Ballad of a Soldier (1959) Ballada o soldate (original title)

Director:

Grigoriy Chukhray

Writers:

Grigoriy Chukhray
Valentin Ezhov

Release Date:

26 December 1960 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

The Critics All Agree It's Great...And So Will You!

Plot:

During World War II, 19 year old soldier Alyosha gets a medal as a reward for a heroic act at the front...

Plot Keywords:

Medal | Soldier | Love | Mother | Train

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Vladimir Ivashov	...	Pvt. Alyosha Skvortsov (as Volodya Ivashov)
Zhanna Prokhorenko	...	Shura
Antonina Maksimova	...	The mother
Nikolai Kryuchkov	...	The general
Yevgeni Urbansky	...	Vasya (the invalid)
Elza Lezhdey	...	The invalid's wife (as E. Lezhdej)
Aleksandr Kuznetsov	...	Gavrilkin (the train sentry) (as A. Kuznetsov)
Yevgeni Teterin	...	The lieutenant ('A terrible beast') (as Ye. Teterin)
V. Markova	...	Liza (Pavlov's wife)
Marina Kremnyova	...	Zoya (neighbor girl) (as M. Kremnnyova)
Vladimir Pokrovsky	...	Pavlov's invalid father (as V. Pokrovsky)
Georgi Yumatov	...	Sergeant giving bars of soap (as G. Yumatov)
Gennadi Yukhtin	...	Pvt. Seryozha Pavlov (as G. Yukhtin)
Valentina Telegina	...	Old woman truck driver (as V. Telegina)
Lev Borisov	...	Joking soldier on train (as L. Borisov)
Leonid Chubarov	...	General's aide (as L. Chubarov)
Vladimir Kashpur	...	Zoya's husband (as V. Kashpur)
Vladimir Abramov	...	Mitya (boy with clock) (as V. Abramov)
N. Dadyro	...	Old man on train ('Don't worry, it will work out')
Semyon Svashenko	...	Old Ukrainian (as S. Svashenko)
Nina Menshikova	...	Telegraph Office clerk
Valentin Bryleyev	...	Boy with bubbles on stairwell (as V. Bryleyev)
Evgeni Evstigneev	...	Truck driver who changed his mind (as Ye. Yevstigneyev)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yuri Dubrovin	...	Pavlov's buddy

Directed by
Grigoriy Chukhray

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Grigoriy Chukhray		(as G. Chukhraj)
Valentin Ezhov		(as V. Yezhov)

Produced by
M. Chernova	....	producer

Original Music by
Mikhail Ziv		(as M. Ziv)

Cinematography by
Vladimir Nikolayev		(as V. Nikolayev)
Era Savelyeva		(as E. Savelyeva)

Film Editing by
Mariya Timofeyeva		(as M. Timofeyeva)

Production Design by
Boris Nemechek		(as B. Nemechek)

Costume Design by
Lyudmila Ryashentseva		(as L. Ryashentseva)

Makeup Department
M. Agafonova	....	makeup artist

Production Management
P. Danilyants	....	production manager

Sound Department
Venyamin Kirshenbaum	....	sound (as V. Kirshenbaum)

Special Effects by
Sergei Mukhin	....	special effects director
V. Rylach	....	special effects operator

Music Department
Arnold Roitman	....	conductor (as A. Roitman)

Other crew
M. Sergiyenko	....	consultant

Distributors

• Union Film Distributors Inc. (1960) (USA) (theatrical) (as "a Kingsley-International release") (subtitled)
• Connossieur Video (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Hen's Tooth Video (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Home Vision Entertainment (HVE) (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (2002) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Home Vision Entertainment (HVE) (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Moskwood Media (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Admetos (1967) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Sovexportfilm (19??) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Tellus Film (1960) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Criterion Collection, The (19??) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Divisa Home Video (2008) (Spain) (DVD)
• Empresa Hispanoamericana de Video (EHV) (19??) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Globo Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Icestorm Entertainment (2009) (Germany) (DVD)
• Njutafilms (2005) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Turner Classic Movies (TCM) (2009) (USA) (TV)

Other Companies

• Kingsley-International Pictures  releasing agency

Also Known As:

"Ballada o soldate" - Soviet Union (original title)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:U | UK:PG (re-rating) | Singapore:PG | South Korea:15 | Sweden:15 | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-8

Filming Locations:

Moscow, Russia

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Life as a Dream (2007) (V)

"A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic."

"A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic" is the famous quote by Stalin. In this movie we see a marvellous illustration of the sentiment.

Don't worry; I didn't spoil anything. We learn from the opening narration that this is the story of a fallen hero. With that in mind, the atmosphere of impending tragedy colours the entire film despite the film's rather charming presentation. It's a wonderful irony, because the director opens with such a powerful & nihilistic statement, but then he follows with a sweet and inspiring presentation which you might even call "innocent".

I'm not exactly a fan of war movies, but I don't consider this to be one at all. There are very few details about the war, no politics, no propaganda. Essentially you can replace the Russian uniforms with British, German or Japanese, and the story would remain the same--"The Ballad of a Soldier". Oddly enough, it's the compelling portrayal of rustic life (which he encounters along his journey) that provides the backbone and theme of this film, a very human story.

It reminds me of the Italian classic "Bicycle Thieves" as well as the Japanese masterpiece "Ikuru" by Kurosawa. Each scene packs a lot of heart, and the grand finale brings it all together poetically and artistically. I won't mention any names, but I sure wish certain other artsy Russian directors could be as lucid and authentic in their presentations.

One more thing... I can't end this review without mentioning the SUPERB MUSIC. The composer is listed as Mihkail Ziv, but IMDb offers no biographical info on him. The melody is powerful and epic while being traditional and intimate at the same time. It really mirrors the theme of the film perfectly: things of great importance come in simple packages.

This movie gets 9 stars from me, which is about the highest rating I ever give. See it if you ever get the chance.