With Fedor Bondarchuk's STALINGRAD about to hit British cinemas - where it will be ripped apart by people who thought they were going to be watching an English language 3D war film featuring American movie stars - I thought I'd treat myself to a Russian war movie . Now despite the Soviets being the major factor in defeating the Nazis they're every bit as being guilty of flag waving jingoism as their Hollywood counterparts but when you consider the Soviet Union tags World War Two as " The great patriotic war 1941-45 " this is only to be expected " Hey Theo didn't the war start in 1939 ? And didn't the Soviets invade Poland from the East a couple of weeks after the Nazis invaded from the West ? " Now why'd you think I mentioned flag waving jingoism ? Anything Uncle Sam can do the Soviets could do better , including rewriting history in a manner George Orwell would instantly recognise . No one in SAVING PRIVATE RYAN feels the need to mention the British contribution except to have a dig at Monty dragging his feet . It's somewhat painful to notice that unless you're Polish no one can recall the double war whammy Poland had to endure in 1939 There is something very reactionary about FORTRESS OF WAR . I had to double check if this was the same film that the IMDb said was released in 2010 because it feels more Soviet than Russian . I don't dispute that it's based on true events but it does seem to play up a little too much on the courage of the political officers the Commissars who enforced military and more importantly party discipline on the Red Army . One can see the appeal of telling the courage of the defenders of the Brest fortress because it's not indicative of many of the Commissars in June 1941 who upon hearing of the Nazi invasion suddenly decided to flee to Moscow on party business leaving Red Army frontline units leaderless and at the mercy of the Nazis who it quickly transpired had no mercy for their Slav opponents . It does make the point that the Soviets were unprepared but you can't help thinking it may be an excuse rather than a point . The lack of preparations was down to panic mongers rather than the party hierarchy ? Hmmm I see To be fair to the film it doesn't pull any punches as to what the Nazis did and while it doesn't shock in the way COME AND SEE shocked it is rather brutal, bloody stuff with an astronomical body count which is in keeping with the reality of that conflict that killed 35 million people in Eastern and Central Europe . In fact after the first half hour that sets up the characters it just becomes one long battle sequence , intermittently broken up by character moments where the occasional cliché raises its ugly head which may remind you of American war movies . One film I was reminded of was PEARL HARBOR when planes appear in the sky and start defying the laws of physics down to the fact they're obviously CGI. So in some ways FORTRESS OF WAR is détente in one movie where East meets West and the worst faults of Stalinism merges with the worst faults of American film making

I don't like reading subtitles, but I will for a particularly good movie, and this certainly is one. I also don't normally gravitate toward war movies, but again, I'll make an exception for a good one, and I give this one a 9. It might be even better than that. There is so much for the eye here; I'm very impressed at the amount of work which must have gone into making every shot look so real. Also, the soundtrack was not overwhelming; for the most part, what we see is what carries the emotion, and that is a testament to the power of the events and the quality of the reconstruction of them for this movie.There's a lot of violence, shooting, dying, etc. here, but not a lot of really nasty gore, which is something I appreciate. I'm sure the reality may have been even uglier than what is shown in this movie, but I don't need to see every last ounce of gore to know that war sucks and people get horribly maimed and killed. What is shown is enough to make the point well.Very high quality movie; strongly recommended.

There can be no doubt that The Fortress is a cinematic masterpiece with grade one photography, acting, special effects, screenplay, pace and emotional depth. None of this is questioned and all readers are recommended to view it. Basing the story from the viewpoint of a child trainee soldier was particularly effective and the film effortlessly holds viewer attention throughout the generous 138 minutes.Moreover the film was well researched in many aspects. Not only were the sets extremely accurate in their portrayal of the fortress but even the ruins were perfectly reconstructed from post war photographs. The officers really existed and their heroism was deservedly depicted.But it is without question a work of huge political propaganda. And it completely failed to illustrate the true horror of war as it really happened.In every battle the wounded always outnumber the dead. Indeed many die subsequent to the injuries of combat and the percentage of soldiers killed outright is normally rather low. War is not a computer game in which the fallen just drop dead on the spot with a little groan. It is a sea of suffering and screaming and agony in which the able are caught in a quandary whether to aid the victims or run for safety.But this was not at all captured in the film. The victims just die instantly and lie there in huge peaceful heaps. Even their faces appear as if they just went to sleep. Of course this is rubbish.The film depicts those Russians that fought on as heroes whilst any soldiers that left are slurred with the implication of cowardice. The Germans are portrayed as inhuman killing machines without compassion and slurred with the entirely untrue concoction of using civilians as human shields in their attack. Russian attacks are shown as courageous head on charges across open ground as if they were led by 19th.century heroes whilst in fact the leadership was inept and too inexperienced to coordinate effective counter attacks. The film did not portray the brutal use of boy soldiers by the Russians as ammunition feeders to machine gun posts and ID tag collectors from the fallen. And Commissar Fomin is shown to have given himself up for execution as a Jew whilst in fact he was betrayed by his own men as a hated Bolshevic. Such details suggest a very different reality inside the stubborn pockets of resistance than the film portrays. And it takes little imagination to understand the motive.'Stalingrad', the notable 1993 epic of that engagement remains supreme in the honest depiction of war and this film cannot reach it. Ultimately heroism and barbarism are individual aspects of battle and not national psychologies. But this film attempts to show good and evil as if there can be a good side to war. And it never suggests that Russian preparations to attack Germany in 1942 were well under way in 1941 and that Hitler only attacked first before Stalin did the same to him.Sorry readers but this film must be taken with a large pinch of salt. Nevertheless I did shed a tear with the old man at the end and my heart went out to the young musician boy as it was meant to.

Great movie! Once again, I was convinced that the really high quality movies we have shot, filmed and will be removed in the future. The patriotic content, acting, thought-out developments - the upper class. This is good news, because from the first seconds of the film you become attached to him, his view can not refuse. Unable to allocate a certain actor - they all played like a great orchestra, a single mechanism, with great dedication and skill of the game paying tribute to those who gave their lives for our great country, for our freedom, for the clear sky above our heads. There are some movies that are dearer to me than any foreign high-budget "action games." "Brest Fortress", as well as several other military and patriotic films made in different parts of our fatherland, will remind us of the Great Victory, which is extracted in the glow of the battles our ancestors, people who are not sparing himself, rushed to defend the country from the very first hours of war, World War II. Our tribute to this great feat - my memory of them, which also includes the creation of patriotic films like "Brest Fortress".Again, the film affects the magnitude of the explosions and accuracy of events. Not for nothing, when you create a movie, documentary evidence used to reconstruct as accurately as possible the situation that arose in the fortress at that difficult time.As the fighting scenes were filmed - it is generally impossible to comment on. High level production of hostilities simply indescribable - before he delivered quality.It is significant that at the beginning and end of the film sounded wonderful song "On the Hills of Manchuria", which was originally devoted to another heroic feat of our soldiers, but that it is the best fit in this movie.I am infinitely grateful to the creators for the idea to remove this film and the actors who performed their roles very well, gave it to the max. Thank you for this wonderful picture! Eternal memory to all those who fought for the freedom of our motherland. Let's not forget about the difficult victory, which extracted a high price for us, our ancestors! Their courage, endurance, boundless will to win and a great desire not to give up, there is a great example for us! The town where I was born and lived, Odessa, is the proud title of "Hero City". The Brest Fortress is the only castle to be awarded such a high calling, earning him, as all city-heroes, the blood of its defenders, and their courage! About the great feat of strength, character and other cities-heroes do not forget ever!