THE 75th anniversary of the Dam Busters Raid will be marked with the May 17 screening of the classic British film The Dam Busters at City Screen, York and Vue York.

This will tie in with a commemorative gala at the Royal Albert Hall, London, hosted by historian and television presenter Dan Snow from 7.15pm to 8.15pm. Broadcast to 300 cinemas nationwide, the event will recall the Second World War mission, paying tribute to Wing Commander Guy Gibson and his 617 Squadron comrades.

The gala evening will feature special guests, an on-stage "bouncing bomb" experiment and music from the Glenn Miller Orchestra, all in support of the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund.

Michael Anderson's 1955 film, starring Sir Michael Redgrave as scientist and engineer Dr Barnes Wallis and Richard Todd as Wing Commander Gibson, will be shown in a 4K restoration.

Anderson, who also directed Logan’s Run and Around The World In 80 Days, captures the thrilling action and suspense of the magnificent exploits of a group of young pilots and their crews, charged with taking out the supposedly impenetrable Ruhr river dams of Germany with Barnes Wallis's ingeniously designed bouncing bomb. The film also immortalised Eric Coates’s composition, The Dam Busters March.

Looking forward to the Royal Albert Hall gala, Dan Snow says: "One of the greatest British films of all time in one of Britain’s greatest venues. It’s going to be an unforgettable night of commemoration and nostalgia."

The impact of The Dam Busters on modern filmmakers spans the decades: director George Lucas hired the film’s special effects photographer, Gilbert Taylor, to work his magic on the original Star Wars, while The Lord Of The Rings director Peter Jackson has long been attached to a re-make, based around a screenplay by actor and writer Stephen Fry.

The Dam Busters be available on DVD, Blu-ray, EST and in a Collector’s Edition from StudioCanal's Vintage Classics label from June 4, with a host of extras, such as an exclusive Making Of The Dam Busters documentary. The Collector’s Edition will include the film in 1.37 and 1.75 aspect ratios; a 64-page booklet; a rare aerial photographic print of the Möhne Dam after the raid, signed by the surviving members of the original 617 Squadron; an RAF Chastise Lancaster Bombers poster and a set of five art cards. Pre-orders can be made at amzn.to/2I4z400.

Tickets for the cinema screenings and the Royal Albert Hall gala event are on sale at thedambusters75.co.uk. As well as York, the Cineworld, Everyman, Cottage Road, Showcase, Odeon and Vue cinemas in Leeds will play host to screenings.

Win tickets

Courtesy of Vue York, The Press has two pairs of tickets to be won for the May 17 gala screenng of The Dam Busters.

Question: Who directed The Dam Busters film?

Send your answer, with your name, address and daytime phone number, either on a postcard to Charles Hutchinson, Dam Busters Competition, The Press, 84-86 Walmgate, York, YO1 9YN, or by emailing charles.hutchinson@nqyne.co.uk, marked Dam Busters Competition, by 12 noon on May 15. Usual competition rules apply.