Ballad of a Soldier [Criterion Collection]

Director: Grigoriy Chukhray, Grigory Chukhari Grigoriy Chukhray

Overview

Visually stunning and emotionally gripping, Grigori Chukhrai's poetic masterpiece Ballad of a Soldier has been given an equally important release from the Criterion Collection. The film's brilliant black-and-white cinematography has been given an excellent digital upgrade, as has the Russian-language soundtrack. The image is consistently clear and sharp, with very little grain visible. The mono soundtrack (with optional English-language subtitles) occasionally shows its age, but it is nevertheless in excellent shape. The disc also contains some fantastic radio interviews from the New York preview screening in 1960 with director Chukhrai and stars Vladimir Ivashov and Zhanna Prokhorenko. The three separate interviews are fascinating, and occasionally heated (specifically Chukhrai's agitated manner in response to some of the questions he's being asked). The disc also contains a lengthy and worthwhile essay included in the keep-case. Although Russia's greatest cinematic antiwar testament remains Elem Klimov's devastating 1985 film Come and See, Ballad of a Soldier should be at the top of your must-see world cinema list.

Product Details

Release Date:	03/21/2010
UPC:	0037429167922
Original Release:	1960
Source:	CRITERION COLLECTION
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:28:00
Sales rank:	4,192

Special 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

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Vladimir Ivashov	Alyosha
Zhanna Prokhorenko	Shura
Nikolay Kryuchkov	General
Evgeniy Urbanskiy	Invalid
Antonina Maksimova	Alyosha's mother
Elza Lezhdey	Actor
Evgeniy Teterin	Actor
Valentina Markova	Actor,Actor
Marina Kremnyova	Actor
Vladimir Pokrovskiy	Actor
Georgiy Yumatov	Actor
Gennadiy Yukhtin	Actor
Yevgeny Urbansky	Invalid
Valentina Telegina	Actor
Ella Lezhdey	Actor
Lev Borisov	Actor
Anatoliy Kuznetsov	Soldier Gavrilkin
Evgeniy Evstigneev	Actor
Vladimir Kashpur	Actor
G. Yukhtin	Actor
E. Teterin	Actor
Michael Siv	Composer

Technical Credits

Grigori Chukhrai

Valentin Yoshov

Valentin Yezhov

Grigoriy Chukhray	Director
Grigori Chukhrai	Screenwriter
Valentin Yoshov	Screenwriter
Valentin Yezhov	Screenwriter
Grigory Chukhari	Director

Scene Index

Side #1 --
1. A Son & a Hero [3:50]
2. David & Goliath [4:20]
3. Six Days' Leave [3:10]
4. A Special Present [3:25]
5. Good Deeds [4:33]
6. Gorisov [7:26]
7. Stowaways [7:38]
8. Shura [7:18]
9. Close Call [4:29]
10. Love & Friendship [4:39]
11. Separated [2:49]
12. A Good Girl [2:58]
13. 7 Chekhov Street [6:13]
14. The Present Delivered [2:37]
15. True Love [5:33]
16. Haunted [1:56]
17. "Is That Thunder?" [5:00]
18. Sosnovka [2:31]
19. Mother & Son [2:50]
20. A Soldier [4:52]
1. Color Bars

Menu

Side #1 --
   Play the Movie
   Chapters
   Subtitles
      Subtitles: On
      Subtitles: Off
   Interviews
      Play
      Index
         Introduction
         Vladimir Ivashov
         Zhanna Prokhorenko
         Grigori Chukhrai

Editorial Reviews

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 fiancé. 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.

All Movie Guide - Tom Wiener