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.

---

Plot Keywords:

army | enemy | partisan | yugoslavia | plane | 

---

Genres:

Drama | History | War

---

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

Did You Know?

Goofs

The Partisans use Kragujs, light assault/training planes developed decades after WWII.

---

Connections

Featured in Robna kuca: Partizanski film I (2009)

User Reviews

You made an accurate assessment, even without knowing the facts

It really amazed me to see that someone would take so much time to assess such a bad movie. The beginning (of the film) had some truth in it. The Partisan "AF" was started in 1943 when two communist pilots from the Croat Ustashi AF deserted, together with their observers, in Breguet 19 and Potez 33, respectively. The aircraft saw some action in strafing and hand-bombing, but didn't last very long. One crew was killed and the other survived, the pilot being killed later while flying a Spitfire Vc. The real Partisan squadrons were established when RAF detached two of its (Yugoslav) squadrons of Spitfire Vc and, Hurricane IIc , respectively, manned by Ex Yugoslav Royal Airforce pilots, and allotted them to Tito's forces on the Island of Vis. Even those were never engaged in air-to-air activities, but strictly for ground support. So the film was one giant cow manure, to put it mildly, and the lowest point for its, otherwise not at all bad, director. By some quirk of fate I was present on the filming of the last sequence of the movie, when dozens of German aircraft were destroyed (Yugoslav 522 trainers, used also in the flying sequences) on the Mostar military airport. The pyrotechnics were impressive, and the Scotch served lavishly by the film crew was even better. Otherwise, the film was a shameless lie was and frequently joked about by the contemporary audience.