Get ready to storm the fortress, lads!
Posted on 04/10/2011 1:39:15 PM PDT by kronos77
"- This fortress, fortress here, we keep the defense, - This fortress, fortress here, we keep the defense..."
This film is perhaps the best, but certainly one of the best war films made in the past 20 years in Europe. Talking about the legend of the Second World War, the epic Brest fortress that was first attacked by the Nazi hordes, the first day of the war with the USSR 22nd June 1941.
The story tells of a young boy who is a trumpeter in the orchestra in Brest fortress and all the time movie battle through hell trying to find a girlfriend who is lost in the war. During his quest he survives the horrors of the battle in which he actively participate.
The film is full of scenes of war, desperate efforts of the Russian soldiers who defended the fort, during the most certainly futile struggle. While it is a fortress under siege, the German army has penetrated far beyond the fortress that is doomed to fail, but even when they find out, Russian soldiers decided to fight to the end. Excellent film directed complemented by the strong acting and perfect music. Scenes of war are almost epic, presented with the harsh reality.
Brest Fortress is something similar like the American fort Alamo, just became much larger and more powerful symbol of the perseverance of Russian troops, tragedies, and ultimate victory.
The film certainly has to be seen, and the quality of acting, directing and scenes of war, beyond almost all the western movies so far recorded.
The film shows the people and the destiny woven through this historical epic about the Brest fortress. Avoided, and quite nice, skilled and successful, politics and ideology, and instead of great political speeches film shows pure heroism, struggle, and an iron will, not only from the military fortress of the crew, but also the entire Soviet people to defend the country from the fascist hordes .
Ordinary people, cooks, musicians, soldiers, doctors, civilians become suddenly, on that fateful morning of the 22nd June 1941, heroes, they want it or not, they like it or not. The film shows the harsh reality. Absolute lack of preparation and complete negligence of the Soviet army before the dawn of war, a total neglect of the defense of the nation from German aggression. Shows the persistent struggle of the army commander, Major Gavrilov and warning of impending war.
And Germans come as a shock bolt from the blue. The collapse of the Soviet military is obvious. Mass deaths, the collapse front, panic and chaos. From such chaos and terror, the rise of the heroic figures of defense fortress. Major Gavrilov, political commissar of Fomin and many others that his example of heroism, defiance and leadership endured ten times stronger against the German enemy, to the last drop of blood, the last bullet, the last drop of water ...
Long after the movie, in your ears will ring a continuous repetition of words spoken бѕ radio operator from the fortress:
"- This fortress, fortress here, we keep the defense, - This fortress, fortress here, we keep the defense..."
I’d like to buy an “A”.
press “CC” on control bar on the bottom of the video for English subtitles!)
I love finding movies like this on Youtube. I watched one last weekend about El Alamein from the Italian perspective.
I saw a Korean one once, based on a true story, about a ROK ‘Dirty Dozen’ type squad that was trained to go north and kill Kim Il Sung, but their mission got scrubbed. They rebelled and almost made it to the ROK equivalent of the White House before getting surrounded and annihilated.
The Russians have made some epic war movies, no sappy love interest crap like “Pearl Harbor.”
Get ready to storm the fortress, lads!
That movie sucked.
The only good war movie that's come out in the past few years was "Black Hawk Down," IMO.
The bust is looking down, as though contemplating something about chest-high ...
Perhaps he is looking at a woman's bust, or perhaps his own ...
I’ve seen ‘Come and See’. That was nightmarish.
As much as realistic. that was real ear- not like “band of brothers” thing. Germans were real bastards.
I did a quick review of this one. Not knowing Russian and not at all interested in trying to read subtitles too small for this 9 inch screen (on a netbook subbing for my gigantic IMAC whichis out for repairs)~ I had to limit my understanding to history (which can be read elsewhere) and my knowledge of the Great Russian ethnic group.
They have made an art of perseverence. This is one story of that trait. Followed closely a viewer should be able to come to grips with what that means. Almost like reading all of the serious Russian language literature for the last 100 years ~ you get it all here in one little piece of a gigantic war.
Not that these guys had much choice, but you see philosophical and spiritual ancestors of the young men you saw flying helicopter loads of concrete over the open reactor core of Chernobyl.
Of course the story has been romanticized and turned into a legend. I am certain the real situation was far worse, more hopeless, and certainly extended way beyond normal standards of brutality ~ but that's always hard to portray.
Hooters last stand?
“What’s the difference between a fort and a fortress?”
The latter has breastworks.
Did a quick preview. Liked it. I’ll watch it sometime this weekend.
Thanks.
Bookmarked
Bookmarked
No subtitles......
Notes in cyrillic
When I look at that I hear Wagner.
hit CC and it hs English subs
Real ear is a rare thing...
Hitting CC only results in a red exclamation mark - still no subtitles.
Liberation (1971) - Focuses mainly on the Battle of Kursk is another great war movie.
An initial glance makes it seem like this one is worth watching, although the part I grazed through, with a Soviet attack, did make it seem like it suffers from “Nazi Banzai Syndrome”.
For the most part, the Germans in these movies, and in SPR as well, get the horde treatment, when part of the reality of what made them so dangerous is how good they were at the infantry tactics game.
Ear is Hell.
What is this?
I am amazed to see this piece of BOLSHEVIK RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA in FR.
The boldness and endurance of Russian People? What a joke!
If it was not by the help you Americans gave to those communists, they would be history by now, and I do believe the world would be much better.
You Americans helped the commies in Russia, just as you are helping the Chicoms, and that will hunt you back, for this people are the REAL ENEMY.
Give a look at Enemy at the gates - And learn Americans, how the Politk Commissars and Nikita Krushev dealt with the brave bolshevik soldiers...
Some things must be said, Russians and Chinese are SCUM BAGS!
Wana see some REAL BRAVERY, RESISTANCE AND ENDURANCE?
Go see DEFIANCE to see real heroes, Belorussia's Jews fighting for their lives...
“Sir, my face is up here...”
DEFIANCE is great war movie! I liked it so much.
But, “Brest Fortress” is the best.
There would be NO life under Hitler.
Much people do not know, but Slavs were also marked for extermination as Jews.
Without question, the average Soviet soldier was fighting for Mother Russia.
BTW.
Russians saved Europe in WWII.
Aorry to say, but their war against Hitler WAS that WWII.
Not Anzio or Normandy.
Just to say- Battle of the Bulge was weekly event on the Eastern front.....
I got it
Russians also started the war when they signed the Non-Aggression pact with Hitler, never forget that.
He didn't know Russian either, but their stuff wasn't available at the time anyway.
He mentioned that the Germans did nothing noble on the Eastern front then he detailed it. One item was that the Germans knocked down 60% of all standing structures in Russia.
In a state (Indiana) with a 43.8% average German origin background, these were among the things no one wanted to know about.
Again, Russia was too big for any European to imagine. The Russians escaped to the Urals and fought the war from there ~ and from Louisville, Indianapolis, Gary, Hammond, East Chicago, Detroit, Fort Wayne, .......
WWII was a really serious war.
The Non-Aggression Pact was signed because both thought they’d get the better end of the deal, it didn’t work out like Hitler and Stalin thought it would.
Hitler expected the Non-Aggression Pact would make Britain and France back off on their threats to go to war if Germany invaded Poland.
Stalin, expected the war to be in the West, and to be long and disastrous for Britain, France and Germany, which would allow the Soviet Union to come from the East and take all of Europe with the other armies depleted. Stalin didn’t count on France falling so soon, and ultimately the US getting involved in the war.
There are parts of it on islands.
This thing is quite large.
Check out a South Korean film called: Tae Guk Gi: (The Brotherhood of War)- one of the best war movies ever. It is up there with Saving Private Ryan and the like.
Also check out The 9th Company, its a Russian film about Afghanistan..pretty good flick.
A war of survival for many involved.
Fittingly, the climactic scene featured a couple of mushroom clouds. All in all, a proper ending to an existential war.
Hmmm.
Lets negotiate, would you accept as a close second, “We Were Soldiers Once, and Young?
You are correct about infantry tactics.
But, part of the horde treatment must also result from the atrocities they committed against civilians in both WW1 and WW2.
Vas like Alamo, only Patriotic Fatherland Patriots make better movie.
Yeah, Ok. Whatever.
I do like your mini giraffe though.
Just finished watching, Kronos. Thanks for posting this. I saved it after I sent it to my email list.
I have that one, on DVD. Good film. It does touch on historical reality- a VDV (Airborne) unit was tasked with maintaining a hilltop position overlooking an important supply route. The position got hit- really hit, by a huge Muj unit, that attacked standing up and marching uphill into the Soviet fire. Parts of the position were overrun.
Then there was the Lend/Lease program, of which the U.S. supplied virtually all the material.
Big wars are won by logistics.
"The USSR was highly dependent on rail transportation, but the war practically shut down rail equipment production: only about 92 locomotives were produced. 2,000 locomotives and 11,000 railcars were supplied under Lend-Lease. Likewise, the Soviet air force received 18,700 aircraft, which amounted to about 14% of Soviet aircraft production (19% for military aircraft)".
"Although most Red Army tank units were equipped with Soviet-built tanks, their logistical support was provided by hundreds of thousands of U.S.-made trucks. Indeed by 1945 nearly two-thirds of the truck strength of the Red Army was U.S.-built. Trucks such as the Dodge 3/4 ton and Studebaker 2½ ton, were easily the best trucks available in their class on either side on the Eastern Front. American shipments of telephone cable, aluminium, canned rations, and clothing were also critical."
I know. The Russians used human-wave assaults throughout the war, the Germans not so much. The enormous disparity in casualties bears this out.
I don’t think Eastern Europe felt “saved” from 1945 to 1989; they were enslaved. Under Nazism most could leave if they wanted to, most could practice their religion, and own property.
Hitler was evil; Stalin was worse. Ask the Poles, Ukrainians, and others that lived under him; we can’t ask the millions who died under him. Stalin certainly didn’t help us in return for the weapons we sent him; he didn’t fight the Japanese until the final weeks of the war (while all those Americans died in the Pacific at their hands).
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