The Battle of Sutjeska (1973)

In 1943, 20 000 Yugoslav partisans led by Tito find themselves encircled by 120 000 well-armed Axis troops in the mountains of Bosnia and must break-out of encirclement.

Director:

Stipe Delic

Writers:

Sergey Bondarchuk (additional material), Wolf Mankowitz

Stars:

Richard Burton, Ljuba Tadic, Velimir 'Bata' Zivojinovic

5 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Burton	...	Josip Broz Tito
Ljuba Tadic	...	Sava Kovacevic
Velimir 'Bata' Zivojinovic	...	Nikola (as Bata Zivojinovic)
Irene Papas	...	Borina majka
Milena Dravic	...	Vera
Bert Sotlar	...	Barba
Boris Dvornik	...	Dalmatinac
Rade Markovic	...	Rados
Ljubisa Samardzic	...	Stanojlo ... topdzija s konjem
Milan Puzic	...	Clan glavnog staba
Nikola-Kole Angelovski	...	Stanojlov pomagac (as Kole Angelovski)
Stojan 'Stole' Arandjelovic	...	Pop (as Stole Arandjelovic)
Relja Basic	...	Captain Stewart
Branko Spoljar	...	Clan glavnog staba
Petar Banicevic	...	Captain Deakin / Sinkronizira Tita

Storyline

The Battle of Sutjeska known as ''Fifth offensive'' is the hardest, most tragic and the greatest battle that was led Yugoslav Partisans in World War II. Chaos, hell, fates, suffering, heroic deaths and all the tragedy of Sutjeska is a one poetic way and at the same time on one tragically way described in this phenomenal movie. This movie, was made for the 30th anniversary of the battle is also the most expensive movie in the history of Yugoslav cinema.

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Plot Keywords:

yugoslav partisan | reference to josip broz tito | nazi soldier | battle of sutjeska | partisan | 

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Taglines:

The True Story

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Genres:

War

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

The planes shown are not German aircraft but Yugoslav Soko 522s.

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Connections

Featured in Cinema Komunisto (2010)

User Reviews

Highly watchable WW2 drama

If you have an interest in WW2 and especially movies related to that conflict, this might make an interesting change from the usual Hollywood epics from the 60's. I had to see this having been impressed with 'The Battle on the River Neretva', another entertaining and well produced 70's film from the former Yugoslavia. I've also seen some poor Italian efforts that generally lack decent direction and are half-baked cash-ins on the Hollywood epics they attempt to imitate (there are a few decent ones). Like 'Neretva' you can tell this was made in a former communist country with an emphasis on the common struggle, with sentiment sometimes contrived and also overbearing a little too much (a few scenes are genuinely moving). However, this is a story told with much truth, and the braveness and courage of the Yugoslavian resistance to the Nazi's is nothing to mock. As a story it's a little too episodic but is nevertheless a gripping watch. What's impressive also is the budget involved, you'd seriously struggle to find any WW2 movie with as many extras as this (and 'Neretva') and the props (vehicles, weaponry etc) are all excellent for this era. The direction is fine (not exceptional), the scenery is fantastic. Burton as Tito is pretty stiff, he plays the man as if he were being portrayed in a propaganda description (probably exactly what was required) and the other actors are generally all good. Overall this is a highly entertaining film and deserves a better fate as it portrays one of the lesser known struggles of WW2. Not that easy to find, here in the UK it was released on tape in the early 80's (The fairly rare Videomedia label, same as 'Neretva') with a bright, decent quality, slightly letterboxed print. Maybe a DVD will surface that's not just a rip from tape!! One fault with this UK release was the fact the subtitles are missing from the German speaking scenes, a shame, but it doesn't spoil the film too much.

Details

Country:

Yugoslavia

Language:

Serbo-Croatian German English

Release Date:

3 July 1973 (Yugoslavia)

Also Known As:

The Fifth Offensive

Filming Locations:

Mountain Durmitor, Montenegro, Yugoslavia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bosna Film, Filmska Radna Zajednica (FRZ), Sutjeska Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min 183 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1