seen when it is brought down intact and its pilot given a toast by his British counterparts. Production stills show Malcolm McDowell (Gresham) posing with a Bristol M.1C but this particular plane does not appear in the finished film. Director Jack Gold later recalled "It was very difficult to obtain those planes. Sometimes we used models or archive footage. Action sequences in the air were very difficult to make and they were also very much tied with story. I had great assistant in Derek Cracknell and great specialist for special effects." Release The film was not shown in US cinemas. HBO premiered it in 1979. Reception Film historian Michael Paris saw Aces High as another of the period films that attempted to "de-mystologise" warfare. Film archivist and historian Stephen Pendo saw the "good aerial photography by Gerry Fisher" as the strength of a film that played more as "standard fare". Legacy The song "Aces High" by Iron Maiden is named after and inspired by the film, although takes place during the Second World War, whereas the film takes place in the First World War. Iron Maiden frequently name songs after war films. The episode of Blackadder Goes Forth titled "Private Plane", during the aerial sequence, reuses scenes from Aces High. References Notes Citations Bibliography Beck, Simon D. The Aircraft Spotter's Film and Television Companion. Jefferson, North Carolina, 2016. . Carlson, Mark. Flying on Film: A Century of Aviation in the Movies, 1912–2012. Duncan, Oklahoma: BearManor Media, 2012. . Orriss, Bruce W. When Hollywood Ruled the Skies: The Aviation Film Classics of World War I. Los Angeles: Aero Associates, 2013. . Paris, Michael. From the Wright Brothers to Top gun: Aviation, Nationalism, and Popular Cinema. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 1995. . Pendo, Stephen. Aviation in the Cinema. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 1985. . External links allmovie/synopsis 1976 films British war films Films about the Royal Air Force World War I aviation films World War I films based on actual events Films directed by Jack Gold Western Front (World War I) films EMI Films films Films shot at EMI-Elstree Studios 1970s English-language films 1970s British films