Aces High (film)
| Aces High | |
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Original British film poster
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| Directed by | Jack Gold |
| Produced by | Benjamin Fisz Jacques Roitfeld |
| Screenplay by | Howard Barker |
| Based on |
Journey's End by R. C. Sherriff |
| Starring |
Malcolm McDowell Christopher Plummer Simon Ward Peter Firth |
| Music by |
Richard Hartley Carlo Rustichelli |
| Cinematography | Gerry Fisher |
| Edited by | Anne V. Coates |
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Production
company |
S. Benjamin Fisz Productions
Les Productions Jacques Roitfeld |
| Distributed by | EMI Films (UK) |
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Release date
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Running time
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114 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom France |
| Language | English |
| Budget | ₤1,250,000 |
Aces High is a 1976 Anglo-French war film directed by Jack Gold and starring Malcolm McDowell, Peter Firth, Christopher Plummer and Simon Ward. The screenplay was written by Howard Barker. As acknowledged in the opening credits, the film is based on the 1930s play Journey's End by R. C. Sherriff with additional material from the memoir Sagittarius Rising by Cecil Lewis. The film moves the action from the trenches to the Royal Flying Corps (RFC). However, many characters are very recognisable (the idealistic officer whose sister is the girlfriend of a more senior officer who drinks too much, the neuralgia suffering officer accused of funking). It tells the story of a Royal Flying Corps squadron in the First World War during one week of battle, where the high death rate of pilots puts an enormous strain on those remaining.
In a one-week timeframe, life at the front in a RFC squadron is documented. The real story begins a year before with fighter ace Major John Gresham (Malcolm McDowell) speaking to a class of pupils at Eton College in October 1916. One year later, a new recruit arrives at Gresham's base in France, 2nd Lt. Croft (Peter Firth). Gresham had been his house captain at Eton and is also the boyfriend of his older sister. Gresham already relies on alcohol to cope with combat stress and continue flying. Now the strain of being responsible for this young recruit (a potential brother-in-law) is an additional burden. Croft has to learn how to survive not only in the air but on the ground as well as he makes some minor mistakes in squadron etiquette.
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