Back to trending
The Dam Busters

The Dam Busters

Drama · History · War · 1955

The story of the conception of a new British weapon for smashing the German dams in the Ruhr industrial complex and the execution of the raid by 617 Squadron 'The Dam Busters'.

Movie details

The Dam Busters

1955 Drama · History · War 2h 4m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

7.4 / 10

12.2K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

100 %

Tomatometer

TMDB

6.9 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

The story of the conception of a new British weapon for smashing the German dams in the Ruhr industrial complex and the execution of the raid by 617 Squadron 'The Dam Busters'.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Dam Busters?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

The Cruel Sea

The Cruel Sea

Drama · 1953

At the start of World War II, Cmdr. Ericson is assigned to convoy escort HMS Compass Rose with inexperienced officers and men just out of training. The winter seas make life miserable enough, but the men must also harden themselves to rescuing survivors of U-Boat attacks, while seldom able to strike back. Traumatic events afloat and ashore create a warm bond between the skipper and his first officer.

The Lost Battalion

The Lost Battalion

History · 2001

Fact-based war drama about an American battalion of over 500 men which gets trapped behind enemy lines in the Argonne Forest in October 1918 France during the closing weeks of World War I.

Devotion

Devotion

War · 2022

The harrowing true story of two elite US Navy fighter pilots during the Korean War. Their heroic sacrifices would ultimately make them the Navy's most celebrated wingmen.

The Last Rifleman

The Last Rifleman

Drama · 2023

A WWII veteran escapes his care home in Northern Ireland and embarks on an arduous but inspirational journey to France to attend the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, finding the courage to face the ghosts of his past.

A Bridge Too Far

A Bridge Too Far

Drama · 1977

The story of Operation Market Garden—a failed attempt by the allies in the latter stages of WWII to end the war quickly by securing three bridges in Holland allowing access over the Rhine into Germany. A combination of poor allied intelligence and the presence of two crack German panzer divisions meant that the final part of this operation (the bridge in Arnhem over the Rhine) was doomed to failure.

The War Below

The War Below

War · 2021

During World War I, a group of British miners are recruited to tunnel underneath no man's land and set bombs from below the German front in hopes of breaking the deadly stalemate of the Battle of Messines.

Red Tails

Red Tails

Drama · 2012

The story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American pilots to fly in a combat squadron during World War II.

Flyboys

Flyboys

Drama · 2006

The adventures of the Lafayette Escadrille, young Americans who volunteered for the French military before the U.S. entered World War I, and became the country's first fighter pilots.

Midway

Midway

War · 2019

The story of the Battle of Midway, and the leaders and soldiers who used their instincts, fortitude and bravery to overcome massive odds.

Operation Mincemeat

Operation Mincemeat

War · 2022

In 1943, two British intelligence officers concoct Operation Mincemeat, wherein their plan to drop a corpse with false papers off the coast of Spain would fool Nazi spies into believing the Allied forces were planning to attack by way of Greece rather than Sicily.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Michael Anderson

Written by

R.C. Sherriff

Richard Todd

Richard Todd

Wing Commander Guy Gibson, V.C., D.S.O., D.F.C.

Michael Redgrave

Michael Redgrave

Doctor B. N. Wallis, C.B.E., F.R.S.

Ursula Jeans

Ursula Jeans

Mrs. Wallis

Basil Sydney

Basil Sydney

Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris G.C.B., O.B.E., A.F.C.

Patrick Barr

Patrick Barr

Captain Joseph (Mutt) Summers, C.B.E.

Ernest Clark

Ernest Clark

Air Vice-Marshal The Hon. Ralph Cochrane G.B.E., K.C.B., A.F.C.

Derek Farr

Derek Farr

Group Captain J. N. H. Whitworth, D.S.O., D.F.C.

Court is in session

Put The Dam Busters on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.