reality - they never survived long enough to get into the story because they get shot down as soon as they appeared.What sets this series aside - especially from big perspective movies like the Battle of Britain - is the close up portrayal of the reality of rapid aircraft and personnel turnover. By the end - the few old timers are "twitching" with stress and falling as they make mistakes or their luck runs out. If you have ever read the official history of the battle and read the too often used line - "Squadron sent north to rest and re-equip" this series brings home the horrific reality that lay behind that seemingly bland statement. There is absolutely no doubt that in the final moments of the series as the stragglers return - that is where this squadron is headed - what is left of it.A good adaption of the original book and a worthy tribute to "the few".I've just re-watched the whole series (April 08) and re-read some of the reviews. For those who have commented on picture quality in their reviews: This was made for UK televisions 612 line PAL standard in 1988 - long before DVD's were thought of. So you can't "improve" the resolution for a 1024 line HD TV - and the switch to NTSC in the US doesn't help either. So sure - it is a little fuzzy on a big screen. Sit back and enjoy for the qualities I've reviewed above.

OK lets get the critical bits out of the way first! Those in the know will tell you that most if not all of the spitfires shown are much later generation planes and weren't around at the Battle of Britain. Others will comment about wooden characterisation and the slowness of the plot in the first few episodes but this misses the entire point - this is a piece of work that actually recreates the feel of a by-gone age. The issues of class, the boredom of the phoney war and the sudden explosive deaths that came with the Battle of Britain are all captured vividly as is the ambiguity of some of the French citizens towards the Brits.A Piece of Cake captures a pivotal moment - the RAF at the outset of the war is class bound, unprepared and death comes not from German fighters but bad landings ( the first CO learns his lesson the hard way) and mistakes - shooting down your own planes. As the scene moves to France where a new CO takes over and train his men in what can only be described as suicidal tactics in the air, the ground scenes lay bare the brittle class structure. The drama gradually builds with the increasing tension as real war looms, practise becomes more urgent and deadly. When real war break out the results are explosive including allowing their CO to fly to his death rather than follow him and suddenly characters who seemed safe in the air are falling like leaves. The characters are of their time and are believable - Moggie is wonderful as a class ridden bully with a fine line in quiet sneering. The ariel scenes are stunning thanks to the late Ray Hanna and the famous flying under the bridge is for real ( no CGI here) and the palpable sense of relief when he makes it is genuine.This is a slow burn drama but it does burn deep. An excellent cast, stunning scenes and real people facing stark choices and not always getting it right. Story telling at its best

Wonderfully authentic, brillantly made and good type casting of the -nice and nasty - humans taking part. Stunning backgrounds help make a good film in it's own right. Then comes the icing on the cake. The original story was made about a Hurricane squadron and the trials and tribulations match that aircraft. However, the aeroplane stars are match too strong for the part but who cares as we watch those glorious Mark Nine Spitfires flown by some of the best aerobatic pilots of the day. (Never before in the field of human video have so many been represented - successfully - by so few) Luftwaffe squadrons can count their luck that they did not meet that crew in 1940. A Television mini series allowed the producers far more time than cinema does and they have used it well. My new DVD will replace the original (worn out) VHS!

Not the best quality picture.

I bought this movie for my husband. We had a not very good taped one. He watched it many times over and loved it. So I got him the DVD. He just loves it. A good war story that is personal and behind the scenes. A well written & acted war story from a different angle.

Wrong mark of spitfires were used in the series but the acting and story are first rate.I saw this originally on PBS in the late 80's and was pleased to fined some scenes PBS deleted for time. A great unknown series to discover.