"Freedom begins with an act of defiance"
Based on a true story, during World War II, four Jewish brothers escape their Nazi-occupied homeland of West Belarus in Poland and join the Soviet partisans to combat the Nazis. The brothers begin the rescue of roughly 1,200 Jews still trapped in the ghettos of Poland.
Daniel Craig
Tuvia Bielski
Liev Schreiber
Zus Bielski
Jamie Bell
Asael Bielski
Alexa Davalos
Lilka Ticktin
Allan Corduner
Shimon Haretz
Mark Feuerstein
Isaac Malbin
Tomas Arana
Ben Zion Gulkowitz
Jodhi May
Tamara Skidelsky
Kate Fahy
Riva Reich
Based on a true story, during World War II, four Jewish brothers escape their Nazi-occupied homeland of West Belarus in Poland and join the Soviet partisans to combat the Nazis. The brothers begin the rescue of roughly 1,200 Jews still trapped in the ghettos of Poland.
**_Survival in the woods during WW2_** As Nazi forces sweep through Eastern Europe in 1941 the Bielski brothers (Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell) seek refuge in the deep forests on the border of Poland and Belorussia (Belarus). More and more desperate Jews join their ranks for common protection and to oppose the occupying Germans. How can they all survive in the woods during the next four years of war? Released in 2008-2009, "Defiance" is a drama/war film that has a lot going for it: a story based on actual events, good actors, authentic locations (filmed in Lithuania, a mere 100 miles or so from the actual sites), effective cinematography and a quality score. I personally love survival-type films and "Defiance" fills the bill, although it's not great like, say, "The Last of the Mohicans" (1992). The filmmakers throw in all kinds of dynamic things to maintain the viewer's attention: Numerous gun battles, an airstrike and a tank, which are all faithful Hollywood-isms. It would've been better to simply focus on the characters and their gritty survival story. How about a deeper examination of individuals reduced to basic necessities? What about a study of people stripped of all civilized influences, struggling with the animalistic side of their psyche, as depicted in the excellent "Sands of the Kalahari" (1965)? How about the immaterial yet palpable bond of love which unites and gives life even in the worst possible conditions? There's some of this, of course, but I wanted it to go deeper, like in "The Flight of the Phoenix" (1965). One thought-provoking scene concerns a man seeking to join the ever-growing group in the woods wherein he is asked what he does in order to determine how best to utilize his skills. He ponders it a moment and replies that he's "an intellectual." There's of course little use for an intellectual in such a forest community. The region was largely agrarian and so the peasant-types were skilled in at least one practical area as farmers, craftsmen or laborers. But what use was an "intellectual"? How many of us are intellectuals and would largely be useless in such a scenario? We'd learn new skills real quick, huh? So the picture works on a what-if level: How long will our present society endure as it is before many of us are forced to live primitively in the sticks? If that happens, I hope you're more than just "an intellectual." "Defiance" is worthwhile if the survival-in-the-woods plot piques your interest. It's superior to the similar "Tears of the Sun" (2003), but IMHO not quite as good as "Hornet's Nest" (1970) and "Sands of the Kalahari," although it's not far off. The movie runs 2 hours, 17 minutes. GRADE: B/B-
Historically incorrect, Jewish propaganda. Jewish guerilla were not war heros and did not fight Nazi. Instead, they collaborated with Russian underground, stole properties from the villagers and farms for their needs and reselling for Russians. During these robberies they committed unspeakable crimes, leaving them with no chances to survive. They were no heroes to tell stories about, they were war criminals.
Two Jewish brothers - "Tuvia" (Daniel Craig) and "Zus" (Liev Schreiber) are leading a ramshackle group of escapees from the Nazis into the depths of the Belorussian forest. With little food and weapons, their imperative is to try and build some sort of shelter to see them through the harsh winter whilst trying to find allies to help them survive. This is no mean feat, with hundreds of mouths to feed, and it sorely tests the faith of many and the resilience of their commander who is increasingly at odds with his more pro-active brother. It's "Zus" who finally decides to leave and join the approaching Red Army battalion and that leaves "Tuvia" and another brother "Asael" (Jamie Bell) with quite a challenge as sickness and starvation loom. This isn't a particularly well written drama, nor is Craig really that great either. What works here is the sense of desperation that Edward Zwick manage to present us with. The dense forest, the snow, the wind, the darkness and the wolves. The drudgery of these ordinary people reduced to living little better than animals facing a relentless foe that is bent on an irrational plan of slaughter. Tomas Arana does quite well, if sparingly, as the Soviet commander who is suspicious of his Jewish (traditionally non-combatant) cohort and who is also, clearly, a man who probably ought not to be trusted too far. Just to lighten the mood, the under-used Bell gets a little bit of love interest for when the meagre fires die down of a cold evening. In an environment where it really is live or die, the story touches on issues of collaboration and shows us another hugely effective method employed by their enemy to subdue - and keep subdued - a population ill-equipped to survive hand-to-mouth. It is too long - half an hour could come out without savaging the plot, but it's still worth a watch. Just keep a blanket nearby.
Regent Horthy is the leader of Hungary and a German ally, but his favorable standing with Hitler changes as the war comes to an end. Forced to cede Hungary’s power or else witness the execution of his son, Regent Horthy gives up control of his country to the Nazis, who quickly move Hungarians to ghettos and death camps, with no hope in sight. But the despair changes when a young man named Elek emerges. Separated from his family during the relocations and aided by the woman he loves , Elek defies the enemy by becoming one of them. In a race against time, disguised as a Nazi Officer he embarks on a mission to save his family and thousands of his countrymen.
A group of teenage cadets sheltered from war at the Virginia Military Institute must confront the horrors of an adult world when they are called upon to defend the Shenandoah Valley.
Members of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division are fighting for their country amidst the rugged terrain of Bastogne, Belgium, in December 1944. Holley and his American compatriots have already seen one of their own, Roderigues, perish under enemy fire. The men try to rebuff another series of Nazi attacks, but what they really need is a change in the weather. Without clear skies, they'll never get the air support they need.
It is 1943, and the German army—ravaged and demoralised—is hastily retreating from the Russian front. In the midst of the madness, conflict brews between the aristocratic yet ultimately pusillanimous Captain Stransky and the courageous Corporal Steiner. Stransky is the only man who believes that the Third Reich is still vastly superior to the Russian army. However, within his pompous persona lies a quivering coward who longs for the Iron Cross so that he can return to Berlin a hero. Steiner, on the other hand is cynical, defiantly non-conformist and more concerned with the safety of his own men rather than the horde of military decorations offered to him by his superiors.
In 1863, Mississippi farmer Newt Knight serves as a medic for the Confederate Army. Opposed to slavery, Knight would rather help the wounded than fight the Union. After his nephew dies in battle, Newt returns home to Jones County to safeguard his family but is soon branded an outlaw deserter. Forced to flee, he finds refuge with a group of runaway slaves hiding out in the swamps. Forging an alliance with the slaves and other farmers, Knight leads a rebellion that would forever change history.
A chronicle of the Cristeros War (1926-1929), which was touched off by a rebellion against the Mexican government's attempt to secularize the country.
Sussex, England, 1938. Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, Thomasina and Martha Hanbury, two ingenious sisters, create LOLA, a miraculous machine.
Vietnam War, 1966. Australia and New Zealand send troops to support the United States and South Vietnamese in their fight against the communist North. Soldiers are very young men, recruits and volunteers who have never been involved in a combat. On August 18th, members of Delta Company will face the true horror of a ruthless battle among the trees of a rubber plantation called Long Tân. They are barely a hundred. The enemy is a human wave ready to destroy them.
The true story of WWII's notorious Sobibor Nazi death camp, where a courageous inmate orchestrates and leads the escape of over 300 prisoners.
In November of 1918 as World War I was ending, a unit of American soldiers goes behind enemy lines to find a lost platoon of African American soldiers.