Velikaya bitva na Volge

Soviet film about the German invasion of Russia during World War Two and the siege of Leningrad in particular.

I'm of mixed opinions of this film. The film is at times dry, the story of the battle being told in a much too straight forward manner, since they tell you exactly what happened. At other times the film falls in to an almost parody of communist propaganda (and it is propaganda) with flowery passages about the strength of the peasant and the sacrifices made for the "motherland". Its almost as if you don't know if you should be sleeping or laughing.

On the other hand there are the images. Shot by some 150 cameramen this film has a great deal of really good combat photography. This is the war in the East as most people have never seen it simply because we haven't had access to the footage. Its not the same footage of the war that has been used again and again and again. For me the fact that I was looking at new material made getting through the uneven narration possible.

Is this film worth seeing? Over all yes. Sure its got some off kilter narration but the images are often treasures. Those interested in the Second World War and the War on the Eastern Front really should check this out. Others (and even many buffs) may find this a bit tough going.

Interesting watch because it presents the battle from the Soviet point of view. Even today, this is what has been taught in schools and what is believed in Russia.

Also interesting to see how advanced the Russians were in the film industry.

I do agree with the comments of the critic. However, I have been to Stalingrad, now Volgograd (also Volgagrad). This film story of what had happened,according to the Soviet's view, is what the people of today in the area admire and revere. The monuments are enormous. Anyone who is interested in the WWII should see this one as it well depicts the events and activity from the Soviet's point of view. The movie about Stalingrad and the news footage we saw in the US at the time did not come close to showing what this film did. Volgograd has fully recovered from the war, and has left a few structures as they were at the end of the war as a memorial and reminder of the events that happened. The huge statue and mausoleum have a constant flow of people, mostly school groups of kids from all over Russia.