Dni i Nochi on AllMovie

Like most of his best films, Alexander Stolper's Days and Nights has a wartime theme. Based on the novel by Konstantine Simonov's, the film presents itself as an eyewitness account of the 70-day defense of Stalingrad against the Nazi hordes. Without ever showing the enemy, Stolper is able to convey the horror and deprivation of total war. Eschewing individual heroics, the story stresses the importance of group solidarity in vaniquishing a common foe, though Vladimir Soloviev as a courageous courier and Anna Lisyanskaya as a dedicated nurse are occasionally singled out. Adding to the aura of credibility is the fact that much of the film was lensed in the actual ruins of battle-torn Stalingrad.