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Aces High

Name: Aces High
Genre: Action, Drama, War
Released: 1976-05-19
Duration: 114 min
Rating: 5.9

★ 5,9 /10 (86 Votes)

1976 EN 114 min

Overview

The first World War is in its third year and aerial combat above the Western Front is consuming the nation's favored children at an appalling rate. By early 1917, the average life-span of a British pilot is less than a fortnight. Such losses place a fearsome strain on Gresham, commanding officer of the squadron. Aces High recreates the early days of the Royal Flying Corps with some magnificently staged aerial battles, and sensitive direction presents a moving portrayal of the futilities of war.

Stream

Release date

19/05/1976

Votes

Popularity

2.1

High above the trenches 14 days is a long life...This is the 15th day!

Genres

Action Drama War

Status

Released

Language

Runtime

114 min

Budget

$1,250,000

Malcolm McDowell

Maj. John Gresham

Christopher Plummer

Capt. 'Uncle' Sinclair

Simon Ward

Lt. Crawford

Peter Firth

Lt. Stephen Croft

David Wood

Lt. 'Tommy' Thompson

John Gielgud

Headmaster

Trevor Howard

Lieutenant Colonel Silkin

Richard Johnson

Major Lyle

Ray Milland

Brigadier General Whale

Gilles Béhat

Captain Beckenauer

Tim Pigott-Smith

Major Stoppard

David Daker

Bennett

Christopher Blake

Lieutenant Roberts

Barry Jackson

Joyce

Ron Pember

Eliot

Jacques Maury

Ponnelle

Pascale Christophe

Croft's French Girlfriend

No photo

Judy Buxton

French Girl

Penny Irving

French Girl

Tricia Newby

French Girl

No photo

Evelyn Cordeau

French Girl

No photo

Jeanne Patou

French Singer

John Serret

French Colonel

No photo

Gerard Paquis

French Officer

No photo

Jean Driant

Corporal - Dressing Station

No photo

Elliott Cooper

Wade

No photo

Roland Viner

Officer

Steven Pacey

Officer

No photo

Kim Lotis

Officer

No photo

Colin Rix

Sergeant

No photo

James Walsh

Gresham's Batman

Jane Anthony

Katherine

No photo

Paul Rosebury

Replacement

No photo

Paul Henley

Replacement

No photo

David Arnold

Replacement

No photo

James Cormack

School Captain

Original Soundtrack

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***What was it like to be a fighter pilot in WW1?*** An inexperienced young Brit straight from the academy (Peter Firth) arrives on the Western front in northern France to assist in the air war against the Germans during WW1. One week in the lives of the pilots of a Royal Flying Corps squadron is chronicled as they struggle with the stresses & risks intrinsic to their profession. Malcolm McDowell plays the Major, Christopher Plummer the Captain and Simon Ward an anxiety-stricken colleague. "Aces High" (1976) came out a decade after the exceptional “The Blue Max” (1966) with the forme…

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Perhaps because many of the cast here all look so very young, this film has an extra potency as a depiction of some of the inexperienced fliers who fought in the Great War. It all centres around the young "Crawford" (Simon Ward) who joins a squadron commanded by "Gresham" (Malcolm McDowell) and his adjutant "Sinclair" (Christopher Plummer). Green in the extreme, he finds himself fighting for his life every time he is airborne, and he must also balance the increasingly delicate needs of his commander who must deal, on a daily basis, with the mounting death toll amongst his Royal Flying Corps ai…

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