Defiance (I) (2008)

Jewish brothers in Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe escape into the Belarussian forests, where they join Russian resistance fighters and endeavor to build a village in order to protect themselves and about 1,000 Jewish non-combatants.

Director:

Edward Zwick

Writers:

Clayton Frohman (screenplay), Edward Zwick (screenplay),

Stars:

Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Daniel Craig	...	Tuvia Bielski
Liev Schreiber	...	Zus Bielski
Jamie Bell	...	Asael Bielski
Alexa Davalos	...	Lilka Ticktin
Allan Corduner	...	Shimon Haretz
Mark Feuerstein	...	Isaac Malbin
Tomas Arana	...	Ben Zion Gulkowitz
Jodhi May	...	Tamara Skidelsky
Kate Fahy	...	Riva Reich
Iddo Goldberg	...	Yitzhak Shulman
Iben Hjejle	...	Bella
Martin Hancock	...	Peretz Shorshaty
Ravil Isyanov	...	Viktor Panchenko
Jacek Koman	...	Konstanty 'Koscik' Kozlowski
George MacKay	...	Aron Bielski

Storyline

On the run and hiding in the deep forests of the then German occupied Poland and Belorussia (World War II), the four Bielski brothers find the impossible task of foraging for food and weapons for their survival. They live, not only with the fear of discovery, contending with neighboring Soviet partisans and knowing whom to trust but also take the responsibility of looking after a large mass of fleeing Polish Jews from the German war machine. Women, men, children, the elderly and the young alike are all hiding in makeshift homes in the dark, cold and unforgiving forests in the darkest times of German occupied Eastern Europe.

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Plot Keywords:

forest | jewish | partisan | fight | food | 

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Taglines:

Freedom begins with an act of defiance!

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Genres:

Action | Drama | History | Thriller | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Metropolitan Films [fr] Official site [jp]

Country:

USA

Language:

English German Russian

Release Date:

16 January 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Desafío

Filming Locations:

Lithuania

Box Office

Budget:

$32,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,198,425 (UK) (9 January 2009)

Gross:

$28,622,873 (USA) (24 April 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Vantage, Grosvenor Park Productions, Bedford Falls Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

137 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color Black and White (archive footage)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Extras were brought in and asked to strip naked for the scene where Aron stumbles upon the mass grave at the beginning of the movie.

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Goofs

Zus Bielski was, in fact, four years YOUNGER than his brother Asael.

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Quotes

Tuvia Bielski: I thought you were dead.
Shamon Haretz: I am at least half dead.

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Connections

Featured in The 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Kupalinka"
Traditional

User Reviews

Preview Screening...

James Bond and Oscar winning director Ed Zwick take on the Nazis.

Saw a preview screening of DEFIANCE last week in Woodland Hills. Daniel Craig stars as Tuvia Bielski in the true WWII story of three Jewish brothers who hid in the Belorussian forests and built a community of partisan fighters, saving over 1200 Jews by war's end.

Liev Schreiber (Zus Bielski) and Jamie Bell (Asael Bielski) star alongside Craig as his two younger brothers. Both Craig and Schreiber give powerhouse performances as the older brothers competing for leadership, and Jamie Bell, who most recently starred in the abysmal Jumper, gives a surprisingly great performance as well.

Zwick has created one of the most beautiful and thought provoking films of his career and definitely one of the most Oscar worthy movies to hit cinemas in years. War and destruction has never been so captivating and moving. There have been dozens of war movies in recent years but none have left me caring so much or feeling so attached to the characters. My eyeballs wouldn't break from the screen for the full 120 mins, and by the film's end, I wasn't ready to stop watching. I can't wait for the release (which appears to be some time this winter) in order to see it again.

It's a superb film with a nice balance of heavy hitting action and intense drama, but if that's not enough to make you want to see it, just the fact that these on screen heroes existed in real life definitely make it worth the watch.

This is a WWII movie that doesn't hide or glamorize war but shows the intense reality of what happens when people band together against overwhelming evil and survive.

A solid 8.5/10