Battle of Warsaw 1920 (2011)
This film is about the decisive battle of the Polish- Soviet war of 1919-1920.
Here is a bit of history on the event to start with.
The newly formed Polish Republic was made up of various areas that had been part of the Russian, German and Austro-Hungarian Empires. The country was being threatened by the equally new U.S.S.R. Poland decided to take advantage of the civil war in Russia at the time between the Red and White Army factions. Poland moved its forces east to expand their territory and make a buffer zone.
The Red Army, once it gained the upper hand against the Whites, attacked. The Soviet forces quickly over ran the thinly held Polish lines. The Poles were soon in full retreat right up to their capital, Warsaw. It was only a desperate counterattack launched at the last minute that saved the day. The Reds were completely routed and were soon in flight. The Soviets would sue for peace thus ending the war. Now, on to the movie.
This film is about a Polish cavalry man, Borys Szyc, and his new wife, cabaret singer, Natasza Urbanska. The film starts with Szyc being called up to join his unit on the advance east to Kiev. The two, Szyc and Urbanska were only married the night before.
The Polish forces advance and soon set up a series of small unit positions. The entire advance has only met light resistance and the Poles relax their guard. Syzc, is soon in a dispute with his commanding officer. The man insulted Syzc by asking if the picture of his wife was a whore. The two come to blows with Syzc winning. He is soon up on charges and sentenced to be shot the next day.
This of course does not happen as the Red Army attacks the outpost. They overrun the Poles and find Szyc locked in a cell. The Red officer in charge, Adam Ferency tells Szyc he can join up with the Reds or be shot. This is an easy choice of course to make, Szyc picks life.
Szyc is forced to watch as the Reds execute all the captured Polish officers. The rest of the prisoners quickly switch teams and join the Red side. Szyc goes along with this deal till he gets a chance to escape. This he does during an attack by several Polish aircraft. He hotfoots it into the forest and heads to the Polish lines.
Back in Warsaw, his wife, Urbanska, has just received word that he is dead and his unit destroyed. Needless to say she takes this hard. As the war news gets worse, and the Soviets draw closer to the Capital, Urbanska joins the women's army and is trained in the use of a rifle and machine gun. Then she is shipped out to the front to help with the wounded. Her husband, Szyc has reached the Polish positions and rejoined the army. Everyone now waits for the coming Soviet attack.
As this is going on, at the Polish headquarters, the man in charge, General Józef Piłsudski, (played by Daniel Olbrychski) has learnt of the Soviet plan of attack. The Polish Army radio service has cracked the Soviet radio code. They see a large gap between the Soviet forces. The Poles round up every spare man and boy and send then towards the gap. They wait for the Soviet assault on Warsaw, then, strike into the gap routing the Reds.
The film follows both, Szyc and Urbanski's actions during the Red attack. Szyc is badly wounded and hauled off to a field hospital. Urbanski ends up manning a heavy machine gun after its crew is killed. After the successful counterattack, she returns to the hospital to help. There she of course finds her true love, wounded, but still alive.
This film is one of the most striking looking films I've ever seen, then again it was made in 3-d. The action scenes come right at the viewer, even in the 2-d print I viewed. There is excellent attention given to period detail and the uniforms, weapons etc. The story is a bit cliché ridden, but the action makes up for that. Not the best war film, but worth a watch.
This film is about the decisive battle of the Polish- Soviet war of 1919-1920.
Here is a bit of history on the event to start with.
The newly formed Polish Republic was made up of various areas that had been part of the Russian, German and Austro-Hungarian Empires. The country was being threatened by the equally new U.S.S.R. Poland decided to take advantage of the civil war in Russia at the time between the Red and White Army factions. Poland moved its forces east to expand their territory and make a buffer zone.
The Red Army, once it gained the upper hand against the Whites, attacked. The Soviet forces quickly over ran the thinly held Polish lines. The Poles were soon in full retreat right up to their capital, Warsaw. It was only a desperate counterattack launched at the last minute that saved the day. The Reds were completely routed and were soon in flight. The Soviets would sue for peace thus ending the war. Now, on to the movie.
This film is about a Polish cavalry man, Borys Szyc, and his new wife, cabaret singer, Natasza Urbanska. The film starts with Szyc being called up to join his unit on the advance east to Kiev. The two, Szyc and Urbanska were only married the night before.
The Polish forces advance and soon set up a series of small unit positions. The entire advance has only met light resistance and the Poles relax their guard. Syzc, is soon in a dispute with his commanding officer. The man insulted Syzc by asking if the picture of his wife was a whore. The two come to blows with Syzc winning. He is soon up on charges and sentenced to be shot the next day.
This of course does not happen as the Red Army attacks the outpost. They overrun the Poles and find Szyc locked in a cell. The Red officer in charge, Adam Ferency tells Szyc he can join up with the Reds or be shot. This is an easy choice of course to make, Szyc picks life.
Szyc is forced to watch as the Reds execute all the captured Polish officers. The rest of the prisoners quickly switch teams and join the Red side. Szyc goes along with this deal till he gets a chance to escape. This he does during an attack by several Polish aircraft. He hotfoots it into the forest and heads to the Polish lines.
Back in Warsaw, his wife, Urbanska, has just received word that he is dead and his unit destroyed. Needless to say she takes this hard. As the war news gets worse, and the Soviets draw closer to the Capital, Urbanska joins the women's army and is trained in the use of a rifle and machine gun. Then she is shipped out to the front to help with the wounded. Her husband, Szyc has reached the Polish positions and rejoined the army. Everyone now waits for the coming Soviet attack.
As this is going on, at the Polish headquarters, the man in charge, General Józef Piłsudski, (played by Daniel Olbrychski) has learnt of the Soviet plan of attack. The Polish Army radio service has cracked the Soviet radio code. They see a large gap between the Soviet forces. The Poles round up every spare man and boy and send then towards the gap. They wait for the Soviet assault on Warsaw, then, strike into the gap routing the Reds.
The film follows both, Szyc and Urbanski's actions during the Red attack. Szyc is badly wounded and hauled off to a field hospital. Urbanski ends up manning a heavy machine gun after its crew is killed. After the successful counterattack, she returns to the hospital to help. There she of course finds her true love, wounded, but still alive.
This film is one of the most striking looking films I've ever seen, then again it was made in 3-d. The action scenes come right at the viewer, even in the 2-d print I viewed. There is excellent attention given to period detail and the uniforms, weapons etc. The story is a bit cliché ridden, but the action makes up for that. Not the best war film, but worth a watch.