Why are the movies about the Eastern front mostly ignored?

[Morar Andrei]

Such as the west europeans and americans, east europeans also made some films about the Great War, some being very good. But I can see that many people do not appreciate them, or not even know about. Most of the films I've seen on TV, are presenting the same content: "nothing about East, all about western front". Maybe is just the material, mostly coming from the communist era (Romania, my country, for example did the same to be honest gloryfing some of his heroes, but after 1995 we had in interesting WW1 movie about the Eastern Front in 1917 and the battles of Marasti, Marasesti and Oituz, considered to be the harshest from that front in 1917 and mentioned alongside the most important battles of the entire war). The movie I was reffering to as an example of eastern one is called " The Triangle of Death" ("Triunghiul Morții"), made after 1995, talking about the three main battles of the eastern front in 1917. That movie doesn't glorify for example the romanians, because this is many times a problem of the war movies from this are, there also being scenes with platoon squads executing their own commanders, generals who betray and join to the enemy, the fear of being just a peasant who was brought to the battle just for defending his land, brutal bayonete charges of both sides, pyles of dead bodies of the romanian soldiers and so on. That may look like a bit glorified the scenes depicting the national heroes during battle, but most of their actions, such as the army's are confirmed and really happened. Again, please give a chance to the east! That's why many people from the west of Europe or from America don't even know that countries such as Romania, Portugal, Greece, Bulgaria and so on were involved in the war, most of their knowlidge about WW1 being like "only Western Front happened; they also tried something at Gallipoli, but there was not any activity on other places in Europe"

Edited 15 October , 2017 by Morar Andrei

[slick63]

I think its probably a combination of 'not knowing that the films exist` and the 'lack of subtitles' on some of them. I`ve come across some soviet movies covering ww2 and if they have subtitles I have found them, by and large, both interesting and entertaining.

I must admit that I am ignorant of any for the period 1914-1918 though.

[Morar Andrei]

I think there were some attempts to sell romanian WW1 movies in western Europe. A few years ago, there have been releaaed some editions of these movies with subtitles in English, French, German and Hungarian, for abyine wgo didn't kniw Romanian. But is also there some bias from the westerners? Because I haven't seen any WW1 movie about Eastern Front, or any other front but Western Front done in West Europe or America. Sorry if someone feels offended.

[Morar Andrei]

Here is also a link to the oldest Romanian war movie ever done. It's over 100 years old, but has English subtitles. Enjoy!

 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Independance_of_Romania.webm

[James A Pratt III]

Here is a list of Eastern front/Russian revolution period movies on youtube ect:

 

Knight Without Armor, British spy saves Russian countess

The Last Command, (silent) first Oscar for best actor

Lenin the Train, Lenin travels through Germany to Russia

 

Russian with subtitles

Admiral (2008), Deals with Admiral Kolchak the White Russian leader and his gal pal

Romanovs an Imperial Family, Deal with Nicholas II and family from his abdication to their murder

Battleship Potemkin (silent) epic movie on the mutiny on the Battleship Potemkin

White Sun of the Desert, Popular Soviet film deals with the Basmachi revolt

October ten days that shook the world, (silent) overblown film on the October revolution. A joke of the period said more people were hurt during this film than the real October revolution.

The Fiery Miles, A "red Western" based on the John Ford movie Stagecoach. Also a movie with a cheka content

And Quite Flows the Don, Russian epic movie on epic novel also there is the 1930 silent version no subtitles

 

Old Soviet movies no subtitles

Lenin in 1918

Chapaev

We are from Kronstadt

 

1920 Battle of Warsaw, Polish epic movie  no subtitles

 

Miniseries;

The Fall of Eagles how the Great monarchs lost their crowns

Ace of Spys, on Sydney reilly a so called super spy who really wasn't

 

Rasputin Movies that are not to historically accurate:

Rasputin and the Empress which has a Russian voice over

Rasputin the Mad monk

Rasputin Dark Servant of Destiny

Rasputine, In French no subtitles

 

For Women and girls:

OTMA Vidoes

Also see the documaentary "Russia's Lost Princesses"

 

 

[James A Pratt III]

Other Eastern front movies not on youtube:

Dr Zhivago epic film on novel

Nicholas and Alexandra parts are on youtube like here the family gets murdered

The defense of Riga Latvian epic film

Ba'talion, Russian

 

Russian Movies with Cheka  (Soviet Secret Police) content

At Home Among Strangers

The Adjutent of His Excellency

The Chekist

Dead Season

[Morar Andrei]

Thank you! I have't even know about some of these movies.

On the other hand, talking about documentaries, I recently found an intetesting one about the Romanian front.

 

 

 

A common problem of many Romanian documentaries or blogs on WW1/WW2 is about bias and overglorifing the past, possibly a result of the education (or lack of) offered in school. And whem you think the documentary was bad, the comments are even worse: about WW1, it transforms into a huge romanian-hungarian argue, which really persists smd turns into extreme nationalism. When talking about WW2, there still are some "idiots" who still glorify Marshal Antonescu, the Legionnaires and say that Romania leaving the Axis was a huge mistake. But I can talk about that in a separate topic, if you are interested. Happy New Year! 

[Morar Andrei]

Sorry if anyone found my exprimation a bit offensive.

[Morar Andrei]

Looking again into the question of War movies, two years later, I see nothing has changed too much. Besides anything made in Romania, is there no other war movie depicting or at least mentioning Romania in the Great War?

All I know about is a movie that came out last year, I think, about Queen Marie/Maria, but it was mostly a Romanian production that just came and passed away without getting much notice even here. 

[ilkley remembers]

Mikhail Sholokhov's wonderful epic novel 'And Quiet Flows the Don' about a family of Don Cossacks during the years before and during WW1 has been filmed several times. Watched the 1957/1958 version directed by Garisimov fairly recently and was much impressed by the scenes showing Cossack attacks on the Austro-Hungarians The film has English subtitles but I think that it helped that I had read the book albeit when I was a teenager many years ago. Its in three parts and in total lasts about 5 hours but then perhaps nothing happens quickly in Mother Russia.

 

Edited 7 June , 2020 by ilkley remembers

[GrenPen]

I saw a recent video clip of an Imperial Russian assault on Austrian trenches, taken from a period drama. The film is an adaptation of the book of Eduard Volodarsky “Passion for Chapay”

 

Wiki
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Страсти_по_Чапаю?

Link to video
https://www.facebook.com/warmovienerd/videos/1794067024225935/
 

[Morar Andrei]

These are some interesting suggestions. I will check them out.