Ballad of a Soldier [Criterion Collection]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

The award-winning Ballad of a Soldier was the first Russian film to score an American success during the Cold War era. It is a relatively simple, uncomplicated story of a callow young Russian conscript (Vladimir Ivashov) who yearns for home and hearth during World War II. Unfortunately, only those who have committed a conspicuously heroic act are being honored with liberty. Almost in spite of himself, the boy becomes a battlefield hero, and as a result is allowed to visit his family. En route to his home, the boy uses up much of his valuable leave time through his efforts to help others. He finally gets to see his mother for a few precious moments before being called back to active duty. At the risk of sounding snobbish, we advise that you see Ballad of a Soldier in a subtitled print. The English-dubbed version borders on the ridiculous, with everyone talking in stilted sentences that sound like Soviet Damon Runyon. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Number of Discs: 1
• Subtitle: Eng
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
• Screen: Black and White
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Features:
  • New digital transfer, with restored image and sound
  • Audio interview with director/co-screenwriter Grigori Chukhrai and stars Vladimir Ivashov and Zhanna Prokhorenko, conducted after a preview screening in New York
  • New and improved English subtitle translation

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Nominated Best Original Screenplay - 1961 (Grigori Chukhrai, Valentin Yezhov)

• British Academy of Film and Television Arts

•     Won Best Film - Any Source - 1961 (Grigori Chukhrai)

• Cannes Film Festival

•     Won Best Participation - 1960

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Nominated Best Foreign Film - 1960

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Vladimir Ivashov - Alyosha
       Zhanna Prokhorenko - Shura
       Antonina Maksimova - Alyosha's mother
       Nikolai Kryuchkov - General
       Yevgeny Urbansky - Invalid
       Valentina Telegina
       Ella Lezhdey
       Lev Borisov
       Marina Kremneva
       Anatoly Kuznetsov - Soldier Gavrilkin
       Yevgeni Yevstigneyev
       Vladimir Kashpur
       V. Markova
       Georgy Yumatov
       G. Yukhtin
       E. Teterin

• Director:

  Grigori Chukhrai

• Screenwriter:

  Grigori Chukhrai, Valentin Yezhov

• Cinematographer:

  Vladimir Nikolayev, V. Rylach, Era Savelyeva

• Composer (Music Score):

  Michael Siv

REVIEW:

• Made in the post-Stalin thaw in Soviet filmmaking, Ballade o Soldate is refreshingly apolitical, choosing to ascribe the humanitarian impulses of its characters to their nature rather than to an adherence to state ideals. Alyosha (Vladimir Ivashov) is a scared soldier of 19 who, as much out of self-preservation as anything, manages to disable two German tanks. The film's first extended scene of dialogue sets the pattern for a portrayal of the military for the rest of the drama; Alyosha is teased by hardened officers but treated kindly by top brass. Giving one soldier a six-day pass in the middle of the war seems an extraordinary kindness, but the film resolutely insists on the basic goodness of nearly all its characters. On his journey homeward, Alyosha initiates acts of charity and is treated generously by nearly everyone he meets. His only nemesis, a bully of a guard on a freight train, winds up getting his comeuppance from-you guessed it-a lieutenant. The scenes between Alyosha and his female traveling companion Shura (Zhanna Prokhorenko) are packed with yearning but again reflect the soldier's basic honesty, since he's led to believe that she's on her way to visit her fiance. This is one of the least horrific war films ever made, which isn't to say that it glorifies combat or ignores suffering. It also contains one of the saddest expressions of motherly love ever spoken, when Alyosha's mother bids him farewell by crying out, "I didn't wait for your father, but I'll wait for you." Director Grigori Chukhrai, after some virtuoso camerawork in the man vs. tank sequence, settles down for some lovely compositions, with deep focus shots framed by a glorious Russian sky. ~ Tom Wiener, Rovi