Underground (1995)

The story follows an underground weapons manufacturer in Belgrade during WWII and evolves into fairly surreal situations. A black marketeer who smuggles the weapons to partisans doesn't ... See full summary »

Director:

Emir Kusturica

Writers:

Dusan Kovacevic (story), Emir Kusturica (screenplay)

Stars:

Predrag Manojlovic, Lazar Ristovski, Mirjana Jokovic

5 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Predrag Manojlovic	...	Marko / Actor playing Marko (as Miki Manojlovic)
Lazar Ristovski	...	Crni (Blacky) / Actor playing Blacky
Mirjana Jokovic	...	Natalija / Actress playing Natalija
Slavko Stimac	...	Ivan
Ernst Stötzner	...	Franz / Actor playing Franz
Srdjan Todorovic	...	Jovan
Mirjana Karanovic	...	Vera
Milena Pavlovic	...	Jelena
Danilo 'Bata' Stojkovic	...	Deda (as Bata Stojkovic)
Bora Todorovic	...	Golub
Davor Dujmovic	...	Bata
Nele Karajlic	...	Falling Gypsy (as Dr. Nele Karajlic)
Branislav Lecic	...	Mustafa
Dragan Nikolic	...	Film Director
Erol Kadic	...	Janez

Storyline

The story follows an underground weapons manufacturer in Belgrade during WWII and evolves into fairly surreal situations. A black marketeer who smuggles the weapons to partisans doesn't mention to the workers that the war is over, and they keep producing. Years later, they break out of their underground "shelter" --- only to convince themselves that the war is still going on.

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Plot Keywords:

weapon | yugoslavia | love | shelter | partisan | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia France Germany Bulgaria Czech Republic Hungary

Language:

Serbian German French English Russian

Release Date:

20 June 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Once Upon a Time There Was a Country

Filming Locations:

AB Barrandov Studios, Prague, Czech Republic

Company Credits

Production Co:

CiBy 2000, Barrandov Studios, Komuna

Technical Specs

Runtime:

170 min 320 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The director's cut ran for over 320 minutes.

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Quotes

Marko: A war is no war until the brother kills his brother.

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Connections

Referenced in Rien sur Robert (1999)

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Soundtracks

"War"
Written and performed by Goran Bregovic(I)

User Reviews

For Eternity

Underground is The Film, my favorite... And nobody hasn't written any greeting comments in 2005. So, I'm happy to be the first and I wish the best year 2005 to all the Underground's fans. If you never had this chance to see the long version (5 hours) of the film, give your priority, this year, to watch it. After this, the Palme d'Or version will feel you so short!!! If you live in Paris, I can help you to discover the complete Chef d'Oeuvre.

Therefore, I understand that the film could be criticized on the political depths. But it is so easy to make movies without any involvement. Kusturica worked for 3 years on the film and involved himself on the content. But the film treatment is not only about Balkans war, but mainly about human ferocity and betrayment. Speaking Cinema, there is no film controlling so well aestheticism, scenario, actors, music and creativity. Emir did it and I am sorry that some arrogant journalists killed the film, getting it off the Cinema theaters without the popular success that Underground deserved.