Release CalendarDVD & Blu-ray ReleasesTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsIn TheatersComing SoonMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysLGBTQ+ Pride MonthSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The Battle of Neretva

Original title: Bitka na Neretvi
  • 19691969
  • GG
  • 1h 45m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
3.6K
YOUR RATING
The Battle of Neretva (1969)
  • Drama
  • History
  • War
World war two drama about the 1943 battle around the Neretva River between Axis forces and Yugoslav partisan units.World war two drama about the 1943 battle around the Neretva River between Axis forces and Yugoslav partisan units.World war two drama about the 1943 battle around the Neretva River between Axis forces and Yugoslav partisan units.
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
3.6K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Veljko Bulajic
  • Writers
    • Stevan Bulajic(story)
    • Ratko Djurovic(story)
    • Veljko Bulajic(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Yul Brynner
    • Hardy Krüger
    • Franco Nero
Top credits
  • Director
    • Veljko Bulajic
  • Writers
    • Stevan Bulajic(story)
    • Ratko Djurovic(story)
    • Veljko Bulajic(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Yul Brynner
    • Hardy Krüger
    • Franco Nero
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 22User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 1 win & 1 nomination total

    Photos50

    The Battle of Neretva (1969)
    Dusan Bulajic in The Battle of Neretva (1969)
    Yul Brynner in The Battle of Neretva (1969)
    Lojze Rozman and Velimir 'Bata' Zivojinovic in The Battle of Neretva (1969)
    Nikola-Kole Angelovski and Velimir 'Bata' Zivojinovic in The Battle of Neretva (1969)
    Dragomir Felba, Charles Millot, Spela Rozin, Lojze Rozman, Ljubisa Samardzic, and Velimir 'Bata' Zivojinovic in The Battle of Neretva (1969)
    Boris Dvornik and Velimir 'Bata' Zivojinovic in The Battle of Neretva (1969)
    Lojze Rozman and Velimir 'Bata' Zivojinovic in The Battle of Neretva (1969)
    The Battle of Neretva (1969)
    Boris Dvornik and Velimir 'Bata' Zivojinovic in The Battle of Neretva (1969)
    Nikola-Kole Angelovski and Velimir 'Bata' Zivojinovic in The Battle of Neretva (1969)
    Yul Brynner, Veljko Bulajic, Ljubisa Samardzic, and Velimir 'Bata' Zivojinovic in The Battle of Neretva (1969)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Yul Brynner
    Yul Brynner
    • Vladoas Vlado
    Hardy Krüger
    Hardy Krüger
    • Kranzeras Kranzer
    Franco Nero
    Franco Nero
    • Rivaas Riva
    Sylva Koscina
    Sylva Koscina
    • Danicaas Danica
    Orson Welles
    Orson Welles
    • Senatoras Senator
    Curd Jürgens
    Curd Jürgens
    • Lohringas Lohring
    Anthony Dawson
    Anthony Dawson
    • Morellias Morelli
    Milena Dravic
    Milena Dravic
    • Nadaas Nada
    Sergey Bondarchuk
    Sergey Bondarchuk
    • Martinas Martin
    • (as Sergej Bondarcuk)
    Ljubisa Samardzic
    Ljubisa Samardzic
    • Novakas Novak
    Velimir 'Bata' Zivojinovic
    Velimir 'Bata' Zivojinovic
    • Stoleas Stole
    • (as Bata Zivojinovic)
    Boris Dvornik
    • Stipeas Stipe
    Oleg Vidov
    Oleg Vidov
    • Nikolaas Nikola
    Pavle Vuisic
    • Soferas Sofer
    Howard Ross
    • Marioas Mario
    • (as Renato Rossini)
    Lojze Rozman
    • Ivanas Ivan
    Nikola-Kole Angelovski
    • Zikaas Zika
    • (as Kole Angelovski)
    Stojan 'Stole' Arandjelovic
    • Sumadinacas Sumadinac
    • (as Stole Arandjelovic)
    • Director
      • Veljko Bulajic
    • Writers
      • Stevan Bulajic(story) (screenplay)
      • Ratko Djurovic(story) (screenplay)
      • Veljko Bulajic(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

    More like this

    The Battle of Sutjeska
    6.8
    The Battle of Sutjeska
    Walter Defends Sarajevo
    8.1
    Walter Defends Sarajevo
    Kozara
    7.2
    Kozara
    Mars na Drinu
    8.4
    Mars na Drinu
    Partizanska eskadrila
    6.6
    Partizanska eskadrila
    I Even Met Happy Gypsies
    7.7
    I Even Met Happy Gypsies
    Most
    7.5
    Most
    When I Am Dead and Gone
    8.0
    When I Am Dead and Gone
    Balkan ekspres
    7.7
    Balkan ekspres
    The Elusive Summer of '68
    8.5
    The Elusive Summer of '68
    The Meeting Point
    8.2
    The Meeting Point
    Taiwan Canasta
    7.5
    Taiwan Canasta

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      A poster for this film was made by Pablo Picasso, and it was only one of two movie posters he made. He did it because he was a fan of Yugoslav films and, according to people who were involved in the production, he did not ask for money for the poster--all he wanted was a case of Yugoslavia's finest wines.
    • Goofs
      All entries contain spoilers
    • Quotes

      Lohring: Keep this well in mind: any partisan you are tempted to spare will be glad to show you his gratitude for your sentimentality with a hand grenade or a couple of well aimed bullets.

    • Crazy credits
      At the Neretva in occupied Europe, we fought one of the most celebrated and the most heroic battles for the wounded. Here was decided the fate of the Revolution. Here was victorious the brotherhood and unity of our peoples. Tito
    • Alternate versions
      The Serbian DVD version is 160 minutes long and is a significantly different cut from any other DVD or video releases. There is no opening map and narration. The musical score is the original Vladimir Kraus-Rajteric score which kicks in very rarely. The scenes are rearranged so that Welles makes his speech to the troops near the beginning and the air attack hits Bihac simultaneously with the land battle. Almost every dialog scene is lengthened and cut slower than the English version, but there are some parts of the action scenes cut a lot tighter. For instance, this is missing the scene where Riva falls out of the truck during the Italian retreat. It is also missing the scene in the Orthodox church prior the Welles addressing the Chetniks. However, it does feature several new scenes, most notably a scene where Vasco raids a house in Prosor only to then shoot and wound his own commander, and then a second battle between the Partisans and the Italians. In this scene, Riva refuses to fire at his own men and Novak almost shoots him only for Martin to intervene. General Morelli is captured and then promptly commits suicide with a pistol. There is also a new scene where the partisans surprise attack a group of Chetniks guarding the Neretva bridge. There are several more violent shots missing from other prints - such as the Ustashans hanging an old woman and laughing when they march through Bihac. There are several more deaths during the end battle with the Chetniks such as a partisan being shot in the back when reaching for a grenade. Then at the end of the battle there is a scene where a partisan named 'Stipe' goes crazy and guns down a number of Chetnik prisoners, only to have his rank stripped from him. Curiously almost all the nationalities speak their own language; with Riva speaking Italian even with his Yugoslavian captors and Morelli speaking in German when addressing General Lohring. The only actors dubbed appear to be Yul Brynner and Orson Welles.
    • Connections
      Featured in Robna kuca: Partizanski film I (2009)

    User reviews22

    Review
    Top review
    10/10
    Rare gem among the communist films
    What is so great about this movie is its near matter-of-fact portray of the reality of the war, namely, the bloody defeats and suffering of the partisan army. This honest portray of what really happened in the past history is often taken for granted in movies made in west, but it is extremely rare in the eastern blocks, including the former-Yugoslavia, that is until this movie was made.

    The movie was based on the historical facts of German attack on the Yugoslavian Communist bases, including inflicting great casualties on the partisan army, and in addition, the logistic parts of the partisan army, such as the central hospital, and heavy equipment, such as artillery and vehicles, were completely lost. However, German failed their original objective of eliminating the partisan army once for all in one decisive blow, despite the fact wiping out every partisan base and inflicting significant casualties on partisans:

    Tito narrowly escaped the German spear head of the assault, and successfully planned and lead the remaining forces to break out, opening new fronts in Bosnia after escaping, and eventually establishing a new base there. For this reason, this battle was considered a victory by partisans because they escaped the total annihilation, and with the tiny surviving force, they eventually recovered and fight to their final victory.

    This movie is an relatively accurate portrait of the extremely difficult breaking out attempts and the eventual success of the partisan army, a technical defeat but a strategic victory. In comparison to other war flicks made in communist countries, such as that of former-USSR, Romania, Vietnam, and North Korea, this movie presented the facts that most communist regime would rather not want to talk about: the heavy casualties of communist army and its cause: the inabilities of the commanders to make the best decision at the right moment at the place.

    In the war flicks made in the other communist countries listed above, the heroes never dies, and their commanders never makes mistakes, and the enemy was always stupid and incapable. This movie honestly admits that the enemy is not only better equipped, but is equally capable if not better Tito's commanders. The German war fighting capabilities were given proper credit.

    In this sense, this movie is the Yugoslavian equivalent of The Longest Day, made in USA, in which Germans were treated as they were -- human beings and professional soldiers who did their job despite the failure of their high command. Although there are still obvious one-sided scenes due to obvious political reasons, such as the world is bleeding when a partisan was killed, the movie is far better than any others made in the communist countries and for its honest description of the history, it deserves a perfect ten.
    helpful•41
    12
    • zzmale
    • Jun 1, 2004

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 7, 1969 (Yugoslavia)
    • Countries of origin
      • Yugoslavia
      • Italy
      • West Germany
      • United States
    • Languages
      • Serbo-Croatian
      • German
      • Italian
      • English
    • Also known as
      • The Battle of the River Neretva
    • Filming locations
      • Konjic, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Yugoslavia
    • Production companies
      • Bosna Film
      • Jadran Film
      • Kinema Sarajevo
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $12,000,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 45 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    The Battle of Neretva (1969)
    Top Gap
    By what name was The Battle of Neretva (1969) officially released in India in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    The Best Movies Coming This Summer
    See the full list
    View list
    List
    The Best Movies and Shows to Watch in June
    See the full list

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.