The Battle of Neretva (1969)
"Bitka na Neretvi" (original title)

In January 1943 German army, afraid of Allied invasion of Balkans, launched great offensive against Yugoslav Partisans in Western Bosnia. The only way out for Partisan forces and thousands ... See full summary »

Director:

Veljko Bulajic

Writers:

Stevan Bulajic, Veljko Bulajic,

Stars:

Yul Brynner, Hardy Krüger, Franco Nero

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Yul Brynner	...	Vlado
Hardy Krüger	...	Col. Kranzer
Franco Nero	...	Capt. Michele Riva
Sylva Koscina	...	Danica
Orson Welles	...	Chetnik Senator
Curd Jürgens	...	Gen. Lohring
Anthony Dawson	...	Gen. Morelli
Milena Dravic	...	Nada
Sergey Bondarchuk	...	Martin (as Sergej Bondarcuk)
Ljubisa Samardzic	...	Novak
Velimir 'Bata' Zivojinovic	...	Stole (as Bata Zivojinovic)
Boris Dvornik	...	Stipe
Oleg Vidov	...	Nikola
Pavle Vujisic	...	Sofer Jordan (as Pavle Vuisic)
Howard Ross	...	Sgt. Mario (as Renato Rossini)

Storyline

In January 1943 German army, afraid of Allied invasion of Balkans, launched great offensive against Yugoslav Partisans in Western Bosnia. The only way out for Partisan forces and thousands of refugees was the bridge on the river Neretva.

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Plot Keywords:

partisan | germans | invasion | river | bosnia | 

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Taglines:

An Epic Chronicle Of Raw Courage

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Troma

Country:

Italy West Germany Croatia

Language:

English German Italian Croatian

Release Date:

3 December 1969 (Italy)

Also Known As:

The Battle of the River Neretva

Filming Locations:

Gornji Vakuf, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Yugoslavia

Box Office

Budget:

$71,015,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

United Yugoslavia Producers, Eichberg-Film, International Film Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

175 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Battle of the Neretva was a World War II battle launched by the Nazis and running between January and April 1943 in the environs of the River Neretva, Herzegovina, then Nazi German occupied Yugoslavia. The Battle was code-named Fall Weiss and was named after this neighboring Neretva River. The battle was a combined Nazi strategic plan involving Axis Allies Italy, Croatian Ustasha (Croatian Revolutionary Movement) and Chetniks (Serbian Anti-Communist Volunteer Militia) units to wipe out the Yugoslav Partisans from German Nazi occupied Yugoslavia. The battle of Neretva is also known as the Fourth Anti-Partisan Offensive; the Fourth Enemy Offensive, as well as The Battle for the Wounded.

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Connections

Featured in Partizanski film (2009)

User Reviews

A Tough Partisan Nut

Allegedly the most expensive film ever undertaken by the Yugoslav film industry, The Battle Of The Neretva is a tribute to the Partisan army that Josip Broz Tito raised to resist the Nazi occupation of his country. Operating in the mountains, the Partisans proved to be tough nut to crack for the occupying Axis armies.

The country of Yugoslavia which was created by the Allied countries at the Versailles Treaty did not long out last the man who saved it. That was once Yugoslavia is several separate states now. It was an unwieldy conglomerate nation composed of several ethnic groups with various religious backgrounds who had a legacy of Balkan hate of centuries. The Chetniks who collaborated with the Nazis just wanted to make sure they came out on top no matter who won the war. The monarchy of Yugoslavia was that of the former Serbia raised to be ruling all of what became Yugoslavia. No one who was Croatian, Montenegran, Macedonian, etc. wanted Serbian primacy. The Marxist Tito was more acceptable to most than a Serbian king.

A lot of the politics is necessary to know in order to understand what was going on while this battle was being fought. The Germans launched an offensive in the winter of 1943 aimed at wiping out Tito's Partisans and they did drive them to the Neretva River where ordered to stand with their backs to said river offering no retreat, the Partisans turned around and instead and kicked Nazi butt.

The Battle Of Neretva is a brutally uncompromising film about ugly guerrilla war and the version I saw is a slimmed down version. I'm betting I would have rated it higher had I seen the original 3 hours the film's release in Yugoslavia was exhibited at.

Such various international players as Yul Brynner, Franco Nero, Orson Welles, Curt Jurgens, and Hardy Kruger all have some interesting cameos. But the stars are the Yugoslav players most of you won't know in this film. I'm sure the Oscar for Best Foreign language film is based on the Academy voters having the original to judge.

This film is a nice tribute to a part of World War II that is not talked about too much in the west.