Posted on 01/30/2019 2:59:51 PM PST by CondoleezzaProtege
A state-funded Russian film that lionises a Soviet World War II tank and its crew has become the second highest grossing home-grown production since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
The Kremlin has long put the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany at the heart of a patriotic push to accompany what it casts as the country's return to greatness under Vladimir Putin who has portrayed Russia as a fortress besieged by the West.
The new film, "T-34," has been praised by the defence ministry which has shown it to its troops. Its release coincides with heightened tensions with the West, with President Putin warning of a new arms race.
It also comes as Kremlin critics warn of a growing militarization of society in the wake of Russia's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimea, its continued backing for pro-Russian separatists in east Ukraine, and deployment in Syria.
(The highest-grossing film, released last year, told the story of a Soviet Cold War sports victory over the United States.)
Vladimir Medinsky, Russia's culture minister, has angrily likened critics of the film who have questioned its historical accuracy to Soviet wartime traitors.
Some critics have said the film romanticises war and have likened it to a computer game, suggesting it does too little to bring home the human cost of warfare.
But its director, Alexei Sidorov, said he had tried to make a film that was not too gloomy.
"Yes, it's war. Yes it's death. Every family lost someone. But we won this war and that's important," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at themoscowtimes.com ...
American J. Christie made the ORIGNAL design of the T-34.
“Glorious, amazing Soviet tank..!”
Meh, sorta...?
SORTA.
Maybe, but Wikipedia says Stalingrad and Irony of Fate: The Sequel were the top grossing Russian movies ever.
Just went and looked at the trailer. Looks ok.
Going Vertical, about a Russian basketball team that beat the Americans, is now the highest grossing Russian film.
That was the 1972 Olympic game that was very controversial.
I think is was a Christie suspension design.
All else was Soviet design.
The real problem with being a Soviet soldier was the brutal human wave assault tactics they practiced. Little regard for human life. They would conquer a region, draft all the men and refill the ranks for more.
The American army tried to bludgeon the enemy to death with artillery and air support. Human wave tactics were disfavored over maneuver. Not so the Sov's.
Brest Fortress is one of the best war movies ever made.
There was a German General in the early days of Operation Barbarossa, who when he came across a T-34 for the first time, remarked, “If the Russians figure out how to mass produce this tank, Germany will lose the war.”
Christie designed the original suspension system which the Soviets copied, but nothing he designed remotely resembles the T-34, except the running gear.
By the end of the war, the Soviets were quite good at maneuver warfare. Operation Bagration and the utter destruction of Army Group Center, wiping out a quarter of the entire German Army on the Eastern Front in the space of 8 weeks shows that.
Only the suspension system was an original Christy design. The Soviets modified it to suit their use and the rest of the T-34 was their creation, Christy never envisioned using a diesel engine in a tank.
One thing about the Soviet movies is that they NEVER humanize the Germans. Of course, having them kill about 20,000,000 of your own people might have something to do with it.
The subject is controversial, but estimates of Soviet military dead and missing total between 7-11 million. I think the high end is more accurate. Whichever, the losses were staggering.
English subtitles. If Russian movie producers would dub in English, sales would skyrocket...
Both very good films IMHO. Surprisingly, Russians hated Stalingrad, said there wasn’t enough subsistence, and too many special effects. I was living there when it was released and it got a lot of bad press.
Trailer looks a bit meh.
Like a movie trying to do something at the level of an American production, with an American budget, but you can see the cut-corners with some of the Sfx and CGI. The plot as shown looks a tad flat and trope-ish.
WW2 junkies will watch it. General audiences may find it uninspired.
But Stalin gets a free pass and last year's anti-Stalin satire "Death of Stalin" by Armanda Iannucci was banned from screening in the country last year.
Documentaries about GULAG are considered evil American propaganda. Very twisted postwar collective psychology at work.
now that’s funny
Were is the correct tense. There is a new movie out grossing those you noted.
I hope it comes out with subtitles
On their best day Americans who find a single casulty unacceptable can’t possibly comprehend daily casualties of tens of thousands Russians.
There are lots and lots of mostly British produced TV shows detailing with actual footage the Russian war against Germany.
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