Czterej pancerni i pies

Many years ago, when I was very young, this Polish serial was a huge success in the Soviet Union. Now, the Union is no more, and the serial? Well, if you try and watch all 21 series again, you will not believe your own eyes - how can I watch this stuff? Well, let's be fair to the filmmakers - the serial was and is very funny. Even then, in times of terrible censorship and pro-Communist propaganda, this film managed to hold a healthy portion of a good hearty humor. Which is a big plus. There are so many naive traits here - the Nazis are often shown too caricature like, the brave Polish soldiers alone win the war (which is not true, as this was the huge combined effort of all the nations involved), the dialogs are too schematic and naive. And the general tone is often too lightweight. The last episode is a bit hasty and the final scene is a bit of a riddle - what, er, is that all? However, this film is like good hearty French or British comedies about the WWII - light, sweet and funny. This serial was certainly intended to be a serious work, but now it is much better watch it with a grain of salt and a heart laugh.

Damn...so many opinions....this serious was made according to the "general line of communist party", "german soldiers shown as a stupid and weak bastards there" etc...OK - I can agree but damn - THE MOVIE ITSELF IS AMAZING! Because of this movie I started learning Polish when I was 10 yeas old guy! Damn...and they say this movie humiliates Polish nation - shut up! Total respect and low bow to all who participated in creation of this masterpiece!

Miron / Tvangeste www.tvangeste.com ========================================================= Love and Respect Your Friends - and Let Our Enemies Die!

Only just encountered this series, but let me tell how much I enjoy it. The characters are all funny and likable, and the whole show is tremendously entertaining, even now in 2010. Is it Communist propaganda? No. It's a series about Polish soldiers during the WW2. I've heard comments about "it not being cool anymore to cheer the Russians and their allies in the WW2," but pray, who am I supposed to root for? Hitler? It does depict Germans as tactical zeros, though. In this aspect, this show doesn't differ from American shows made during the Cold War, which always depict the officials of the Soviet Union (and especially Russians) as a bunch of morons, easily double-crossed by the clever American protagonists. Oh wait, I think it does. It seems to me there are an awful lot of German soldiers in it speaking Polish, but you rarely see a Polish soldier that speaks German. There you go, now both sides have their negative aspects, happy-happy.

OK, what I actually mean is, this show is not about politics. It's about how these soldiers experience the war. If you watch it devoid of any sort of political bias, it's ultimately a very much entertaining series, showing war from a human perspective.

This classic TV series has become an instant cult phenomenon in Poland from the moment it first hit the screens in 1966. Entire generations of young Polish boys have been raised on it (including myself), often playing under the tables pretending that it's the ''Rudy'' tank. The Communist propaganda didn't matter and was actually quite weak. In fact, the series felt more pro-Russian (and pro-Georgian) than pro-Communist. And it even contained a few thinly-veiled hints of Stalinist crimes: after all, when we first meet Janek, he lives in the middle of the Siberian taiga forest. It doesn't take a genius to figure out how he got there - he was certainly deported along with 1 or 2 millions other Poles in 1939-1941. There are also various characters in the series who refer to various nasty gossips about the Soviet Red Army - an oblique way of acknowledging that the Soviet ''liberation'' of Poland wasn't perceived as such by many (if not most) Poles.

The series is divided into 21 episodes of 1 hour each. In the first 8 episodes, we follow Janek, Gustlik, Grigorij and their boss Olgierd from Oka (in 1943) to Gdansk (in March 1945). The war is almost over, Olgierd dies, but then the series is resurrected for 13 more episodes that last barely a month (from March to May 1945). Tomek Czeresniak joins the crew that fights German saboteurs on the Pomeranian seacoast and then joins the big offensive across the Odra river all the way to Berlin. Generally speaking, the later episodes are slightly better than the earlier ones - the action scenes are more exciting, and Wieslaw Golas (playing Tomek) is way more fun than Roman Wilhelmi (who plays Olgierd). Particularly exciting is the episode when the tank crew is taken prisoner by the Germans near the Odra river, and the ''Rudy'' tank is used as target practice on an artillery range. The episode when the tank enters the flooded subway tunnels in Berlin is also very impressive.

Very valuable as a historical portrayal of Polish and Soviet allies during WWII. Very limited scope of all the issues of that period. I love the battle action, romance and warmth displayed by the characters. Of course, all the characters become so lovable after one or two episodes, especially Janek and Marusia.

Be prepared for a one-sided portrayal of the Polish/Russian heroes and heroines and German underdogs, but that was the politics of the 1960's when the series was shown on Polish TV. The story line is written to hold your interest and there is seldom a dull moment. The characters seem to be as real-to-life as is possible in film. The dialogue is beauty in itself, although the subtitles on my DVD only cover about 15 to 20% of the total. That's OK because you get the gist of what's being said. With some basic Polish or Russian you will be enjoying the actors speaking in their native tongue.

Another quality Polish film. Try to find it with English subtitles if possible, but great for practicing your Russian/Polish listening skills. I was watching Gunsmoke and Bonanza on American TV at the time, which was pablum compared to Four Tankmen and A Dog.