The RAF movie from Sigiriya

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The Royal Air Force has proven a rich source of cinematic action, bravery and tragedy, both in the UK and Hollywood. During the Second World War the British Armed Forces made some movies to boost the morale of their combat forces and also to entertain Allied Forces families. The first major military campaign fought entirely by air forces, and quite possibly the RAF’s greatest victory, the Battle of Britain demanded something special for its big screen treatment, and that’s what it got with Guy Hamilton’s 1969 picture

duly named Battle of Britain. Some other famous RAF action films were Aces High (1976), Dam Busters (1955), The way to the Stars (1945), The 633 Squadron (1964) and Dunkirk (2017). The movies Dunkirk cranked up the tension in its portrayal of the evacuation of the British Army from the infamous French beach. Tom Hardy portrays an RAF spitfire pilot who protects the land and sea forces from the skies. Lancaster Skies in another brilliant RAF action film released in 2019.

Purple Plain

Ceylon made its mark in Hollywood with the movie The Purple Plain, which was mostly shot in historic Sigiriya. This story of healing from loss through love is immensely powerful. It’s exquisitely photographed; it looks much more art film than Hollywood. The direction is solid, and the pacing near perfect. Actor Gregory Peck shines among a field of scene-stealing character actors. The movie called ‘The Purple Plain’ is based on the novel written by H. E. Bates and is wonderfully directed by Robert Parrish. Full of mounting suspense and masterly characterization, Bates’s popular wartime novel tells

the story of three very different men who, after their aircraft crashes, are forced to trek across the Burmese wilderness to safety.

The fantastic thing about the film was that it had been shot almost entirely on location in Ceylon. We have Bill Forester (Gregory Peck) a lost and war weary squadron leader, pushing his luck in an apparent attempt to commit suicide. Having lost his wife to the war, he now displays a reckless carefree attitude boarding on the insane. However, those around him see a mutilated man racked by pain and despair, creating both fear and admiration. The film prepared the way for other war epics coming later like ‘The Bridge on the River Kwai’, presenting the same kind of intolerable hardships.

In Burma Squadron Leader Forrester falls in love with a young native named Anna (an alluring Win Min Than). Later on, his plane has been downed in a spectacular crash sequence and Forrester attempting to get himself and his crew: a wounded

navigator, Flying Officer Carrington and Flight Lieutenant Blore (Maurice Denham) back to safety. Gregory Peck, as a war-weary but indomitable Canadian pilot serving in Burma with the Royal Air Force, leads a grueling three-man trek through the jungle. Gregory Peck along with actors like Paul Newman and Steve McQueen were the Hollywood heartthrobs decades ago. Gregory Peck also acted in ‘The Guns of Navarone’, another thrilling WW2 movie. Based on a novel by Alistair Maclean, the movie had a star-studded cast including Anthony Quinn, David Niven, Richard Harris and Irene Papas. The legendary star Gregory Peck passed away at the age of 87 in June 2003.

A large part of The Purple Plain- was filmed in Sigiriya. Among other Lankan locations were Kitulgala (where David Lean filmed ‘Bridge on the River Kwai’ a few years later), Puttalam, Wilpattu, Dambulla, Colombo and the opulent Mt. Lavinia hotel. The aircraft in the film were repainted in accurate SEAC camouflage and markings, and were provided through the co-operation of the Royal Air Force, which also provided several staff on-site during the making of the movie.

De Havilland bomber

The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engine, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the Second World War. The Mosquito also proved a remarkably versatile aircraft in other roles. It was a great success as a night fighter and intruder, as well as an anti-shipping strike aircraft. Both the Royal Air Force and the United States Air Force used Mosquitos for photographic reconnaissance duties. The Mosquito could deliver the same bomb-load to distant targets as the heavily armoured, four-engine B-17 flown by the American Air Force.

The Mosquito ended the war with the lowest loss rate of any aircraft in RAF Bomber Command service. Although designed as a bomber, the Mosquito also served as a fighter. As well as defending Britain against enemy aircraft, Mosquito fighter squadrons conducted sweeps against the Nazi’s night-fighters that were attacking Bomber Command’s aircraft. The fighter version of the Mosquito was armed with four 20 mm cannons in its belly.

Delving into 1954

In order to see the film location sites I set off to Sri Lanka Air Force Station Sigiriya. The camp is set in a vast area. The Air Traffic Control tower and runway shown in the movie still remain. A very refreshing first impression. SLAF Sigiriya was once an active RAF airfield and I have written on this topic before. I met up with a few Air Force officers and later in the day we met Jayantha Wijeratne. He is an author of many Sinhalese language books, including one about the history of his native town Sigiriya. The following morning we watched the movie once again, and he identified some of the major locations. We then proceeded on a rewarding expedition travelling to see many areas.

In the movie the RAF airfield is shown from different camera angles. Gregory Peck and his aircrew appear in many sections of the vast camp. There is a scene where after the aircraft crashes Peck scans the area from a rock. We climbed this vantage point. It was windy at the summit. Directly in the distance rose the mighty lion rock- Sigiriya, as it appears in the film. Some of the aerial battles in this movie have been created using sand models, to show a different kind of terrain. Another scene from the movie shows Gregory Peck and Win Min, standing in front of the Gadaladeniya Vihara. Also it is speculated that the bungalow appearing in The Purple Plain is somewhere in the Pilimathalawa area of Kandy. Apart from the film sites Sigiriya has many RAF ruins which we discovered in a trek within densely forested areas, as the Royal Air Force camp once extended to cover a larger area. Some locations are frequented by wild elephants. We also came across five large water wells used by Allied Forces. It was a rewarding experience to travel back in time to relive the memories of a Hollywood cast and film crew.