Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageAces High (1976)
Director: Jack Gold
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Transposition of RC Sherriff's play Journey's End from the trenches into the air. Off the ground the film is entertainingly cinematic (photography by Peter Allwork from Roger Corman's The Red Baron): the aerial battles, combining comic strip close-ups with long shots, produce a cumulative intensity that achieves the right degree of awe and horror. But on the ground the script fails to provide much more than a routine account of a young flier's brief active service. The film offers some perspective on the officer/public school product, and deals well with negatives - suppressed emotions, solitariness - but falls apart over such 'positive' clichés as the rural interlude, the brothel visit, and subsequent sexual initiation. Disappointing when you consider writer Howard Barker's stage work and Gold's TV achievements.Author: CPe
Cast & crew
Director: Jack Gold
Producer: S Benjamin Fisz
Cast: Malcolm McDowell, Christopher Plummer, Simon Ward, Peter Firth, John Gielgud, Trevor Howard, Ray Milland full cast
Duration: 114 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Hippies who work for The Man
To celebrate George Clooney comedy 'The Men who Stare at Goats', we look back at six memorable onscreen hippies who fought the system from within
Roland Emmerich's guide to disaster movies
Ahead of the release of '2012', Roland Emmerich offers his ten tips on creating the perfect global catastrophe
Grant Heslov: interview
Grant Heslov, director of 'The Men who Stare at Goats' talks about his old pal George Clooney, his interest in the paranormal, and his fond memories of working on 'Happy Days'
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Ten inspirations behind 'Avatar'?
Time Out ponders the influences behind James Cameron's anticipated space-opera on the basis of the trailer
Michael Jackson's This Is It: review
Kenny Ortega's posthumous concert film is a rousing eulogy for one of pop's great enigmas
Michael Haneke: The man behind the menace
From Cannes to Munich to London, Dave Calhoun tours Michael Haneke's Palme d'Or winner, 'The White Ribbon'
Lone Scherfig talks 'An Education'
Danish director Lone Scherfig was an unlikely choice for a very English affair like 'An Education'. Cath Clarke meets her
How Jane Campion brought John Keats back to life
Time Out gets Romantic with the ‘difficult’ New Zealander about her new film, 'Bright Star'
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now