They Fought for Their Country

They Fought for Their Country

Moviecut—They Fought for Their Country

Given that director Sergey Bondarchuk's curriculum includes such works as War and Peace (1965-1967) and Waterloo (1970), I thought this movie would be worth a view. I was somewhat disappointed. The problem is not Bondarchuk's direction but the script, written by him and Mikhail Sholokhov on the basis of one of the latter's works, They Fought for Their Country.(1942). Sholokhov is an enigmatic writer. His fame stems mostly from the novel Quiet Flows the Don (4 vol, 1928 to 1940), which was widely read, praised, and the main reason for him to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1965. Quiet Flows the Don stands so far above the rest of Sholokhov's output that questions (never resolved) have been raised about his authorship. In particular, They Fought for Their Country and this movie script belong to the rest and are not particularly compelling. The subject is the first disastrous months of the German invasion in 1941 and the bravery and resilience of Soviet soldiers, which eventually turned the initial catastrophe into a juggernaut that utterly destroyed Nazism. Good intentions surely, but realization leaves something to desired. We are mostly witnesses to interminable conversations among the soldiers and scenes that are extended beyond reason, which produces a slow and overlong movie. Humor is strained, war scenes are not entirely credible and acting, although generally good falls here and there in over/the/top territory. There are other movies (such as Elem Klimov's Come and See, 1985) that do a better job of depicting the grim nature of WWII in the Soviet Union.

An excellent WW2 movie set on the Eastern Front near the Don River. Very authentic with lots of action. Kind of an epic scale of bravery at a period in the war when Germany seemed unbeatable. Stalingrad is raging at this time. This battalion is a rear guard as the others retreat across the Don River. The english subtitles are kind of poor. A man speaks and nothing or the dialogue is there but early or late for the scene. Its still a fine movie.

Not about the global war, the real war occurs inside each person. Sergey Bondarchuk show us a simple way of connecting with all cast. The usual hero war actor is replacing with a real soldier who have fears, willings, and hope. Your feels are honest and always survive the love for your motherland.

I don't understand why I had never heard of this film before. It was by accident that I found it, so I gave it a whirl. And Wow! I think you could write a novelette on what makes this a great film. There's just too much to say in a review, so I'll be general. This war film is about Russians fighting against Germans in World War II. In ways, it is much like old American World War II films, with the spotlight on a small group of soldiers in one unit. The director does so much that is superior that I can't even begin to start on his achievement here. The film shows us the reality of war, including the "down time" in between conflicts, when soldiers peruse the low points. Yet we are never bored, even when the action is supplanted by drama. The reason is that the script is so well written, and I must also congratulate whomever translated this into English for me, because its dialog would make any American film writer jealous. One of the clever things our writer-director team does is keep the reality in the beginning by not letting us know who will survive, and who may be a central character. Two characters dominate the story, a lady's man and a cook. However, the other characters are also spectacular. What really makes this film work is the humor, a dark humor, but a realistic one, and one that will make you laugh and cry and the same time. When one old veteran tells the story of his trench disease, you'll laugh along with the other soldiers. It's one of those stories that is Hell when you live it, but hilarious when you tell it after the war. For me, the magical part is something that I can't say without a spoiler. The camera work is amazing. The drama is amazing. The theatrics is amazing. Okay, it's all amazing.

There are no words. Eternal memory to the heroes! Low bow for the fact that we live. And a bow to the Actors and the Director. What kind of speech, what thoughts are expressed by the actors, EVERYTHING is wonderful in this film. I remember watching this movie as a child and always laughing at the phrase "I forgot how my wife smells like armpits ...", but now I cry every time I watch this movie!

Bondarchuk's big world war 2 film has some excellent scenery (as usual) and is mesmerizingly polished from a pyrotechnic standpoint. The two big battle scenes have lots of cool explosions and mock-up Panzer IV's, but lack focus, drama, and realism. The German soldiers don't seem like they're terribly motivated or even trying that hard. The first battle scene is particularly disappointing in this way - with the German tanks blowing up easily after only one AT rifle shot and the Germans too quick to retreat time and time again. Meanwhile the good Russian freedom fighters take no casualties. Halfway through, the film has a huge battle scene featuring the complete annihilation of a town including a really cool plane crash and explosion. For the next 10 minutes or so the film does no wrong - Bondarchuk himself has a great role as a shell-shocked soldier who bayonet-charges some Germans while artillery goes off everywhere around him. Really cool! The problem is, after that point it's all downhill from there and there's a whole 'nother hour left! This last hour really drags on without much action - just a bunch of boring chit chat. Also, one of the cameras used in the wide battle shots has the dirtiest lens I have ever seen used in a big-budget film. It's totally distracting and ruins what would have been a couple classic battle scenes. What happened?

A major war movie, with an intimate sight on a Soviet regiment that is fighting back invading Nazi troops while retreating. Another interesting issue that is portrayed here are their relations with local peasant people, whose feelings towards retreat are well explored by the script too. Anyway, the greatest merit of this film are the war scenes, very well done, quite realistic.