Quote:
Stalingrad has inspired many movies, but none so sweeping and monumental as this 1949 Soviet production. More than a movie, this is a spectacular military re-enactment of the Battle of Stalingrad – supervised by the Red Army, deploying thousands of veteran troops, as well as the actual tanks, planes and ships (including captured German materiel) from the Eastern Front. In its meticulous recreation of Stalingrad’s key campaigns, the film ranges freely across fronts and capitals, bringing to life the military and political players who shaped this epochal battle. Over everything, of course, stands Stalin, portrayed here as incomparable military genius, the author of every strategic masterstroke, who humbly guides his commanders to ultimate success. Working alone within the great halls of the Kremlin, he maintains a mystical contact with his soldiers, who are heartened to know that “Stalin is always with you!” And yet the movie, once we depart Stalin’s company and are hurled into one or another superlatively realized battle sequence, throws off a vitality and gritty verisimilitude that eclipse the stilted conventions of Stalin’s personality cult. Especially vivid are the bravura scenes devoted to Stalingrad’s legendary street fighting, where desperate combat unfolds within a twilight realm of ruined buildings, corpse-strewn rubble and twisted steel. The film builds to a furious climax as, on frozen steppes outside the city, the Red Army encircles Germany’s doomed Sixth Army, all of it recreated in brilliantly kinetic battle sequences. Remarkably for a Soviet film, the misery of the bedraggled German survivors is shown some empathy. Includes an especially vibrant film score by famed Soviet composer Aram Khachaturian. USSR, 1949/50, B&W, Pt.1 95 minutes, Pt.2 88 minutes, Total Running Time 183 minutes, Directed by Vladimir Petrov. Featuring Aleksei Dikij (Stalin) Vladimir Gajdarov (Gen. Paulus, Mikhail Astangov (Hitler)

Battle of Stalingrad (Part 2) (1949) -- Vladimir Petrov.mkv

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Language(s):Russian
Subtitles:English, German

The post Vladimir Petrov – Stalingradskaya bitva II AKA The Battle of Stalingrad (1949) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Synopsis:
1942. Picture of Josef Stalin.

Stalingrad. The greatest battle that humanity has ever known occurred in the summer of 1942 on a wide expanse of the Soviet land. It was 1942. The Soviet Union fought Hitler’s gigantic war machine one-on-one.

Stalin speaks with Comrade Vasilevsky saying: “It’s clear. They are moving towards Stalingrad. This is the second time that we’ve had to defend this city from the enemy.” He adds that they don’t know the full plans of the Germans, but this plan is even more adventurous that the one for last year’s capture of Moscow.

Stalin says the Germans are widely extendedion their flanks and their side must be highly aware of every new German division as well as the German-allied divisions. Vasilevsky says that by order of Stalin the 63rd Army is heading to the line at Pavlovsk-Veshenskoe-Serafimovich. Stalin adds that the font line at Kletskoe-Serafimovich be reinforced.

In reserve the Soviets have the 21st Army. Stalin wants to put it in to reinforce the Kletskoe-Serafimovich front line.

July 1942. Germany’s tank forces break through on the southwestern front, then under the command of Timoshenko. General Paulus of the 6th Army and Hoth of the 4th Panzer Army seized Millerovo, Kantemirovka, Morozovskaya and Bokovskaya.

The Russian 62nd and 64th Army Divisions meets the enemy and slows it down.

Hitler is briefed on the progress on Stalingrad. Kleist’s army group fights near Rostov-on-Don near the northeast corner of the Sea of Azov, while Weichs’ army vanguard divisions are fighting on the western shore of the Don River. Hitler complains that Gen. Weichs is moving too slowly eastward. He insists that the German forces be in Stalingrad by July 25.

Paulus will attack in two installment and Hoth will target Kalach on the Don River. Hoth will surround the Soviet 62nd Army and seize the crossings over the Don.

The fighting begins over the Don River and lasts 20 days. This gave the defenders of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) extra time to shore up the city’s defenses.

President Franklin Roosevelt of the USA is happy about the resistance the Soviets are throwing up against the Germans. He asks his military adviser what is the best way to help the Soviet Union? The answer is to invade the European continent.

Roosevelt says the problem is that Churchill wants a cheap victory. Churchill keeps talking about North Africa, where Churchill faces 12 divisions under Rommel. And yet the Russians face 240 German divisions. The president says that he can’t drag Churchill over the English Channel on onto the continent.

The 62nd Army and the 4th Panzer Army retreat to the east bank of the Don.

Third week of August. Paulus crosses the Don.

Stalin sends a message to front commander Colonel-General Yeremenko spare no forces in stopping the German advances on Stalingrad from the west and south.

August 1942. Talks are held in Moscow between Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt representative Harriman. Churchill says they will not be able to attack on the continent in 1942. “Great Britain cannot risk an operation that does not promise a sure success.” Stalin says then Britain and the US are renouncing their promise they just made this past spring? The problem with this is that the African campaign will not drain off a single German division from Russia. Moreover, elements of Rommel’s army have been spotted in Russia.

Churchill says they will attack Sicily too, but the Russians reply that this also will not have much effect on the war. Harriman stands up and says that the invasion of France will begin in 1943. Stalin is very doubtful of the veracity of this claim either. He gets up and says: “Mr. Prime Minister, the Soviet Union and its army will stop the German advance, but those who broke their solemn promises will be responsible for tens of thousands of new victims in Europe.”

After the meeting Stalin tells Vyacheslav Mikhailovich that the African and Italian campaigns really means that the Allies just want to be the first to reach the Balkans. “They want us to bleed to death, so they can order us around.” So Stalin will send Malenkov to Stalingrad and will send Comrade Vasilevsky with him.

The Battle of Stalingrad begins. The 62nd Army contained te Germans on the outskirts of the city.

August 23. Paulus advances his army to the Volga River. Meanwhile, the German 4th Air Fleet attacks Stalingrad. Stalingrad is now being consumed by the many building fires in the city.

Yeremenko tells Stalin’s two representatives that the Germans broke through the city’s defenses using the 150th tank motorized infantry division. A message from Stalin arrives saying to stop the German advance now. Vasilevsky tells Yeremenko to used the regiment of NKVD forces. [The NKVD contained the regular, public police force of the USSR, including traffic police, firefighting, border guards and archives.] Furthermore, use the partisan groups.

It looks like the whole city is being mobilized to fight the Germans. Many people are digging anti-tank ditches. The mobilized civilians defended the north of Stalingrad until the arrival of the regular Red Army.

September 3. The Germans are only 3 km from Stalingrad. Stalin, of course, is a bit anxious. He messages his two representative to have the forces of the Northern Army Group fight on the north and northwest of Stalingrad.

September 4. Seven rifle divisions and two tank corps position themselves at Samofalovka, Shirokoe and Loznoe.

The 63rd abd 21st Armies fight to keep a foothold on the southern bank of the Don.

September 5. The Northern Army Group launches a counter attack on the forces of Paulus. The 63rd and 21st Armies set up defenses at Rubezhinskaya, Kotovskaya and Belyaevskaya. This forces Paulus to use 12 of his best divisions to fight off the attack coming from the north.

September 12. The 62nd Army is now in charge of the defense of Stalingrad. Lt.-Gen. Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov is the commander.

By now there is not one Soviet division at full strength. And the Germans are only 2 km away from Stalingrad. Chuikov decides: “Attack should be our defense tactic from now on.” He commands the 399th Division to counterattack in the direction of Aero City.

Paulus rides in a staff car and says he will crush the Russians on the Volga River. He receives a note from Hitler telling him he is called to Vinnitsa, located on the banks of the Southern Bug in central Ukraine.

Hitler tells Paulus the he will pay with his life if Stalingrad is not taken by September 20.

September 13. Paulus launches a major attack on Stalingrad. German tanks and troops enter the city. One of the Russian battalions is now down to 20 men.

Stalin now issues some orders directly by phone. He gives Chuikov the 13th Rodimtsev Guards Division from the Higher Command reserves because the general is in big trouble. The reinforcements are now on the move. They board various vessels headed for the other side of the river.

German airplanes start bombing the vessels. Some ships take direct hits causing many casualties.

Stalin wants to set a trap for the armies of Paulus and Hoth’s armies. The Italian and Romanian troops are on the flanks of the German army. What if the Soviets smashed right through the two flanks and have the two pincers meet behind the German divisions.

Days and nights pass, but the Soviet troops hold on though they are getting very low on men. One particular battalion is down to only three men. And now the Germans launch still another attack. The Russian machine gunner is killed. Another soldier takes over, but he is then killed. Only the lieutenant commander is left alive. The commander throws two grenades and kills a lot of Germans, but he, in turn, is shot down.

An old friend of Stalin’s pays a visit and tells Stalin that he looks very tried and needs some rest. The friend also says that the people are wondering when will the nation go on the offensive against these Germans? Stalin tells him that they are preparing a large-scall strategic offensive near Stalingrad. “This blow will lead the Germans to devastation.”

Stalin wants to divide the Battle of Stalingrad into two separate fronts: one called the Don Front and the other called the Stalingrad Front. For the Don Front the commander will be Rokossovsky.

October. The Germans have not broken through the defensive line of Chuikov’s army. There is a lot of house to house fighting. At the end of the fighting for one building, a Russian soldier shouts: “I, Sergeant Yakov Pavlov, from Rodimtsev Guards, have retaken this Soviet house.” Later the hpuse became known as Pavlov’s House.

Stalin goes over the plan to entrap the two main armies with his commanders. The counter offensive will begin in November.

I.Stalingradskaya.bitva.1949.480p.DVDRip.x264.mkv

General
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Runtime:	3h 0mn
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https://nitro.download/view/85A2CDEE48E9D8F/I.Stalingradskaya.bitva.1949.480p.DVDRip.x264.mkv

Language(s):Russian
Subtitles:English, German

The post Vladimir Petrov – Stalingradskaya bitva 1 AKA Battle of Stalingrad (Part 1) (1949) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

DVDRip from print restored by Mosfilm in 1965 according to the credits, it still looks grey. After having read the descriptions below I found it be easy to follow the film without subtitles, the acting, the mise en scène and the cinematography are excellent. There is very little music though, two or three church choruses and folk songs, bits of post romantic orchestral music here and there. And, as been said below, no obvious propaganda.
…
IMDB user Denis888 from Russia (slightly corrected): Forget about the terrible Stalin’s purges that were going on in the Soviet Union when this film, or rather its first episode, was shot. The film has none of the Stalinist propaganda or dull Soviet ethics. This is a great, bright and powerful work. The role of the great Russian tzar Pyotr I is played by a brilliant Nikolay Simonov and he did a wonderful job. His Pyotr is wild, often terribly cruel, loud and unbearably ferocious to his enemies. He never hesitates and he breaks through like a wild bull. The first episode tells about the terrible beginning of the Northern War with Sweden, the Russians are shamefully defeated and thus the tzar starts his bloody reforms. He reorganizes the weak old army, he takes down the church bells for military purposes, he is even ready to arrest his own weak and sickly son Aleksey who is in fact his terrible rival. The second excellent role here is Aleksander Menshikov, the tzar’s favorite aid, played by an enigmatic Mr. Zharov. His part is cute, sly and so great that it provokes a grand smile. The first episode is also about the first military victories, the beginning of the Russian fleet and the foundation of the city of St. Petersburg, exactly 300 years ago…

The second part of this excellent film is more tragic. Here we see the plot against tzar Pyotr going on in full swing. His own son, Aleksey, played admirably by a somewhat psychotic Aleksey Cherkasov, started a coup against all that his father had done. Aleks hates the new Russia, the new capital, the new army and the new fleet. He dreams of an old, religious Russia with all the weak and infantile rulers. The plot is smashed, Aleks is tricked into returning to Russia from Italy, he is interrogated, tortured and executed by his own dad’s order. Here, we witness a deep and very personal tragedy of tzar Pyotr who managed to change the whole state, but failed to change his own son. This episode also depicts the Cossacks’ riots in the Ukraine, the peasantry unrest and the rise of the tzar’s wife, Catherine, to power. We also see the triumph of Russia over Sweden and the start of the strong Russian fleet. Watch this marvelously done historical film and you will never be sorry for that.

1.18GB | 1h 57mn | 688×512 | avi
https://nitro.download/view/157517C8CC2AF86/Pyotr_Pervyy_1938_part_2.avi
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Language(s):Russian
Subtitles:English

The post Vladimir Petrov – Pyotr pervyy II AKA Peter the First [Part 2] (1938) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Quote:PYOTR PERVY I AND II 1937-1938

Also known as “Peter I, Parts I and II,” and “The Conquests of Peter the Great, Parts I and II.” Soviet Union, 1937 (Part I) and 1938 (Part II). Black and white; Russian language; Running time: 96 minutes (Part I), 96 minutes (Part II). Directed by Vladimir Petrov. Screenplay by Vladimir Petrov, based on a book by Alexei Tolstoy. Starring Nikolai Simonov as Peter I, Nikolai Cherkasov as Tsesarevich Alexei, Alla Tarasova as Empress Catherine I, and Mikhail Zharov as Alexander Menshikov.

This, the first Soviet depiction of Peter the Great, set the stage for what would become the post-Revolutionary line concerning the early Romanovs. Rulers like Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great were widely admired for their dedication to Russia and their absolute determination to enhance her position in the world. But praise for the hated later Romanovs conflicted too heavily with the very beliefs that had brought about the Revolution in 1917. The 1929 film “Rasputin: Prince of Sinners,” co-produced between Germany and the USSR, had been permitted as it presented a completely negative portrayal of Nicholas II. “Pyotr Pervy,” on the other hand, suffered from Soviet expectations. The film, like Sergei Eisenstein’s later “Ivan the Terrible,” celebrated not so much the personality and reign of the individual sovereign it depicted as much as it glorified his deeds and struggle to overcome his enemies.

The film, which was shot at the Lenfilm Studios in Leningrad, opens at the Battle of Narva, and is essentially a chronicle of Russia’s struggle against Sweden in the Great Northern War. Peter is shattered at his army’s defeat, and reluctantly retreats. Determined to obtain a victory, he has the bells of a local monastery melted to make cannonballs, and orders the priests and monks into battle to preserve Russia against the invader. Subsequent scenes depict the opposition of both the boyars and certain members of the Orthodox Church to Peter’s plans. The historical conflict his western ideas brought about, and the widely-held belief that Peter was indeed the Antichrist, are portrayed as the common people struggle to come to grips with his unconventional ideas.

Peter triumphs, and leads his army in battle. His historical determination is shown in a scene where Peter himself takes command of an artillery mount, and loads a cannon himself, declaring to his men, “That’s the way to do it!” The fortress falls and is triumphantly stormed by the Russians.

The film delves briefly into Peter’s personal life, exploring his friendship with Alexander Menshikov, and his meeting, and subsequent relationship with, his future wife Catherine. His decision to found St. Petersburg is also shown, as is the toil of the workers forced to construct his new city-fortress on the banks of the Neva. While the city is built, Peter is shown supervising the shipyards, himself manning a forge to help with the construction. Peter’s quest to drag his country toward Western ideals is shown when he confronts a man who, in opposition to his orders, has kept his beard; the Emperor grabs a razor and cuts it off himself. Such episodes alienate the people from their ruler, and, when St. Petersburg suffers a flood, it is whispered that it is the wrath of God against the Tsar.

An illness of the Tsar causes members of the boyar families to conspire with his son Tsesarevich Alexei. He, in turn, assures them that when his father dies he will disband the Army, stop the war with Sweden, and return the capital to Moscow and restore the lost traditions of the Court. The Emperor, however, recovers, and, after a confrontation with his son, the Tsesarevich flees, fearing that his father will replace him in the line of succession.

Part II opens with the Battle of Poltava, an immense scene with thousands of extras portraying Russian and Swedish soldiers. As the war continues, Peter’s attention is gradually focused on the growing troubles with his son, who has fled to Europe. When Alexei returns to Russia and begs forgiveness of his father, Peter confronts him with details of his various plots. Alexei is imprisoned in the Fortress of St. Peter and St. Paul, and is shown being interrogated and questioned by his father. Peter, convinced of his son’s traitorous behavior, nonetheless refuses to pass sentence and turns the matter over to the Senate, telling its men that he will abide by their decision. The Senators unanimously sentence the Tsesarevich to death and Peter signs the order. The film ends on a triumphant note, with an impressive naval victory over Sweden.

Overall, the film is historically fairly accurate, with dramatic license taken rarely. The set design, by Nikolai Suvorov, appropriately portrayed both the old Muscovite Court and the European-influenced architecture of St. Petersburg, with costumes likewise reflecting the mixture of Russian and European cultures during the last half of the Emperor’s reign. If the film is somewhat conventional, and has little of the cinematic brilliance of Eisenstein’s motion pictures, it nonetheless a more approachable work than Ivan the Terrible, whose incessant stylistic elements often overwhelmed the pure dramatic lines of the story. While the film was only briefly shown in the West, it achieved a glowing reception in the Soviet Union.

0.99GB | 1h 38mn | 688×512 | avi
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Language(s):Russian
Subtitles:English

The post Vladimir Petrov – Pyotr pervyy I AKA Peter the First [Part 1] (1937) first appeared on Cinema of the World.