''Battle of Neretva'' ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Bitka na Neretvi, Битка на Неретви) is a 1969 Yugoslavian epic

partisan film Partisan film ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, partizanski film, партизански филм) is the name for a subgenre of war films made in FPR/SFR Yugoslavia during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. In the broadest sense, main characteristics of Partisan films ar ...

. Written by Stevan Bulajić and

Veljko Bulajić Veljko Bulajić (born 22 March 1928) is a Montenegrin film director and UNESCO Kalinga Prize recipient. He has spent the majority of his life working in Croatia and is primarily known for directing World War II-themed movies from the Partisan f ...

, and directed by Veljko Bulajić, it is based on the true events of

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 opposing ...

. The

Battle of the Neretva Case White (german: Fall Weiss), also known as the Fourth Enemy Offensive ( sh, Četvrta neprijateljska ofenziva/ofanziva), was a combined Axis strategic offensive launched against the Yugoslav Partisans throughout occupied Yugoslavia during ...

was due to a strategic plan for a combined

Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

attack in 1943 against the

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод� ...

. The plan was also known as the Fourth Enemy Offensive and occurred in the area of the

Neretva river The Neretva ( sr-cyrl, Неретва, ), also known as Narenta, is one of the largest rivers of the eastern part of the Adriatic basin. Four HE power-plants with large dams (higher than 150,5 metres) provide flood protection, power and water s ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

. ''Battle of Neretva'' is the most expensive motion picture made in the SFR Yugoslavia. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, the year after Sergei Bondarchuk (playing the role of Martin in ''Neretva'') won the honour for ''

War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (russian: Война и мир, translit=Voyna i mir; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy that mixes fictional narrative with chapters on history and philosophy. It was first published ...

''. The score for the English-speaking versions was composed by

Bernard Herrmann Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in composing for films. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely r ...

. Its

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...

was released by Entr'acte Recording Society in 1974. It was re-released on Southern Cross Records on CD. One of the original posters for the English version of the movie was made by

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

, which, according to Bulajić, the famous painter agreed to do without monetary payment, only requesting a case of the best Yugoslav wines.

Synopsis

In 1943, Adolf Hitler orders the final destruction of the Yugoslav Partisans. This forces them and thousands of refugees to begin a trek northward through the Bosnian Mountains. Their goal is to reach the bridge at Neretva in order to escape. Their trip is fraught with danger every step of the way and they have to face German tanks, Italian infantry, Chetnik Cavalry, strafing airplanes, disease and natural elements.

Cast

Production

''Battle of Neretva'' was the first of a series of huge state-sponsored

film productions. It had a staggering budget approved by Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito. Different sources put it anywhere between $4.5 million and $12 million. Global stars such as Sergei Bondarchuk,

Yul Brynner Yuliy Borisovich Briner (russian: link=no, Юлий Борисович Бринер; July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985), known professionally as Yul Brynner, was a Russian-born actor. He was best known for his portrayal of King Mongkut in th ...

Franco Nero Francesco Clemente Giuseppe Sparanero (born 23 November 1941), known professionally as Franco Nero, is an Italian actor, producer, and director. His breakthrough role was as the title character in the Spaghetti Western film '' Django'' (1966), ...

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

, etc. flocked to communist Yugoslavia attracted by the huge sums of money being offered. Shot over 16 months with funds put up in largest part by over 58 self-managed companies in Yugoslavia, the movie featured a combined battalion of 10,000

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (abbreviated as JNA/; Macedonian and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian and bs, Jugoslavenska narodna armija; sl, Jugoslovanska ljudska ar ...

(JNA) soldiers. Four villages and a fortress were constructed for the film and destroyed. Several JNA-inventory Soviet

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 weapons. The C ...

tanks, touched up to look like German

Panzers Nazi Germany developed numerous tank designs used in World War II. In addition to domestic designs, Germany also used various captured and foreign-built tanks. German tanks were an important part of the Wehrmacht and played a fundamental role du ...

, met the same fate. Even used several Yugoslavian planes

Soko 522 The Soko 522 was a two-seater Yugoslav military training and light attack aircraft produced in the 1950s by SOKO in Yugoslavia. History The ''Soko 522'' was designed by Yugoslav engineers Šostarić, Marjanović and Čurčić at the Ikarus Airc ...

like germans luftwaffe planes with

Balkenkreuz The ''Balkenkreuz'' () is a straight-armed cross that was first introduced in 1916–1918 and later became the emblem of the ''Wehrmacht'' (German Armed Forces) and its branches from 1935 until the end of World War II. It was used by the '' Wehr ...

on the wings. A railway bridge over the Neretva in Jablanica was destroyed. Director Bulajić's justification for demolishing the bridge rather than getting the shots in studio was that it would become a tourist attraction. The bridge was thus blown but because none of the footage was usable due to the billowing smoke that made it impossible to see anything, it was decided that the bridge should be repaired and destroyed again. The problem with the excessive smoke occurred again and the scenes of the bridge being blown up in the film were shot using a table-size replica at a sound stage in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

. The Yugoslav public was updated on the shooting progress via pieces in the country's print media.

Release

The film has been edited in to numerous versions. Runtimes vary by location, the regional prints also change the story due to edits that add or remove scenes: * North America: 106 minutes * Spanish: 113 minutes * European: 127 minutes * UK/Australia: 127 minutes * Germany and Croatia: 142 minutes each, although they are not the same print. * Serbia: 160 minutes Most of the actors spoke their native language and subtitled in the original release. Afterwards the film was dubbed in English and distributed world-wide with subtitles for some scenes. The English dubbed versions, running between 106 and 127 minutes, were rescored by

Bernard Hermann Bernard Herrmann (born Maximillian Herman; June 29, 1911December 24, 1975) was an American composer and conductor best known for his work in composing for films. As a conductor, he championed the music of lesser-known composers. He is widely r ...

as the original film score by Vladmir Krause Ratjeric had been damaged in the redubbing process. However, the German and Croat-language releases contain the original score.

Reception

In 1999, a poll of Croatian film fans found it to be one of the best Yugoslavian films ever made.

References

External links

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Razgovor s Veljkom Bulajićem
{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Neretva, The 1969 films 1969 war films Yugoslav war films Films about anti-fascism West German films Serbo-Croatian-language films 1960s English-language films English-language Yugoslav films English-language German films English-language Italian films World War II films based on actual events War films set in Partisan Yugoslavia Films set in Bosnia and Herzegovina Partisan films Films directed by Veljko Bulajić Films scored by Bernard Herrmann Films with screenplays by Ugo Pirro War epic films Films about bridges Films about fascists American World War II films German World War II films Italian World War II films Yugoslav World War II films 1960s American films 1960s Italian films 1960s German films Jadran Film films Films about Yugoslav Resistance