In July 1942, in the Second World War, the rearguard of the Russian army protects the bridgehead of the Don River against the German army while the retreating Russian troops cross the bridge. While they move back to the Russian territory through the countryside, the soldiers show their companionship, sentiments, fears and heroism to defend their motherland.
Cinematography
Camera literally crawls through mud and wheat with exhausted soldiers.
Acting
Shukshin's Lopakhin—raw, funny, devastating, never hits a false note.
Direction
Bondarchuk casts himself dying spectacularly, no subtlety, zero regrets.
Director
Sergey Bondarchuk
Vasiliy Shukshin
Piotr Lopakhin
Vyacheslav Tikhonov
pvt. Nikolay Strel'tsov
Sergey Bondarchuk
pvt. Ivan Zvyagintsev
Yuriy Nikulin
pvt. Nekrasov
Georgi Burkov
pvt. Alexander Kopytovsky
Ivan Lapikov
sergeant Poprischenko
Nikolai Gubenko
lieutenant Goloschyokov
Nonna Mordyukova
Natalya Stepanovna
Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy
surgeon
Lidiya Fedoseyeva-Shukshina
Glasha
Andrei Rostotsky
corporal Kochetygov
Tatyana Bozhok
nurse
Mykola Shutko
cook lisichenko
Andrei Popov
author's narration
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
SU
