Seuls les vieux vont au combat

A good film about the sacrifices and stories of the Soviet Air Force in WWII. This saga of the struggle on the Eastern Front is truly one that will impress for decades to come. I regret that I had to finish the movie in a hurry, but I had a great time. I don't know if it was because of my affections towards the Soviet people during WWII, but I definitely won't forget them like the Western media. A great struggle like this deserves a great movie as a monument.

a lovely film. few lines and a profound message. a war film but far to be another movie about heroic events and mounts of dead. it is poetry and music. homage and wise example to be more than political instrument. a film about human links, not complicated, about joy and sacrifices. a film of characters because each of them is a seductive sketch. a film about Soviet Union as a large family but without the veil of propaganda. it is strange its freshness. the explanation is simple - the values who defines ordinaries lives. the war is short, the music is eternal and this is the heart of its force and charm and science to present basic truth in perfect light, in the best form. nostalgic and tender. a slice from a great cinema school.

It's a movie about the Great Patriotic War and the life of Soviet war pilots, who died for their motherland. The cast is great. We watch this movie every year and it doesn't become less interesting.

I think it's one of the best not only Soviet but world movies of all time.

Hi !

This is very interesting WWII fighter pilots' film in international standard!

This fighter wing has own music band played by fighter pilots themselves and the "nose art" of the plane of wing leader is "music score".

Director and main actor, Leonid Bukov is one of very impressive actor in Soviet union 1960-70s era movies who usually took rolls of ordinary citizen or soldier in several films. He never took a roll of famous red army general.

Most of air battle scenes were taken from documentary films. This films focus on a life and death, happy time and sad time, of pilots themselves, and their love with lovely female pilots.

Also I feel special Ukrainian feeling in this film.(This film was made by Ukrainian movie studio during Soviet era)

Beside this one, another Soviet Union Fighter pilot film "Baltiskoe Nyebo" (means, Baltic Sky) is also impressive in different way which focus on the various relations between fighter pilots and citizens of Leningrad under German army's Blockade.

for the music. for the nuances of story. for the human map of Soviet Union. for the status of image of essence of friendship, love, sacrifice and courage. for the humor. and for the force to give, after forty decades, a fresh story, an admirable cast. each of that details does it more than entertainment's support. it is almost a testimony about great themes of life in a delicate-precise manner. a film about courage and about choices. few memorable scenes. and splendid music. a film about war. exploring its nuances in inspired manner. because, like many films from Soviet Union, the war is the lead actor. so, the sides of it are subjects who defines the existences, choices, sacrifices, emotions and reflections of the other characters. a film who must see. for the music, for the acting, for the script, for the fragments from old documentaries. but, more important, maybe, for the atmosphere.