Russian, 1959, in Russian with subtitles from Netflix. I remember seeing this on PBS over 30 years ago and it was interesting to find a really clean disc of it. In black and white with photography that is beyond fabulous.
Young Alyosha becomes a reluctant hero, detroying two German tanks to save his own skin. He is to be given a decoration but begs the general to give him instead a brief leave to see his mother. He gets the leave and then the real story begins. This is the third old Russian war film Ive dug out of netflix and all three are more or less excellent, about ordinary people with no talk of great generals or politicians. A normal bit of flag waving but no real propaganda. It is the ordinary soldier and the folks that must carry on when he is gone that are the heros.
From a gun collectors view the fighting in the film is quite short. Alyosha has an m38 (he is a signalman) and the long columns of soldiers marching to the front have m91/30s all with bayonets at the ready pointing to the sky. Alyoshas tank warfare is done with a PTRD anti tank rifle (I think, no expert here but it was bolt action). I am not a tank expert either but in this film and another I am pretty sure the film crew had real German tanks to play with. If they saved all those RC Mausers and lugers, they must also have saved any armor that would operate.
Highly recommended (but it is not an action war film).
Jimski
Young Alyosha becomes a reluctant hero, detroying two German tanks to save his own skin. He is to be given a decoration but begs the general to give him instead a brief leave to see his mother. He gets the leave and then the real story begins. This is the third old Russian war film Ive dug out of netflix and all three are more or less excellent, about ordinary people with no talk of great generals or politicians. A normal bit of flag waving but no real propaganda. It is the ordinary soldier and the folks that must carry on when he is gone that are the heros.
From a gun collectors view the fighting in the film is quite short. Alyosha has an m38 (he is a signalman) and the long columns of soldiers marching to the front have m91/30s all with bayonets at the ready pointing to the sky. Alyoshas tank warfare is done with a PTRD anti tank rifle (I think, no expert here but it was bolt action). I am not a tank expert either but in this film and another I am pretty sure the film crew had real German tanks to play with. If they saved all those RC Mausers and lugers, they must also have saved any armor that would operate.
Highly recommended (but it is not an action war film).
Jimski
