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

The makers considered shooting in Poland and Romania before settling upon Lithuania.

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Goofs

The muzzle brake on the German tank was actually from a modern Soviet-era tank such as a T-55 or later.

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Quotes

Zus Bielski: What is it we are good for, Viktor? Dying.

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Connections

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

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Soundtracks

"Ikh Bin A Mame"
Written by Jennie Goldstein, Morris Rund, J. Jaffee
Arranged by Aleksandr Olshanetsky (as Alexander Olshanetsky)
Performed by James Newton Howard

User Reviews

Cheap&Tacky rip off the phenomenally thought provoking film 'COME AND SEE'!!

The beautifully well acted European film 'Come and See' is what this film aspires to be.Instead it comes across as tacky, cheap and badly acted.It has that cheap American tackiness to it i.e over played machismo, cringey one liners that aren't funny, trying really hard to be emotional but coming across as wooden and so forth..

Bottom line is the film is a complete tapping your fingers thinking of lunch.. bore.Nothing much happens except for running around in a forest and lots of close ups of Daniel Craig's face.He actually looks like a German SS! Bad casting.

The gaggle of Jews are so stereotyped it's embarrassing, bordering on offensive. The film tries to be emotional and deep by playing LOTS and LOTS of sad violin music in the forest !!

Like a lot of American films on IMDb with big name Hollywood actors ,the masses rate them highly, a lot of people just generally have low levels of intelligence when it comes to films, music etc.., so they're easily satisfied by what APPEARS to be a deep, intelligent film.Films that actually do have amazing acting, writing, directing etc are rated low on IMDb! Mind boggles!

Best thing about this film are the few shots of Daniel Craig s handsome backside in trousers:)