Couple of days ago I finished watching what is considered to be a masterpiece of the Soviet cinematography. Since its creation, this movie (or actually, miniseries with 12 episodes) has been traditionally shown on TV on the Victory day (9th of May, that commemorates the German surrender in 1945 and the end of WWII) and it became an integral part of the Russian culture (including jokes). But it was the first time for me (yeah, an oversight, one of many), and the experience was quite intense on several levels.
This is a fictionalized story about a Russian spy operating undercover in Germany for over 20 years. But the plot is centered around last several months of 1945, and 17 days in particular. While undercover, Isaev (under the name of Stirlitz) was able to reach high ranks in the Fascist hierarchy (SS command), while continue working for the "Center". The plot also revolves around several historical events: the soon to be over war and the fall of the Reich, including growing loss of faith in Hitler among German officials, various plots and secret negotiation with the allies, like negotiation between Allen Dulles and SS General Karl Wolff, codenamed Sunrise Crossword.
It is not a typical spy movie, by all count, and Isaev can't be considered Russian James Bond as there are no fight scenes, women or glamor. His character isn't based on a single person, but is a composite of several, as the intention of the movie (or the book the movie is based on) was to present a person who embodied all the best features of the intelligence officer. Russian TV documentary about the series called it KGB's most successful campaign.
The movie was ordered by Andropov, then General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, to commemorate the effort of Intelligence Officers abroad, and probably to provide a necessary propaganda boost to the public and to instill perception that there are those who work in the shadows and put their life on the line while influencing the course of global events. The final result was so successful, the series had almost 100% rating and when it played on TV, the streets across Soviet Union were completely empty.
In addition, there are also many factual inaccuracies (here is a wiki page that lists them all, or most of them).
But after mentioning all the above, and even while knowing that this movie is full of intentional patriotic propaganda, in my opinion, they don't call it a masterpiece for nothing. There is something special about the way this movie is built, and the way it portrays the inner struggle, inner truth and decision making of the main characters. Stirlits and his deep longing "for the ideal", for his real home (here are first 5 minutes of the movie before the titles, including the theme music), sacrifices that he chooses to make, etc., is only one example, and other characters, like Pastor Schlag, display even greater loyalty to the inner truth, no matter the consequences.
It is an intelligent movie, on one hand with long and elaborate dialogs, on the other with scenes where intensity of emotion is being expressed only with eyes. What I personally found as very interesting is that progression of the plot, including thoughts of the characters, are being narrated, giving the viewer an insight into character's thought processes. Its structure is built to give an impression of a historical account of events, where the plot is also progressed by real footage from that time. Some of the footage is very disturbing and some of it is very interesting because it shows the realities of life and war in several countries.
Another thing worth mentioning is the portrayal of the Nazis and the overall description of the Reich and Germany. According to the historian K. Zalessky (who wrote a book "Seventeen Moments of Spring: The Curved Mirror of the Third Reich"), the movie failed to show German reality and the mentality of its people or Nazi leaders, and that it was very similar to what was going on in USSR at that time. But that's where, in my opinion, lies the strength and big irony of this movie, considering the fact that it was KGB propaganda. In one of the interviews Zalessky mentions that Nazi hierarchy, interactions, methods, even interrogations shown in the movie are in fact very similar to the way NKVD was ran or conducted itself in Stalin era. One could say that the movie exposes one psychopathic totalitarian regime while disguising itself in another. It is very interesting to see the movie while keeping it in mind.
Bottom line is, I would highly recommend this movie, if just for the masterful work, interesting and engaging story, real historical footage and depth of thought and character.
It can be found with English subtitles here, for example. There are also many other sites that has with English subs.
This is a fictionalized story about a Russian spy operating undercover in Germany for over 20 years. But the plot is centered around last several months of 1945, and 17 days in particular. While undercover, Isaev (under the name of Stirlitz) was able to reach high ranks in the Fascist hierarchy (SS command), while continue working for the "Center". The plot also revolves around several historical events: the soon to be over war and the fall of the Reich, including growing loss of faith in Hitler among German officials, various plots and secret negotiation with the allies, like negotiation between Allen Dulles and SS General Karl Wolff, codenamed Sunrise Crossword.
It is not a typical spy movie, by all count, and Isaev can't be considered Russian James Bond as there are no fight scenes, women or glamor. His character isn't based on a single person, but is a composite of several, as the intention of the movie (or the book the movie is based on) was to present a person who embodied all the best features of the intelligence officer. Russian TV documentary about the series called it KGB's most successful campaign.
The movie was ordered by Andropov, then General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, to commemorate the effort of Intelligence Officers abroad, and probably to provide a necessary propaganda boost to the public and to instill perception that there are those who work in the shadows and put their life on the line while influencing the course of global events. The final result was so successful, the series had almost 100% rating and when it played on TV, the streets across Soviet Union were completely empty.
In addition, there are also many factual inaccuracies (here is a wiki page that lists them all, or most of them).
But after mentioning all the above, and even while knowing that this movie is full of intentional patriotic propaganda, in my opinion, they don't call it a masterpiece for nothing. There is something special about the way this movie is built, and the way it portrays the inner struggle, inner truth and decision making of the main characters. Stirlits and his deep longing "for the ideal", for his real home (here are first 5 minutes of the movie before the titles, including the theme music), sacrifices that he chooses to make, etc., is only one example, and other characters, like Pastor Schlag, display even greater loyalty to the inner truth, no matter the consequences.
It is an intelligent movie, on one hand with long and elaborate dialogs, on the other with scenes where intensity of emotion is being expressed only with eyes. What I personally found as very interesting is that progression of the plot, including thoughts of the characters, are being narrated, giving the viewer an insight into character's thought processes. Its structure is built to give an impression of a historical account of events, where the plot is also progressed by real footage from that time. Some of the footage is very disturbing and some of it is very interesting because it shows the realities of life and war in several countries.
Another thing worth mentioning is the portrayal of the Nazis and the overall description of the Reich and Germany. According to the historian K. Zalessky (who wrote a book "Seventeen Moments of Spring: The Curved Mirror of the Third Reich"), the movie failed to show German reality and the mentality of its people or Nazi leaders, and that it was very similar to what was going on in USSR at that time. But that's where, in my opinion, lies the strength and big irony of this movie, considering the fact that it was KGB propaganda. In one of the interviews Zalessky mentions that Nazi hierarchy, interactions, methods, even interrogations shown in the movie are in fact very similar to the way NKVD was ran or conducted itself in Stalin era. One could say that the movie exposes one psychopathic totalitarian regime while disguising itself in another. It is very interesting to see the movie while keeping it in mind.
Bottom line is, I would highly recommend this movie, if just for the masterful work, interesting and engaging story, real historical footage and depth of thought and character.
It can be found with English subtitles here, for example. There are also many other sites that has with English subs.
