Its an anti war film. That's it. No great epic, no great direction, no good production values and certainly not even original.
I mean how many war films over the past 30/40 years do you know that are set in WWI that are not weighed down with a none too subtle anti war message? This is nothing different and nothing that hasn't been seen before, even in the mid 70s. Positive side. Both Christopher Plummer as the "best of a bad job" and Malcolm McDowell "I can not handle this, pass the whisky" are excellent and the planes do look the part. Class system shown (as it was/is in the British forces) but not stuffed in your face so it dominates the film.
The aerial battles are good but not exactly "Battle of Britain" standard and the whole film seems to have been shot in a filed round the back of the studios and the ending is hardly a shock. Still all in all it an alright if not good film to watch on a Sunday afternoon.
I mean how many war films over the past 30/40 years do you know that are set in WWI that are not weighed down with a none too subtle anti war message? This is nothing different and nothing that hasn't been seen before, even in the mid 70s. Positive side. Both Christopher Plummer as the "best of a bad job" and Malcolm McDowell "I can not handle this, pass the whisky" are excellent and the planes do look the part. Class system shown (as it was/is in the British forces) but not stuffed in your face so it dominates the film.
The aerial battles are good but not exactly "Battle of Britain" standard and the whole film seems to have been shot in a filed round the back of the studios and the ending is hardly a shock. Still all in all it an alright if not good film to watch on a Sunday afternoon.