Walter Defends Sarajevo

The lyrics of U2's 1997 hit 'Discotheque' apply perfectly to "Valter brani Sarajevo" and sum up my feelings about the movie:

'......you know you're chewing bubble-gum,*** you know what that is, but you still want some,*** you just can't get enough of that lovie-dovie stuff........'

On one hand, this is another one of the ridiculous state-sponsored war bonanzas taking up a large part of 1960s and '70s Yugoslav cinematography - most of them high on propaganda, cheap stereotypes and tear jerk moments seen coming from a mile away, designed to glorify the struggle of 'Yugoslav peoples' against German occupiers & domestic traitors. However, on the other, it is also a pretty well made 'lemonade with lotsa sugar' action flick with a decent plot and good characters that pull the viewer right in and don't let go.

It, of course, stars Bata Zivojinovic and Ljubisa Samardzic in yet another role that calls for 'Yugoslavia's top duo' to outsmart, outwit and eliminate as many Germans as humanly possible.

Supposedly, "Valter brani Sarajevo" was a hit of huge proportions in China where to this day our boy Bata is an enormous star. Well, I guess billion Chinese can't be wrong.

the action is non-stop, the plots are perfect. i cannot found any ww2 movie better than this one. the first time i watched this movie in 1976 when i was 6 years old back in china. they keep showing it from 1976-1979. i have never been bored even though i watched it over and over again. i used to memerize all the senarios and scripts. i still want to watch again now i am 30 years old. can anybody help me to get a copy?

The movie was amazing. The characters were amazing and memorable. The story was very interesting. It made me shiver, smile and frown every time I watched it. There were so many good and memorable quotes. The battle between the good and the bad was really interesting and fun. You never know who's going to betray who and what tricks will they use to outsmart the opposition. The movie is very rewatchable, some individuals might have to watch it a few times to really understand the story. The sound design is phenomenal. Simply amazing for a film that was released in 1972. I highly recommend this old gem! I'd say it's even better than some films released in these past years.

This movie is a typical Partizan "western" with "black-and-white" characters. The movie is losely inspired by actual events from WW II but its content could not be called historically true.

What is the most interesting thing about this movie is that it was immensely popular in the People Republic of China. I talked to quite a few Chinese people born in sixties, and literally everybody went with school to see the movie. I think that "Valter brani Sarajevo" could easily be the most popular foreign movie in China.

During NATO action in Serbia, when USA hit the Chinese embassy, the actor who played Valter, Bata Zivoinovic, visited wounded Chinese people in hospital, and they cherished his appearance there...

Valter Brani Sarajevo is a film that I can always watch with pleasure

In this film, Bata Zivojinovic showed why he is the best Yugo actor of all time

In this film we also have great actors like Ljubisa Samardzic, Rade Markovic, Gidra Bojanic, Burdus, etc.

The best part of the movie for me is the end when von Dietrich points to the city of Sarajevo and says Das ist Walter

Even though it is a movie from 1972, it has everything a movie should have.

I think anyone who hasn't seen this movie doesn't know what they're missing

I should also mention the music in the film, this music fits really well with this phenomenal action

By the way, I set my phone to ring with that music

10/10 really a movie that will be remembered for a long.