Bitka na Neretvi (1969)

Director:

Veljko Bulajic

Writers:

Stevan Bulajic (writer)
Veljko Bulajic (writer)

Release Date:

7 October 1969 (Yugoslavia)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

An Epic Chronicle Of Raw Courage

Plot:

In January 1943 German army, afraid of Allied invasion of Balkans, launched great offensive against Yugoslav Partisans in Western Bosnia...

Plot Keywords:

Partisan | Invasion | Army | Yugoslavia | 1940s

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Yul Brynner	...	Yvan Vlado
Hardy Krüger	...	Col. Kranzer
Franco Nero	...	Capt. Michael Riva
Sylva Koscina	...	Danitza (as Silva Koscina)
Orson Welles	...	Chetnik senator
Curd Jürgens	...	Gen. Lohring (as Curt Jurgens)
Anthony Dawson	...	Gen. Morelli (as Anthony M. Dawson)
Milena Dravic	...	Nada
Sergei Bondarchuk	...	Ivan Martik (as Sergei Bondarcuk)
Ljubisa Samardzic	...	Novak (as Ljubisa Samardjic)
Velimir 'Bata' Zivojinovic	...	Stole (as Bata Zivojinovic)
Boris Dvornik	...	Stipe
Oleg Vidov	...	Nikola
Howard Ross	...	Sgt. Mario
Lojze Rozman	...	Ivan

Also Known As:

Battle of the River Neretva (Australia) (video title)
Die Schlacht an der Neretva (West Germany)
La battaglia della Neretva (Italy)
The Battle of Neretva (USA)
The Battle of the River Neretva (USA)

Runtime:

175 min | Germany:142 min | Italy:134 min | USA:102 min

Country:

Yugoslavia | USA | Italy | West Germany

Language:

Serbo-Croatian | English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:16 | Norway:16 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:G | Spain:18 | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Yugoslavia

Company:

Igor Film

Trivia:

Both Yul Brynner (Yvan Vlado) and Orson Welles (Chetnik senator) died on October 10, 1985. This is their only film together.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Partizanski film (2009)

Some notification about the movie Bitka Na Neretvi

I have seen most of the Yugoslav Partisan movies and I find "Bitka an Neretvi" in all aspects the best one. I wont describe the movie itself, you must see it yourself, and it is worth it. However, I would like to update some potential "non-Yugoslav" viewers about some important facts about that movie. The movie was made in 1969, in that period Yugoslav socialist/communist (as you like it)regime was running the most open-minded and "liberal" politics in his whole history. At that time some critics about regimes most outstanding icons were possible. The Partisan movement in WWII was one of them. A figure of a "Partisan" was in official ideological interpretation considered as a natural born patriot, ready to sacrifice, fully political aw eared, in two words: A man of steal, almost a mythical figure only possible to be compared with an ancient hero. In "Bitka Na Neretvi" we are faced with quiet another partisan hero. It is still a hero, but the one who knows the fear. One scene is thus so fascinating when you see partisans running off the battle line, screaming: "They are gonna kill us all!" Another scene shows elements of Partisan cruelty in discussion what to do with wounded comrades, one commandant says:"Whats more important, the fate of the revolution or the fate of our wounded comrades?" That kind of scenes would have been in pure propaganda movie impossible, as well as in John Wayne type of war movie. Other details are also very interesting. You would hard to notice the word of communism or communists, completely different as another movie "Bitka Na Sutjesci". The main hero is thus The People itself. Josip Broz Tito is only present in a short military order. Worth of notification is also the representation of the enemies. Germans are of course evil, but described as noble opponents. Italians are sometimes shown almost even more humanly than partisans, with moral doubt (Two Italian defectors even join partisans). The worst characters are collaborationist: Chetniks and Ustashas, shown as cold-blooded murderers.