10 Great World War 1 Films You've Probably Never Seen
2. Aces High (1976)
Five years on from A Clockwork Orange, Malcolm McDowell delivered another career best turn in this intelligent reworking of RC Sheriff’s classic World War I play Journey’s End. Filmmaker Jack Gold transfers the action from the play’s original setting in the trenches to the skies over the ensuing conflict and for what remains a mediation on the horrors of war and the humanity lost as a result.
McDowell stars as Major Gresham, a daredevil fighter pilot overseeing a squadron of young recruits facing the insurmountable odds those involved in aerial conflict faced at the time. Gresham’s situation is soon changed, however, when former acquaintance Lieutenant Croft (Peter Firth) joins his ranks.
Croft attended Eton a few years below Gresham and idolised him as something of a hero. But that image is soon changed when he witnesses, firsthand, the changes brought about in Gresham’s behaviour as a result of his death-defying antics in the sky.
One of the most underrated war films of the 1970s, Aces High is unique for being both an exhilarating all action film as well as a heartfelt and harrowing drama. It also boasts a stellar cast that includes theatrical heavyweights like Christopher Plummer and John Gielgud.