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Dark Blue World
Sony Pictures Classics

Dark Blue World reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 56 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
9.4 out of 10
based on 23 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 21 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: R for sexuality/nudity

Starring Ondrej Vetchý, Krystof Hádek, Tara Fitzgerald, Charles Dance, Oldrich Kaiser, and Linda Rybová

An epic romantic drama about two Czech pilots, serving together in the U.K.'s Royal Air Force during World War II, who fall in love with the same woman.


GENRE(S): War  
WRITTEN BY: Zdenek Sverák  
DIRECTED BY: Jan Sverák  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: May 28, 2002 
Video: May 28, 2002 
Theatrical: December 28, 2001 
RUNNING TIME: 114 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: Czech Republic / UK / Germany / Denmark / Italy 
LANGUAGE(S): English, German and Czech (with English subtitles) 

Original Czech title "Tmavomodrý Svet"

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

90
Time Richard Schickel
One thinks of the great opening line of that great novel The Good Soldier: "This is the saddest story I have ever heard." Like many such tales, this one is worth taking to your aching heart.
80
Variety Derek Elley
Sverak's sheer technical finesse, and ability to spin on a dime between comedy and tragedy, the personal and the historical, makes Dark Blue World succeed where other similarly themed movies, from "Battle of Britain" to "The Blue Max," seem heavy-handed by comparison.
Read Full Review
80
Washington Post Stephen Hunter
The last word you'd expect for it is "sweet," yet it is exactly the right one. That may come as no surprise to some, since the director is Jan Sverak, who brought sweetness to his breakthrough film "Koyla," but it caught me by total surprise.
Read Full Review
75
San Francisco Chronicle Bob Graham
A crackerjack combination of live action, special effects and recycled footage.
Read Full Review
75
Miami Herald Marta Barber
Dark Blue World's warm story and beautiful photography almost hits the mark, and it has a great ending.
Read Full Review
75
Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea
Dark Blue World is "Pearl Harbor" without the product placements, without the Hollywood bombast, and certainly without the $100-million-plus budget.
Read Full Review
75
Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
The film mixes unashamed kitsch, thrilling airfight scenes and dark historical drama. But what gives it a special charge is its portrait of the Czech RAF group: what happened to them before, during and after the war.
Read Full Review
75
Boston Globe Jay Carr
A bittersweet world, and it's frankly one to which we've been before, but seldom do we see it rendered with such exquisite, if pained, craftsmanship.
70
Chicago Reader Lisa Alspector
This is a sensitive and at times gently humorous love-and-war story; the flight scenes are exciting and exquisitely crafted, the characters lovingly drawn.
Read Full Review
70
New Times (L.A.) Bill Gallo
Whatever Dark Blue World lacks in pyrotechnics it makes up for with richly drawn characters, high drama and pointed historical ironies.
Read Full Review
67
Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
It's a mixed blessing.
Read Full Review
63
New York Post Lou Lumenick
Has some terrific aerial sequences and exciting dogfights. But the clichés in the script by Zdenek Sverak (the director's father) keep the film firmly grounded when the action's not aloft.
Read Full Review
60
Film Threat Rich Cline
It's hardly a foreign film; this is our common history, and it's a film well worth looking out for.
Read Full Review
60
Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
As it stands, Dark Blue World -- for all the considerable skills of the Sveraks and their colleagues on both sides of the camera -- occupies that treacherous territory between art film and popular epic.
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50
TV Guide Ken Fox
The widescreen photography is, however, quite beautiful, and the scenes of aerial combat thrillingly staged.
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50
Washington Post Desson Thomson
The movie's ambitions (to pay tribute to the Czech pilots who fought for their country only to be interned later) are not matched by the actual story.
Read Full Review
50
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
"Kolya" was as emotionally authentic and original as Dark Blue World is derivative and not compelling.
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50
New York Daily News Jack Mathews
It's the banal romantic triangle that inspired Sverak ("Kolya"), who obviously didn't see "Pearl Harbor" in time to stop himself.
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50
Village Voice Jessica Winter
Dark Blue World and Sverak's previous "Kolya" were each written by the director's father, Zdenek, and both films betray a weakness for the symmetrical and sentimental.
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50
Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
The aerial-dogfight scenes, which are beautiful and shot through with jittery panic, are notable for not being staged for videogame kicks.
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40
Austin Chronicle Marrit Ingman
The film is more of an old-school wartime yarn, crackling with the expected camaraderie among the hardscrabble volunteers.
Read Full Review
40
The New York Times A.O. Scott
This could be called an art house version of "Pearl Harbor," except that sounds vaguely nutritious, like fat- free yogurt or a historical episode of A&E's "Biography." But Dark Blue World is all empty carbs, like malted milk balls.
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30
LA Weekly Hazel-Dawn Dumpert
The uneasy meeting of cultures is mirrored all too well in the stiff and clumsy direction.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 9.4 (out of 10) based on 21 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

neil d. gave it a7:
I thought the movie told a remarkable sub-story within the battle of Britain. It reminded me in some ways of the 1988 Masterpiece Theatre Presentation entitled a "Piece of Cake". The love triangle I found a little tortured. Reminded me of the movie through the eye of the needle or yanks with a similar scene of the Brit wife left behind who finds comfort in the arms of an allied soldier. I think what was new and well done was the pilots adjustment to English. Their fervent desire to kill Nazis and the cruel twist of being imprisoned by communists. The scene of the solder coming home reminds me of the wolf phrase then when coming home you have changed and it has changed. I wonder aloud what the level of commits were at that time or whether contemporary movies impose the present cultural standards back in time. I suppose we would have to interview to 75-85 year olds to learn that answer. I would recommend the movie to anyone who enjoys a well thought out action packed movie.

David C. gave it a10:
They got all the emotions right. Completely believable story produced in an adult fashion.

Herbert K. gave it a10:
The Dog in Dark Blue World Jan Sverak's Dark Blue World is a bittersweet story of two Czech pilots who fly for the RAF during World War II and their love interests. [***SPOILERS***] Karel crashes in an attempt to save Franta. Franta goes home to his small Czech town in uniform and is saluted by the uniformed stationmaster. He finds his former girlfriend hanging up laundry and they sadly greet each other. She married stationmaster, thinking that Franta was dead. As Franta starts to leave, his dog, a blonde spaniel no longer young, emerges from under the laundry and greets him. The dog is female; I won’t use the word bitch, because it has acquired another connotation. Franta walks off with the dog following him. Now has his dog, but it is only for a moment. A little girl appears and says, “That is our dog.” Franta and the dog look at each other. They both know that there is no choice. It is as if the dog says, “I must stay with her.” Franta departs as the dog sits by the girl watching him walk away. I am so moved by this. It is a touching love scene between a man and a dog, one of the most touching scenes I have ever seen on film. It made me think of all the farewells in my life. Life is not easy for man, but the same can be said for animals. I had a dog as a boy; who was as much of a friend as a friend can be. And I needed such a friend at the time. His life came to a tragic end and I cannot forget that, nor can I stop blaming myself. Not a day has gone by when I did not think of him. I have thought about him more than I have thought about the women I loved. But getting back to Karel, he survived all the aerial dogfights to be thrown into a Stalinist prison for having fought in the RAF. The brave Czech pilots, like the veterans who fought for the Republican side in Spain, were guilty of some kind of crime in the Eastern Bloc. God knows what it could have been. If the Battle of Britain had been lost, the United States would not have been able to have a foothold in Europe, and the chances for victory for Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan would have been very good indeed. Thinking about man and beast, and man’s integrity and loyalty, I’ve come to the conclusion that I’d take a dog anytime. Do you know what I mean?

David N. gave it a10:
This film is not about the big battle. It is about a fantastically written story, that opens a very interesting era from our history. It shows what communists did... I must admit, that the real meaning of this film could understand just someone from the Czech rep. ... but also the others should see the atmosphere of our national proud, mostly before the WWII.

[Anonymous] gave it an8:
Gopod movie overall. Not a perfect piece, though, as I think the love story, while not bad, is a little clunky and somethimes unclear. The woman is a likable character, though, doing what she can to help victims. The degree to which the two pilots become jealous of each other is vague at best. Great flight sequences, accurate portrayels of USSR tortures, and the cinematography and great. Looks like memories of WWII are fresher than ever in the minds of europeans.

Giorgio OG gave it a 9:
What a nice movie!! and it's European, that is important; it represents a valid response to US movies such as Pearl Harbour..concerning spec effects we must say this european film has realized the best effects for a war movie, the planes are all real eccepts the german Heinkels 111 (reproduced at computer) as they were destroyed and now are out production but some shots are taken from "the battle of britain -1969" in particular the shots in which you see spanish twin engines bombers that 30 years ago were part of spanish's air fleet (very similiar to the original heinkel 111 at 98%)...other planes were the spitfires of various type and the spanish built me 109 (hurricanes are missing, what a pity)..it is clear that the director was a great fan of WW2 air war movies, I appreciate the mixing of a love story(pearl harbour love story is simply pathetic) with an accurate historic reproduction. Only Few people knew about CZECH RAF pilots imprisoned by communist after the war, before premièring this movie .

S. Bailey gave it a 10:
A beautiful film. Not just entertaining, but a important lesson of history. The ignorance of some of the critics is alarming, however the ratings of others, especially a Dr George Abbott W. is relieving. They compare it to Pearl Harbour, why? Because it was a U.S. film? Because it was so popular, especially among those that knew little of history and failed to note the numerous and blatent mistakes? (The American flag does not have sixty stars ... tut, tut.) They insist on adhering to the niave of society, so be it. At least some of us appreciate a brilliant and fascinating film, such as 'Dark Blue World'.

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