Partizanska eskadrila (1979)

The first Yugoslav Partisan air force unit. Loosely based on historical facts.

Director:

Hajrudin Krvavac (as Tom Raymounth)

Writers:

Djordje Lebovic, Miljenko Smoje

Stars:

Bekim Fehmiu, Velimir 'Bata' Zivojinovic, Ljubisa Samardzic

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bekim Fehmiu	...	Major Dragan
Velimir 'Bata' Zivojinovic	...	Vuk (as Velimir Zivojinovic)
Ljubisa Samardzic	...	Zare
Rados Bajic	...	Dalibor
Radko Polic	...	Klauberg
Branko Plesa	...	Von Norden
Faruk Begolli	...	Porucnik Begovic (as Faruk Begoli)
Branko Djuric	...	Slaven
Jordanco Cevrevski	...	Zeko
Zlata Petkovic	...	Jelena
Suada Ahmetasevic	...	Milja (as Suada Avdic)
Aljosa Vuckovic	...	Boris
Ljuba Tadic	...	Partizanski komandant
Peter Carsten	...	Nemacki General
Dragomir Felba	...	Djed

Storyline

An epic film of all time. It is one of the greatest spectacle that was filmed in Yugoslavia in the 20th century. In the spring of 1942, the German air force had complete dominance, not only in the sky of Yugoslavia, but also almost the whole of Europe. Partisans in Yugoslavia at that time had planes that are like other weapons snatched from the enemy. During the ''Third Offensive'', 1942, on planes of different types abducted by the enemy, these are people took unequal air battle, specifying the enemy blows where he thought he was invulnerable, thereby contributing to the final victory. This is a film about the creation of partisan aviation and its early struggles. The film was directed by Hajrudin Krvavac, a famous director of films of this type (Walter Defends Sarajevo, Bridge and Diverzanti), while starring the then very popular Yugoslav actors, often in just these films, Velimir 'Bata, Ljubisa Samardzic, Bekim Fehmiu, Faruk Begoli.

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Plot Keywords:

army | enemy | partisan | yugoslavia | plane | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Did You Know?

Goofs

We are led to believe that the story is about formation and development of first and only partisan squadron in 1942 and that its members are founders of what was to become partisan air force. However, the look of the base the surviving squaddies are relocated to at the end of the film suggests it has been there for quite some time and developed completely independently.

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Connections

Featured in Cinema Komunisto (2010)

User Reviews

The Yugloslavian Partisan Air Force...done on the cheap.

While you probably wouldn't suspect it today, during WWII some of the bravest airmen and women flew planes which were seemingly completely obsolete. Russian women pilots flew old biplanes--effectively attacking German troops during night raids. And, in occupied Yugoslavia, partisans flew whatever they could find and were also successful...provided they weren't crazy enough to engage with German planes. Like the Soviets, they were most effective attacking ground troops...and "Partizanska Eskadrila" ("Battle of the Eagles") is about this fledgling group of desperate pilots.

When you watch this film, you need to remember that it isn't the best history lesson. The Yugoslavian film industry was tiny and poor....and the planes used by both sides during the movie were completely wrong. I didn't notice ANY real German planes and the Yugoslavian ones were not the correct types either. Also, oddly, the cheap DVD I found was MOSTLY dubbed into English. All the scenes with Germans were done in German and were not translated in any way--which was frustrating as my German is only poor to fair. And, speaking of cheap...the print is faded and has no subtitles of any type. It also was heavily edited...missing about 30 minutes from the original film.

So is it worth seeing? Perhaps. But don't expect good aerial footage and the whole thing just has a very cheap look about it. "The Blue Max" or "Battle of Britain" it is not!! Plus, seeing a cheap old biplane shooting down a German plane (actually a plane that looked about as German as a taco!) was pretty funny. Overall, a rather poor film about a subject that actually could use a good movie with decent and historically accurate planes. Not terrible...but also not good.

Details

Country:

Yugoslavia

Language:

Serbo-Croatian

Release Date:

16 July 1979 (Yugoslavia)

Also Known As:

Battle of the Eagles

Filming Locations:

Airport Zeljava, Mountain Pljesavica, Croatian-Bosnian border, Yugoslavia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Centar Film, Croatia Film, Jadran Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color