''The Last Assault'' ( ro, Noi, cei din linia întâi;

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: ''We, on the Front Lines'') is a 1986 Romanian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Sergiu Nicolaescu Sergiu Florin Nicolaescu (; 13 April 1930 – 3 January 2013) was a Romanian film director, actor and politician. He was best known for his historical films, such as ''Mihai Viteazul'' (1970, released in English both under the equivalent titl ...

. It is set during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, during the period when

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

joined the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

against the

Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis *Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinate ...

Plot

Horia Lazăr (Alexandru) is an eager but inexperienced officer given a command of Romanian troops. His unit marches across

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, and

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, during which it suffers heavy casualties. Much of the second half of the film covers the

Siege of Budapest The Siege of Budapest or Battle of Budapest was the 50-day-long encirclement by Soviet Union, Soviet and Kingdom of Romania, Romanian forces of the Hungarian capital (political), capital of Budapest, near the end of World War II. Part of the b ...

, including German efforts to relieve it. During the course of the war, Lazăr forms a relationship with Silvia (Onesa), the daughter of General Marinescu (played by Nicolaescu himself).

Production

In lieu of working German tanks,

T-34 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank introduced in 1940. When introduced its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was less powerful than its contemporaries while its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against Anti-tank warfare, anti-tan ...

's with German markings and some modifications were used instead. Some of the filming took place at the

Văcărești Monastery Văcăreşti may refer to several entities in Romania: *Văcărescu family of boyars *Văcărești, Bucharest *Văcăreşti Monastery *Văcăreşti prison *Văcărești, Dâmbovița, a commune in Dâmboviţa County *Văcăreşti, a village in Mihă ...

during March 1985. Damage was committed during the filming, the worst being a fracturing of a marble cross given by

Constantine Mavrocordatos Constantine Mavrocordatos (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Μαυροκορδάτος, Romanian: ''Constantin Mavrocordat''; February 27, 1711November 23, 1769) was a Greek noble who served as Prince of Wallachia and Prince of Moldavia at several ...

, one of the monastery's founders. Sergiu Nicolaescu wrote in his memoir that ''The Last Assault'' was the most censored of those films directed by him. The Leadership Council for Socialist Culture and Education forced the removal of a few key scenes: one involving violence committed by Hungarian soldiers; the removal of the

Romanian Army The Romanian Land Forces ( ro, Forțele Terestre Române) is the army of Romania, and the main component of the Romanian Armed Forces. In recent years, full professionalisation and a major equipment overhaul have transformed the nature of the Lan ...

from

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, on orders from

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

, so that the Soviet

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

could be the first to reach the

Hungarian Parliament building The Hungarian Parliament Building ( hu, Országház , which translates to "House of the Country" or "House of the Nation"), also known as the Parliament of Budapest after its location, is the seat of the National Assembly of Hungary, a notable l ...

; and the drama involving General

Gheorghe Avramescu Gheorghe Avramescu (26 January 1884 – 3 March 1945) was a Romanian Lieutenant General during World War II. In 1945, he was arrested by the NKVD on the Slovakian front and died in custody the next day. Early life Avramescu was born Botoșani ...

, who was accused by the Soviets of treason and was later executed (his daughter committed suicide while in detention). One scene involves a pianist found by Romanian troops within a bombed out home in Budapest; Nicolaescu claimed this as a reference to the story of

Władysław Szpilman Władysław Szpilman (; 5 December 1911 – 6 July 2000) was a Polish pianist and classical composer of Jewish descent. Szpilman is widely known as the central figure in the 2002 Roman Polanski film '' The Pianist'', which was based on Szpilman ...

(who was actually in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

), which was later dramatized in

Roman Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a (né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, two ...

's '' The Pianist''.

Reception

The film was successful upon release. Many commented that ''The Last Assault'' felt like an American film, which Nicolaescu took as a compliment. It was selected as the Romanian entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the

59th Academy Awards The 59th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 30, 1987, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During ...

, but was not accepted as a nominee.Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Cast

George Alexandru George Alexandru (; 21 November 1957 – 1 January 2016) was a Romanian film and theater actor. Filmography * ' (1978) * ' (1980) * ' (1983) * ' (1985) * '' Noi, cei din linia întâi'' (1985) * ''Figuranții'' (1987) * ''François Villon - Poe ...

as Lt. Horia Lazăr * as Silvia Marinescu *

Valentin Uritescu Valentin Uritescu (; 4 June 1941 – 17 June 2022) was a Romanian film, television, and theatre actor. He is best known for his parts in '' The Conjugal Bed'' and The Last Assault''. In 2011, Uritescu was chosen by Sony Pictures Animation to d ...

as Sgt. Saptefrati *

Ion Besoiu Ion Besoiu (; 11 March 1931 – 18 January 2017) was a Romanian actor. Biography He was born in Sibiu in 1931 and graduated the city's Theater and Music Academy. After making his debut in 1957, he played for 16 years at the Radu Stanca National T ...

as Col. Câmpeanu *

Ștefan Iordache Ştefan Iordache (; 3 February 1941 – 14 September 2008) was a Romanian actor. Iordache was born in Calafat. In 2006, he was voted the best actor in Romania. He died, aged 67, in Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = A ...

as officer Assakurthy *

as General Marinescu *

Mircea Albulescu Iorgu Constantin Albulescu (4 October 1934 – 8 April 2016), known professionally as Mircea Albulescu (), was a Romanian actor, university professor, journalist, poet, writer, and member of the Writers' Union of Romania (''Uniunea Scriitorilor'' ...

as Horia Lazăr's father *

Silviu Stănculescu Silviu Stănculescu (; 24 January 1932 – 23 October 1998) was a Romanian actor. He appeared in more than forty films from 1960 to 1998. Born in Timișoara, he graduated in 1956 from the I.L. Caragiale Institute of Theatre and Film Arts (IA ...

as Soviet general *

Colea Răutu Colea Răutu (; 18 November 1912 – 13 May 2008) was a Romanian actor, born in Bălți (Russian Empire, now Republic of Moldova).Emil Hossu Emil Hossu (; 24 November 1941 – 25 January 2012) was a Romanian actor. Hossu was born into a Greek-Catholic family in Ocna Sibiului, Sibiu County. He was a well-known actor of stage and screen in the 1980s and 1990s, having performed in ...

as soldier Munteanu, ex-political prisoner *

Vladimir Găitan Vladimir Găitan (; 2 February 1947 – 10 November 2020) was a Romanian actor. Born in Suceava, he studied at the Academy of Theatrical Arts and Cinematography in Bucharest, graduating in 1970. Găitan appeared in more than forty films since ...

as Soviet Lt. Igor Ivanich Bodnarenko * as Cpl. Petre Mărgău, from

Treznea Treznea ( hu, Ördögkút, lit. "The Devil's Fountain"; german: Teufelsbrunnen) is a commune in Sălaj County, Crișana, Romania. It is composed of two villages, Bozna (''Szentpéterfalva'') and Treznea. These were part of Agrij Commune until 199 ...

* as German General Reinhardt, commander of an armored division * as German Maj. Franz * as soldier Petcu * Stelian Stancu as Major Badiu, commander of the infantry regiment *

Eusebiu Ștefănescu Eusebiu Ștefănescu (; 3 May 1944 in Câmpina – 15 March 2015 in Bucharest) was a Romanian actor. After attending for one year the University of Bucharest, he switched to the Institute of Theatre and Film I.L. Caragiale, graduating in 1967. ...

as German tank commander * as soldier Firu * as soldier Lică * as German Lt. Peter Ungwart * as Romanian corporal

References

External links