Only "Old Men" Are Going Into Battle
| Only "Old Men" Are Going Into Battle | |
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| Directed by | Leonid Bykov |
| Screenplay by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring | Leonid Bykov |
| Cinematography | Vladimir Voytenko |
| Edited by | M. Zorovoy |
| Music by | Viktor Shevchenko |
Production company | |
Release date |
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Running time | 92 min |
| Country | Soviet Union (Ukrainian SSR) |
| Languages | Russian, Ukrainian |
Only "Old Men" Are Going Into Battle (Russian: «В бой идут одни "старики"», romanized: V boy idut odni "stariki"; Ukrainian: «У бій йдуть одні "старі"») is an iconic 1973 Soviet war comedy-drama black-and-white film produced in the USSR about World War II fighter pilots, written and directed by Leonid Bykov, who also played the lead role as the squadron commander.
Screenplay by Leonid Bykov, Yevgen Onopriyenko and Alexander Satsky. Original music by Viktor Shevchenko, cinematography by Vladimir Voytenko. Runtime 92 min. Production by Dovzhenko Film Studios.
The title comes from two scenes in the film, where the squadron is facing very difficult dogfights with German fighter planes, so only experienced "old men" 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.