Only Old Men Are Going to Battle
Encyclopedia
Only Old Men Are Going to Battle is a 1973 Soviet film about World War II
fighter pilot
s, written and directed by Leonid Bykov, who also played the lead role as the squadron commander. The story is based on the memoirs of Russian fighter ace Vitaly Popkov
.
The title comes from two scenes in the film, where the squadron is facing very hard dogfight
s with German fighter planes, so only "old men" (i.e. veterans) 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...
The film won the first prize in the 7th All-Union Film Festival
in Baku
in 1974.
Screenplay by Leonid Bykov, Yevgeni Onopriyenko and Aleksandr Satsky.
Original music by Viktor Shevchenko, cinematography by Vladimir Vojtenko. Runtime 92 min. Production by Dovzhenko Film Studios.
In 2009 a colorized
version was released for TV and DVD, which resulted in a legal battle in Ukrainian courts between the copyright owners, Leonid Bykov's daughter and Ukrainian Dovzhenko Film Studios, and the company behind the colorization, as the copyright owners claim that the colorization has been done against the wishes of Bykov, who intentionally chose to do the film in black and white, in order to match newly shot scenes with the newsreel material in the film. In May 2011, the District Court of Kiev ruled that the colorization was a breach of copyright and that the colorized version can't be showed or rented in Ukraine.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
fighter pilot
Fighter pilot
A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained in air-to-air combat while piloting a fighter aircraft . Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and dogfighting...
s, written and directed by Leonid Bykov, who also played the lead role as the squadron commander. The story is based on the memoirs of Russian fighter ace Vitaly Popkov
Vitaly Popkov
Vitaly Ivanovich Popkov was a Soviet fighter pilot in the Second World War, an ace credited with 41 victories and a two-time Hero of the Soviet Union....
.
The title comes from two scenes in the film, where the squadron is facing very hard dogfight
Dogfight
A dogfight, or dog fight, is a form of aerial combat between fighter aircraft; in particular, combat of maneuver at short range, where each side is aware of the other's presence. Dogfighting first appeared during World War I, shortly after the invention of the airplane...
s with German fighter planes, so only "old men" (i.e. veterans) 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...
The film won the first prize in the 7th All-Union Film Festival
All-Union Film Festival
The All-Union Film Festival was one of the most important film festivals of the Soviet Union. It was founded in 1958 and held regularly from 1964-1988. It was held annually from 1972 onwards, and bi-annually before that...
in Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
in 1974.
Screenplay by Leonid Bykov, Yevgeni Onopriyenko and Aleksandr Satsky.
Original music by Viktor Shevchenko, cinematography by Vladimir Vojtenko. Runtime 92 min. Production by Dovzhenko Film Studios.
In 2009 a colorized
Film colorization
Film colorization is any process that adds color to black-and-white, sepia or monochrome moving-picture images. It may be done as a special effect, or to modernize black-and-white films, or to restore color films...
version was released for TV and DVD, which resulted in a legal battle in Ukrainian courts between the copyright owners, Leonid Bykov's daughter and Ukrainian Dovzhenko Film Studios, and the company behind the colorization, as the copyright owners claim that the colorization has been done against the wishes of Bykov, who intentionally chose to do the film in black and white, in order to match newly shot scenes with the newsreel material in the film. In May 2011, the District Court of Kiev ruled that the colorization was a breach of copyright and that the colorized version can't be showed or rented in Ukraine.
Cast
- Leonid Bykov - "Maestro" Titarenko, commander of the 2nd "Singing" squadron
- Sergey Podhornyi - "Darkie", fighter pilot
- Sergei IvanovSergei Ivanov (disambiguation)Sergei Ivanov , First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia.Sergey Ivanov may also refer to:*Sergey Ivanov , American footballer...
- "Grasshopper", fighter pilot - Rustam Sagdullayev - "Romeo", fighter pilot
- Yevgeniya SimonovaYevgeniya SimonovaYevgeniya Pavlovna Simonova is a Soviet and Russian cinema and theatre actress and a holder of the title People's Artiste of Russia...
- Masha, female bomber navigator - Olga Mateshko - Zoya, female bomber pilot
- Vladimir Talashko - Skvortzov, fighter pilot
- Aleksei Smirnov - Makarych, Maestro's mechanic
- Viktor MiroshnichenkoViktor MiroshnichenkoViktor Miroshnichenko is a retired boxer, who represented the USSR at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union. There he won the silver medal in the flyweight division , after being defeated in the final by Bulgaria's Petar Lesov. Two years later he captured the silver medal at the World...
- "Pop", the regiment commander - Alim Fedorinsky - Alyabyev, fighter pilot
- Vano Yantbelidze - Vano, fighter pilot
- Aleksandr Nemchenko - Ivan Fedorovich
- Vilori Pashchenko - Vorobyev, fighter pilot
- Georgiy Gladiy - Grasshopper's mechanic
- Vladimir Volkov - political officer
- Dmitri Mirgorodskiy - infantry captain
- Yuri Sarantsev - air division commander
- Valentin Grudinin - chief of air army intelligence
- Alexandr Milutin - fighter pilot
External links
- Page about the film on the Leonid Bykov website (in Russian)