by Clarke Fountain
synopsis
This five-part war epic, a kind of Soviet response to The Longest Day, was seen by millions of people in the former U.S.S.R. and the Eastern Bloc. Later it was shown every 9th of May on Soviet TV as part of the official celebrations for (World War II) Victory Day. The epic covers all major victories of the Soviet Army in WWII, including the Stalingrad Battle and the Battle of Berlin, the assault on the Reichstag, and erecting the Red Banner over its ruins. This film has huge battle scenes, with thousands of extras, and was extremely expensive to shoot.
