A Batalha da Rússia

Comparing it to Capra's Prelude to War, The Battle of Russia doesn't feel quite so in-your-face as a propaganda movie. Some of the same techniques are there, but it feels a little more like it's trying to inform. There is informing and persuasion going on here for sure, but the way it slightly backs off the latter does probably make it a "better" documentary, while also making it feel a little less interesting to try and unpack.

But when considered as something that wanted to look at what had been happening in Russia during World War II, and made while World War II was still going on, it's certainly interesting. It's doubly fascinating to hear an American documentary talk about Soviet Russia in such a positive light (something something, the enemy of my enemy is my friend).

History, documentary. The most famous documentary from the series "Why we Fight", consisting of seven films released during the Second World War by the Office of Strategic Services (American Intelligence) commissioned by the US Department of Defense, directed by the talented Frank Capra. Yes, the same Frank Capra who will shoot one of the best American films in the history of cinema "This Wonderful Life" in 1946. This was already an occasion to watch this documentary. And I am absolutely delighted with her. And here's my brief opinion - the Great Patriotic War through the eyes of Americans. I will say right away that there are no minuses in the picture, but there are comments that I will write in a separate paragraph, but for now let me finish with the introduction and tell you about the advantages of this documentary.

So, here they are: 1. Scenario - the picture tells about the history of Russia, which has been attacked by aggressive neighbors more than once. About the courage and steadfastness of the Russian people, who every time drove the hated conquerors from their native land. It tells in detail about the economic potential of Russia, its riches, industry, the diversity of the peoples who inhabited it and who inhabit it now. Details are given about the initial stage of the Great Patriotic War: the preparation of Germany, its successes in Europe, the terrible blow of June 22, 1941, the battle for Moscow, the siege of Leningrad, the Battle for Stalingrad are considered in detail. We have not forgotten about the monstrous atrocities of the fascists in the occupied territory (these shots make one shudder and tears flow by themselves). The German and Soviet military doctrine and many other things are considered in detail. We forgot to mention the supply of cargo and military equipment from the United States and Great Britain. In the documentary there are such newsreel shots that I had never seen anywhere before, even in domestic pictures about the war. All the information is presented briefly, concisely, but succinctly and intelligibly, for which I express my great gratitude to Frank Capra, our former compatriots Anatol Litvak (the author of the script) and composer Dmitry Temkin for the well-chosen music.

2. Visibility - the maps and animations are made at the highest level (the maps were provided by the Ministry of Defense, and the great and terrible Evil Corporation itself was responsible for the animation (and then the Walt Disney Studio)). Clearly and intelligibly, the viewer is shown how the battles were prepared and conducted, the plans of the parties. Here you can definitely feel the tentacles of the fascist hydra, which swung at Russia, and how these tentacles are cut off one by one with a steel sword. This visibility is the moment for which this documentary can be set as an example to follow, because there are practically no jambs. Yes, schematically, yes a little cartoon, but clearly conveys the idea of the difficult struggle of the Russian people with the German invaders.

3. Russian Russians have the right accents - the creators of the documentary truthfully and honestly tell about the struggle of the Russian people against the fascists, show the strength and courage of Russian people, not only soldiers, but also ordinary residents who stood at the machine tools, dug trenches, fought in partisan detachments. The authors sincerely sympathize with the grief that has befallen our great country and try to help as much as they can. It was for this sympathy and the truthful script of Anatole Litvak that the "McCarthyists" pursued after the end of the war. Only Dmitry Temkin and Frank Capra were not touched, apparently for past merits.

And in the Russian version, the voice of the announcer is duplicated by our wonderful artist Vsevolod Kuznetsov.

Now about some remarks. They did not mention the "Ost" plan, they did not devote time to the border outposts that took the first blow of the fascists, and in general the documentary is filled with inaccuracies and strong generalizations, although I will not scold the creators much for inaccuracies and generalizations, because these are Americans, and the documentary itself was made for the American viewer, although it was shown since 1944 and in the Soviet box office. Therefore, it can be forgiven.

It is precisely such documentaries that should be shown on television, and not "Zoya" or "Devyataevs", who denigrate the glory of Russian weapons and the bright memory of those who died in that terrible war, for the victory in which we paid a high price. For me, as a person familiar with the history of this period, all the information was not new, but it will be very useful for a wide range of viewers. This can and should be shown in schools, along with documentaries such as: 1. "Ordinary fascism" 1965 2. "The Great War" 2010-2012.

After watching them all, viewers will get almost a complete picture of the course of the Great Patriotic War and its role in the history and fate of the modern world, which has never been the same after this colossal event.

As a result, we have an excellent documentary about the most difficult period of the Great Patriotic War, with an excellent script, great music, visual demonstration and a truthful look at those events.

My rating is 9 out of 10 and my recommendation for viewing!

Seven stars. With a little round-up. Because the stuff-blowing-up montages went on too long. Because the stock footage that purported to be of happy workers in Leningrad should have been showing us skeletal stick figures. Because Capra just couldn't help being Capra in those scenes of the people either viewing their destroyed homes and families, or reveling in a faux return to normalcy during Christmas 1943. And because the film so carefully ignored things like the Soviet attacks on Poland and Finland in 1939-40. But worth the round-up because the tactical footage was fantastic. And because the film really did do a good job of showing the "average American" why we were spending so much to arm the Russians. I also liked the dissection of the strategies of the two armies on the Eastern front. These WW2 Hollywood propaganda films are fascinating artifacts. Capra made a bunch of them, without ever getting his hands dirty. I'm happy that a bunch of them have become available for streaming. I hardly ever find anything I want to watch on N3tfl!x's streaming site. So I have to give them props for this film.

2 November 2020.

In June 1941 Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union . Less than four years later the outcome was 35 million dead human beings , Nazi German defeat and a " cold war " that lasted 45 years with the threat of humanity destroying itself in nuclear conflict . One of the characteristics of the cold war was both the Soviets and Americans trying to paint themselves whiter than whiter and the other side blacker than black . America being a democracy and with a free press found the task slightly more difficult but let us not forget the McCarthy witch hunts of the 1950s and of popular fiction of the period when every science fiction film with an alien invasion was spearheaded from Mars the red planet because ... well reds are commies are they not ? Bearing this in mind perhaps the most successful propaganda to come out of America was when the Soviets were our friends in the battle against Nazism and this propaganda piece is propaganda at its most enthralling

One massive irritating thing about this documentary is in the use of the word that appears in the title - Russia . It's used euphemistically . Being a Scot someone uses the word " England " or " English " when the word " Britain " or " British " is meant even very mild mannered Celts with no real nationalist instinct get very angry at this lazy mistake and one feels great pity for the 193 million citizens featured in this tribute constantly being referred to as Russians when in fact they're Soviets

Facts are ignored to a large degree because this is a propaganda film though be it a superlative one . The Nazi strategy of Blitzkrieg is referred to as defeating Poland in 18 days . Not inaccurate though it does miss out the important point that after 18 days the Soviet Union then invaded the Polish eastern border and imposed a reign of terror on the Poles living there . When the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union is underway it over states the capacity of the Germans who were reliant upon the horse and cart rather being an entirely motorised and mechanical force as is insinuated here . The Soviet defence in depth is not nearly as effective as painted and the German slowed down due to logistical problems and the onset of the Russian Winter , the Soviet " not one step back " mindset was often down to commissars and NKVD special squads enforcing Stalin's orders in the first six months of the war rather than the average Red Army soldier's fighting spirit and religion was only legalised because of the War . Part one of the film ends with the Russians being described as " Free and united people " which is not the case since communism isn't a democratic ideal centered around freedom and more than a few Soviet citizens most notably in the Baltic states and the Ukraine sided with the Nazis

But where propaganda works best is in emotion combined with an element of truth and the truth is the Nazis butchered millions of Soviets simply because being of Slavonic ethnicity they were considered " untermenschen " by the Nazi regime and this film pulls no punches on the atrocities forced upon the Soviets . We see the bodies of dead children who were burned alive by the Nazis and of young women who have suffered rape at the hands of the Nazis who not only ignored the Geneva convention but ironically their own Nuremberg laws involving race mixing . This film will have you weeping tears for Soviet suffering and have you cheering as they take the fight to the fascist hordes in what is one of the best propaganda pieces you will ever see . So much so that that if it wasn't some of the airbrushing of history as I mentioned earlier such as the Soviets attitude of Poland I would have no hesitation in saying it's one of the greatest documentaries ever made on the Second World War and shows the Soviet blood sacrifice as being the main reason for the defeat of Hitler's regime

Battle of Russia, The: Part 1 (1943)

Battle of Russia, The: Part 2 (1943)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

The IMDb lists this as a single movie but I'm breaking it into two since it was originally released as two parts. Frank Capra once again shows us the history of Russia in various wars plus how they fought the Nazis during WW2. This here was probably the least interesting of all the Capra docs from this period. Part one focuses on the early years of Russia and I found the storytelling quite dull and tiresome. Part two picks up with WW2 but again, I found it rather tiresome even with the actual war footage.