| Piece of Cake | 
 enlarge | Director: Ian Toynton
Actors: Tom Burlinson, Neil Dudgeon, Jack Mckenzie, Tom Radcliffe, George Anton
Studio: Bfs Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: $39.98
Buy New: $23.97
You Save: $16.01 (40%)
Buy New/Used from $23.97
Avg. Customer Rating:   (46 reviews)
Sales Rank: 19324
Format: Box Set, Color, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 312 minutes
Number Of Items: 3
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.4 x 1.1
MPN: 95701
ISBN: 0773317015
UPC: 066805917011
EAN: 9780773317017
ASIN: B00004W5P1
Release Date: October 1, 2000
Theatrical Release Date: 1988
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 41 more reviews...
 Piece of Cake by Tom Burlinson, Neil Dudgeon, Jack McKenzie, Tom Radcliffe February 23, 2008
I cannot tell a lie. I thought this series was not as good as UXB, but I am partial to Judy Geeson. I did expect the inaccuracy of the planes being flown, but not the pristine landing strips/meadows. I guess that I really missed the realism of the stressful situations that seemed to be somewhat missing here. I can only surmise that the writers were from another era with no oversight by older experienced professionals who might have given more insight into the acting roles. I am also a dog lover & thought that the part of the elimination of the mascot that wizzed on anyone other than his master, was a bit too much even in wartime. Oh well, you can't have everything. Even though I was displeased at some parts, I did enjoy the series overall as worth the bargain price paid.
 Add half-a-star, but this isn't up to the usual standards... January 21, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
The first three hours, half the show, were dull, stodgy, and confusing. The second half was much, much better, with lots of aerial combat and some male-female relationships which seemed promising. However, the final half has too much tragedy, no humor except some attempts to lighten the mood which come off as cruel. I never really found a character to root for in the whole darn thing, save for Boyd Gaines, who plays Hart, the only American among this bunch of Royal Air Force flyboys. And it was hard, frankly, to even care much about him. It is sad when a six-hour miniseries about something as important as the start of World War II leaves one with kudos only for the cinematography, but that's how I felt when I finished watching this the other night. The aerial shots of the White Cliffs of Dover are what I will remember most, not the script or performances.
 Three-and-One-Half Stars December 22, 2007
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
Even though I enjoyed this production on television, its inclusion in "Masterpiece Theatre" made me question whether the producers' definition of the word "masterpiece" was not, in this case, hyperbolic. On the one hand, the series is more than competently acted, but on the other, it sprawls and does not really pick up momentum until episodes five and six, when the action in the air becomes riveting. Part of the trouble is that the episodes set in France during the "phony war" are by nature slow. This would not be a problem if the characters were fully developed (as they were in Kenneth Brannagh's "Fortunes of War"). Unfortunately, the characters in "Piece of Cake" are either left in an embryonic state (e.g., Jeremy Northam--an otherwise fine actor--whose persona is so undistinguished that I wasn't really interested in his romance with one of the French girls), or else they seem cliched (e.g., the Yank whose cluelessness upsets the class conventions of the time--although I really liked the actor who played the part). Other characters are so persistently obnoxious that I shed no tears (except for the RAF and for England) when they were blown out of the air: e.g., the first squadron commander, Rex, who indulges in luxury as much as he indulges his opprobrious dog; and Moggie Cattermole, who is unrelenting in his bullying of everyone. In fact, the characters whom I found the most interesting were not the flyers, but the low-keyed young ex-Cambridge don and the adjutant, "Uncle," both of whom remain earth-bound in every sense of the expression.
Episodes five and six work, not because they are action packed (and the scenes of the Spitfires buzzing the chalk cliffs are thoroughly compelling), but because they represent a persuasive and gripping truth about the desperate battle to save Britain from what at the time seemed the unstoppable onslaught of the Luftwaffe.
I fell in love with the entire RAF when I was a little girl and my father brought several of their officers home for dinner one Christmas during the War (What they were doing in Los Angeles I never found out.). I therefore feel almost unpatriotic in criticizing this series about the "few," in Winston Churchill's words, to whom "so many" owe "so much;" and for whom the word 'valiant' in no way constitutes hyperbole.
Once the shooting starts, it's great June 12, 2007
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
If I could describe "Piece of Cake" in a single phrase I would use "off-centered." As noted by other reviewers, a good deal of the story unfolds in the Phony War period. This is not altogether boring, but frankly, the series should have concentrated on the 1940 Battle of France and the Battle of Britain (the latter of which gets dealt with rather peremptorily).
This being said, the flight scenes and combat are first-rate. For me, a particularly haunting bit was the last flight of the squadron commander Rex. The notion of a badly wounded man high as a kite on morphine trying to lead a squadron of fighters into the buzz saw of the Luftwaffe is sobering and pathetic to say the least.
So for anyone who rents or buys this, I would say if you get bored in the first several hours start fast forwarding it to the combat. You won't be bored watching that.
 Excellent May 28, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I recalled watching this series many years ago and am delighted I now own the set of episodes. All WWII aviation buffs need to see this series.
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