303 Squadron (2018) on Netflix
NR20181h 35m
In 1940, after Poland and France fall, Polish airmen reach Britain and join the Royal Air Force. Witold Urbanowicz and Jan Zumbach fly for a new Polish squadron the British doubt.
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- Netflix2.8/5
- IMDb5.5/102,574 votes
- Rotten TomatoesNot available
Trailer
Plot summary
After Germany invades Poland in 1939 and France falls, airmen of the Polish Air Force make their way to the United Kingdom, where the Royal Air Force takes them in. They become No. 303 Squadron, a Polish unit, and take part in the Battle of Britain, flying against the German Air Force. At the center of the story are the squadron commander, Witold Urbanowicz, and the pilot Jan Zumbach. The British officers the Poles serve under are wary of them, and the newcomers have to prove themselves in the air. The squadron is credited with downing three times as many German aircraft as any other allied unit.
Cast
- Maciej Cymorekas Josef Frantisek
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about 303 Squadron (2018)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Denis Delić directed 303 Squadron only after two predecessors left: Łukasz Palkowski quit before production began to make the 2017 film Breaking the Limits, and his replacement Wiesław Saniewski suffered a heat stroke on set days into filming and was hospitalised.
- While 303 Squadron was in production, a rival British film about the same squadron, Hurricane, was created in the United Kingdom; its Polish premiere was set for 17 August 2018, ahead of 303 Squadron's 31 August date, and 303 Squadron's distributor Mówi Serwis accused it of trying to confuse audiences by releasing at the same time.
- Kino Świat, which had originally been set to distribute 303 Squadron in Poland, dropped the film and released the rival Hurricane instead, calling 303 Squadron not historically accurate; 303 Squadron was then released in Poland as Dywizjon 303. Historia prawdziwa instead of the planned Dywizjon 303.
- During production, producer and co-writer Jacek Samojłowicz fell out with the sons of Arkady Fiedler, the author of the book the film was based on, over the story, though they later reached agreement; the families of Polish aviators also objected to the pilots being shown partying and drinking in bars, wanting them depicted only heroically.
- 303 Squadron was given the Snake Award, an annual mocking award for the worst Polish films, in categories including Embarrassing Film About Important Topic, the Special Care Effect for the worst filmmaking mistake, the worst poster and the worst music video for Edyta Górniak; it was also nominated for worst director.
- Two replica Hawker Hurricane aircraft made for the film were donated after shooting to the No. 303 Squadron Museum in the village of Napoleon, Silesian Voivodeship, and to the Arkady Fiedler Museum in Puszczykowo, Greater Poland.
