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| Vladimir Ivashov, Zhanna Prokhorenko,
Antonino Maksimova |
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Anamorphic
widescreen |
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Dolby Digital
5.1 |
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DTS |
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Trailer(s) |
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Featurette(s) |
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Documentary |
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Audio commentary
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Deleted scenes
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Concept art
/ storyboards |
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Multi-angle
feature |
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'I
will return, Mama.'
A
young Russian soldier in WWII is granted a trip home and meets several
people whose lives have been affected by the war on what proves to be
his final journey.
 Like
the somewhat similar The Cranes Are Flying, this Soviet film
from the same period uses impressive cinematography and some memorable
setpieces to show the impact WWII had on that particular generation.
Both films are steeped in a sense of melancholy, focusing more on the
tragedy and inhumanity of war than on the gung-ho heroics that typified
earlier films that dealt with this subject matter. Neither film has
aged particularly well, both suffering from an overly melodramatic acting
style and an adherence to Soviet ideals that is stifling to the natural
development of the narrative.
But there are also important differences: Ballad of a Soldier
is the more subdued film of the two, with more emphasis on quiet moments
and fewer dizzying camera moves. The fact that the film is structured
like a road movie, with the doomed hero moving from place to place,
meeting different characters, also gives it some welcome variation,
while its relatively modest running time makes sure the film doesn't
wear out its welcome. Another essential film for fans of Russian cinema
as well as for cinematography buffs, and a diverting enough film for
the more casual viewer. |
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Available
on DVD for Region 1 as part of the Criterion Collection, and as a Region
0 release (with more extras) from the RusCiCo collection from selected
distributors. The Criterion Collection release served as a basis for
this review.
The
fullscreen image is framed at its original aspect ratio of approx. 1.33:1.
This is another amazing transfer of an aging black-and-white cinema
classic, drawn from a beautifully restored source print and presented
in a razor-sharp transfer. There is only very rarely any débris
or scratching visible, and grain is also hardly noticeable. Another
winner from Criterion.
The mono sound mix is presented in Dolby Digital 1.0, with all dialogues,
music and sound effects emanating from the center speaker. Diaglogues
sound natural and undistorted, and although the dynamic range is fairly
limited, sound effects like the explosions at the film's beginning still
have enough punch and power to convince.
The
only extra on this release is an audio interview with the director
and main actors recorded after the film's New York premiere. The interview
is a nice addition, though it's an odd mix of Russian (which is subtitled)
and poorly intelligible English (which is not), and it takes quite a
bit of added volume and attention to actually understand what's being
said. The
main menu screen is designed just like the DVD cover. The 'Play movie'
option turned out not to work on two of our players, so we were forced
to access the main feature from the scene selection menu.
Dan
Hassler-Forest
Reviewed: July
25, 2002
Click
here for IMDB info on Ballad
of a Soldier.
Click here
to return to the front page.
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