Only "Old Men" Are Going Into Battle (1973)

Original title

В бой идут одни старики

Directed by

Leonid Bykov

Genre

war film, musical film, comedy drama

Country

Soviet Union

Runtime

1h 32m

Rated

12+

Rating

7.9 of 10 from 132 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

During World War II, a squadron of Soviet fighter pilots known as the "old men" takes on dangerous missions against German planes. New recruits watch from the ground and eventually become the veterans themselves. The film mixes comedy and drama to show the bonds and losses among the pilots.

nostalgicbittersweethumorousheroicwarmmelancholicbrotherlytensegentle

What happens

Only "Old Men" Are Going Into Battle (Russian: «В бой идут одни "старики"», romanized: V boy idut odni "stariki"; Ukrainian: «У бій йдуть одні "старі"») is an iconic 1973 Soviet war comedy-drama black-and-white film produced in the USSR about World War II fighter pilots, written and directed by Leonid Bykov, who also played the lead role as the squadron commander. Screenplay by Leonid Bykov, Yevgen Onopriyenko and Alexander Satsky. Original music by Viktor Shevchenko, cinematography by Vladimir Voytenko. Runtime 92 min. Production by Dovzhenko Film Studios. The title comes from two scenes in the film, where the squadron is facing very difficult dogfights with German fighter planes, so only experienced "old men" are sent up, while those fresh from flying school have to wait on the ground together with the mechanics. Soon, of course, the newcomers have replaced most of those veterans and have become "old men" themselves, taking to the skies while a new group of newcomers wait on the ground with the mechanics. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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