Soviet WW2 movies

I hope some of you may find these interesting. I found myself wondering recently whether there were any Soviet era films about WW2 to be had on YouTube, and it turns out there are. Like many here, before CoH2 came out I knew only a little about the Eastern Front; I knew of the significance of Stalingrad and Kursk and stuff, but little more. So I started watching Russian-language documentaries, also on YouTube, and found them quite illuminating. More recently I started wondering not just about how Russians remembered the war, but also about how they represented it, to themselves, when they were still the USSR; the period in which the political aspects of the war were still topical and relevant; that is, these films (bar one I think) were probably made by and for people who had been through or were in KOMSOMOL. Also, the representation of the sexual politics of the period is quite interesting, and all of them feature women on the front line in one aspect or another.

I had known, of course, that Soviet cinema had always been quite sophisticated, ever since Battleship Potemkin. Nevertheless, I was quite impressed by some of the technical aspects of these movies, some of which are quite stylised in parts. Also, some of them are done on a rather larger scale than most Western productions, as they probably did use the actual Red Army as extras, and still had a fair bit of original kit lying around.

These films are all, of course, in Russian with English subtitles. Also, I know there are people on this board who live in or come from Eastern Europe and Russia, and if any of them would like to offer suggestions for other movies to add to this list, I hope they will suggest them.

And so:

Star
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcGC2JDh-pc

This is easily the most accessible movie, being more action-y than others, and probably technically post-Soviet, judging by the image quality. Essentially a story about a Reconnaissance unit behind enemy lines. (The subtitles give this as "The Star", but seeing as Russian seems to use definite articles in almost exactly the opposite way that English does, I've dropped it.)

Only Old Men Are Going To Battle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7gdKC76Lwg

This is almost a companion piece to the English move Battle of Britain, and is in some ways structurally similar, so much so that seeing as BoB came out in 1969, and this in 1973, it may well be a conscious "imitation". Obviously, it's about fighter pilots and the air war.

Hot Snow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3Qa6IYqZ9A

This is about a battle fought as a delaying action as the Germans advanced toward Stalingrad, comparable to the likes of A Bridge Too Far or The Bridge at Remagen.

They Fought For Their Land
part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obBpLyIgbww
part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWwVex6Y-tg

About 3 hours in all; another story of the Red Army in retreat. Has some impressively large scale battle scenes, so somewhat similar to something like The Longest Day.

The Dawns Are Quiet Here
part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfftHKf164E
part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5mf6tTBNq8

Story about an all-female AA unit close to the front. This was the one I found most technically and narratively interesting; it's mostly in black and white, but some parts are not, and highly stylised, to sort of distinguish between "now" and "then". Quite fascinating, I thought. Also about 3 hours in all.

Liberation
This is really a trilogy, in order:
The Bulge of Fire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcekvQeHS6o
The Breakthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgTLjkxwZuY
(The) Battle for Berlin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y1qjl3X0M4

This is the most "historical" and least "narrative" of the lot. Notable again for stylised use of B&W and colour, for big set pieces with lots of hardware including IS2's and ISU's, and for startlingly good representations of the major leaders: Hitler, Stalin, Churchill, Roosevelt, and Mussolini.

Crew Of A Combat Machine
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyVo_KI53_4

Story about a tank duel between a T-34/85 and a Tiger ace. Subtitles are a bit dodgy; frex "ace" is sometimes given as "ACC", and sometimes in other ways, needs a little bit of interpreting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyVo_KI53_4

I'm still trawling through what can be found on YouTube, so may add more to this list, and again, any suggestions are welcome. I hope some of you will find these interesting, anyway, I certainly did.

Liberation
This is really a trilogy, in order:
The Bulge of Fire: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcekvQeHS6o
The Breakthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgTLjkxwZuY
(The) Battle for Berlin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y1qjl3X0M4

This is the most "historical" and least "narrative" of the lot. Notable again for stylised use of B&W and colour, for big set pieces with lots of hardware including IS2's and ISU's, and for startlingly good representations of the major leaders: Hitler, Stalin, Churchill, Roosevelt, and Mussolini.

There are 2 more movies in this series. Third should be "Direction of the Main Strike" and last is "The Final Assault"

Bulge of Fire is about the battles for the Kursk salient. Breakthrough is about the Lower Dnepr offensive, Direction of the main strike is about Operation Bagration, battle for Berlin is from the Oder-offensive and early on in the Battle for the city, and Final Assault is how the war ends and the final days of the War.

Just follow squippys links and you should be able to find them all at Mosfilms youtube channel with subtitles in several languages.

The Освобождение, or Liberation, film series is the Soviet Epic about of the War. Its a good 10 hours of soviet movie in all Brezhnev era style.

Funny enough Mikhail Ulyanov who plays Zhukov in the series was the official impersonator for the Marshall, because they look so similar. Even Zhukovs statue in Moscow is not modelled after Zhukov but after Mikhail Ulyanov.

Ah, thanks for that.

Anyone did see this?

17 Moments of Spring



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIzOma9Pyv8

Seventeen Moments of Spring is a 1973 Soviet twelve-part television series, directed by Tatyana Lioznova and based on the novel of the same title by Yulian Semyonov.

The series portrays the exploits of Maxim Isaev, a Soviet spy operating in Nazi Germany under the name Max Otto von Stierlitz, depicted by Vyacheslav Tikhonov. Stierlitz is tasked with disrupting the negotiations between Karl Wolff and Allen Dulles taking place in Switzerland, aimed at forging a separate peace between Germany and the Western Allies.

The series is considered the most successful Soviet espionage thriller ever made, and is one of the most popular television series in Russian history.

Anyone did see this?

17 Moments of Spring



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIzOma9Pyv8

Seventeen Moments of Spring is a 1973 Soviet twelve-part television series, directed by Tatyana Lioznova and based on the novel of the same title by Yulian Semyonov.

The series portrays the exploits of Maxim Isaev, a Soviet spy operating in Nazi Germany under the name Max Otto von Stierlitz, depicted by Vyacheslav Tikhonov. Stierlitz is tasked with disrupting the negotiations between Karl Wolff and Allen Dulles taking place in Switzerland, aimed at forging a separate peace between Germany and the Western Allies.

The series is considered the most successful Soviet espionage thriller ever made, and is one of the most popular television series in Russian history.

Maxim Isaev wakes up in a prison cell after a night of heavy drinking. When he hears the guards outside he thinks to himself:
"If he has a black uniform I am Otto and have to speak German, if the uniform is green our army have captured me and I have to reveal myself as Iseav."

The Guard opens the door and he is wearing a blue unifrom, he says: Good morning Comrade Tikhonov, you must take it easy with the vodka".



Just a joke I heard some years back

Blue uniform is NKVD's right? Althought I don't quite understand true meaning of the joke (my bad), but it seems funny .

About Yulian Semyonov i even read his second novel about Maxim Isaev "The order to live" (which 17 Moments of Spring was the first), a brilliant book. The feeling you get when Soviet artillery rained down Berlin and ODESSA began their escaping operation - it's the end but also the beginning - was just so great!

Blue uniform is NKVD's right? Althought I don't quite understand true meaning of the joke (my bad), but it seems funny .

About Yulian Semyonov i even read his second novel about Maxim Isaev "The order to live" (which 17 Moments of Spring was the first), a brilliant book. The feeling you get when Soviet artillery rained down Berlin and ODESSA began their escaping operation - it's the end but also the beginning - was just so great!

Yeah the Soviet (and now russian) police (militsya) wore blue uniforms.
Joke is, he thinks the is either Isaev or von Stierlitz but in reality the actor just got black out drunk.

One of the things that got me interested in russia in the first place was its literature. Man as an equally depressed swede the realism that the russian language can put on paper is amazing.

"The Brest Fortress" (or "Fortress of War")



Easily one of the best WW2 films I have ever seen, period, let alone the best Russian WW2 film. Very intense and graphic combat scenes which accurately portray the violent brutality the Nazis inflicted on the unprepared military and civilians of the Soviet Union during the first weeks of the outbreak of war.

Yeah the Soviet (and now russian) police (militsya) wore blue uniforms.
Joke is, he thinks the is either Isaev or von Stierlitz but in reality the actor just got black out drunk.

One of the things that got me interested in russia in the first place was its literature. Man as an equally depressed swede the realism that the russian language can put on paper is amazing.

Thanks for the explanation , and yes i agree with you about Russian literature, (IMO) a bit old fashion now but still amazing.

not from Soviet era, but...


Stalingrad (2013)

I honestly can't believe nobody has mentioned Летят Журавли, or The Cranes Are Flying, yet. It's a classic. It's definitely not a "war" movie as there is very little battle; it is so much is more about the effect the war had on the Soviet Union as a whole. I highly recommend you check it out so long as you don't go into it expecting an epic action movie.

This one is good - series Штрафбат (2004) (Penal Battalion)

"The Brest Fortress" (or "Fortress of War")



Easily one of the best WW2 films I have ever seen, period, let alone the best Russian WW2 film. Very intense and graphic combat scenes which accurately portray the violent brutality the Nazis inflicted on the unprepared military and civilians of the Soviet Union during the first weeks of the outbreak of war.

2 years earlier Guderian and NKVD celebrate anexation of Poland in the recently captured Brest:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German–Soviet_military_parade_in_Brest-Litovsk

Yes Brest-Litovsk changed hands multiple times most recently before the war with the Soviet invasion in 1939. Does it affect the movie?
I thought the Soviet annexation as designed in the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact was common knowledge both in the east and west?

Yes Brest-Litovsk changed hands multiple times most recently before the war with the Soviet invasion in 1939. Does it affect the movie?
I thought the Soviet annexation as designed in the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact was common knowledge both in the east and west?

"accurately portray the violent brutality the Nazis inflicted on the ... civilians of the Soviet Union during the first weeks of the outbreak of war."

Those "Civilians of the Soviet Union" - Polish civilians before 1939 - Poles, Belarusians and Ukrainians rather sufered more during 2 years from the Soviet NKVD and deportations to Siberia then from the Germans during first weeks of the attack.

"accurately portray the violent brutality the Nazis inflicted on the ... civilians of the Soviet Union during the first weeks of the outbreak of war."

Those "Civilians of the Soviet Union" - Polish civilians before 1939 - Poles, Belarusians and Ukrainians rather sufered more during 2 years from the Soviet NKVD and deportations to Siberia then from the Germans during first weeks of the attack.

But Soviet Civilans during the time of the movie.
The movie doesn't portray the atrocities committed during 1939-41, nor the ones from late 41-44, n the subsequent repression following the war, nor does it portray the repressions during the period 1921-39(especially 1921-1930), or for that matter the suffering of the civilian population during the war of 1920-21, Revolution, WW1 or for previous repressions by tsars, emperors and genarals before that.

The movie depicts a timeperiod of the first week(s) of the Soviet-German war 1941-1945 and a very famous defence of a fortress.
And what sneakking was simply pointing out is that his opinion is that the movie gives an accurate description of the brutality of the Germans against their enemies and the civilian population already at the first days of the war.

When Operation Barbarossa was started my grandfather lived near the Bug river, III Reich - Soviet Union border then, on German side. (Yes he saw the artillery barrage during attack). Because of this before the invasion German soldiers were accommodated and lived in his house. They were civilized people my grandfather had good memories of them, he told some of them were already old (maybe even WWI veterans, I don't remember) and when they recived info they go to war and attack Soviet Union some of them cried. They left their adresses so after the war maybe they could meet with my grandgrandfather, but this never happened.

And no he was not a German fan-boy in fact his father - my grandgrandfather was a leader of the local resistant forces and my grandfather as a boy was delivering him weapons to the forest during the war.

When Soviets came they robbed all they could. My grandgrandfather went to the Soviet Officer as a representative of the locals and the officer ordered to align to his soldiers. My grandgrandfather recognized the robbers but asked what will happen to them, the offiecer said they will be executed by the platoon. They were just boys maybe 18 years old or even younger so my Grandgrandfather looked at front of them (they where really scared) and told the officer he don't recognized anyone, because he don't wanted them on his conscience beacuse of some gold and money.

My grandfather also told me when soviets came soldiers made huge campfires were they were heating up and cookig potatos. They were also verry ingenuit, some soldier came to the marketplace to buy cream, but he didn't had any dish so he told to the seller to put the cream to the bread whose center he already ate up. But he didn't had enouth money as it turned out, so he returned the cream back, and left happy with crust of bread soaked in cream.

A good read man. Maybe you could do a "story of my grandfather thread here in the library? fichtenmoped, doomturtle and ami have done it.

I suspect you maybe have something more to share with us if you are willing.

Look at the other guys tthreads if you need inspiration, but your above post is good enough to deserve its own thread

I agree Swede. In the end every side of the war committed countless acts of evil. That being said Stories of good (like your grandfathers) are needed to remind people evil wasn't the only thing that was enacted by those whom lived during that time. I look forward to maybe hearing more mate

Guys, I suggest you move this discussion over to the library. It's conceived for civilised discussions about the war (such as the one above)

Let's keep this thread on topic and focus on Soviet WW2 movies