Fortress of War

Брестская крепость (2010)

Timing: 2:18 (138 min)

7.2/10
153

8.137/10
285213

7.4/10
11000

All about film

Video 2

Photo 6

Actors and characters

Release date

2010-11-04

Country

Belarus, Russia

Production

Central Partnership, Belarusfilm, TRO

Genre

War, Drama, History, Action

Budget

$253 000 000

Revenue

$4 569 371

Website

http://brestkrepost-film.ru

Director

Aleksandr Kott

Actors

Andrey Merzlikin, Pavel Derevyanko, Veronika Nikonova, Yevgeni Tsyganov, Anna Tsukanova-Kott, Aleksei Kopashov, Alexander Korshunov, Yana Esipovich, Anatoly Kot, Madlen Dzhabrailova
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Vladimir Eryomin, Aleksey Dudarev

Producer

Igor Ugolnikov, Ruben Dishdishyan, Vladimir Zametalin

Operator

Vladimir Bashta

Composer

Yuri Krasavin

Artist

Audition

Editing

Mariya Sergeyenkova
All team (25)

• The duration of the television version is 178 minutes.
• The film includes a fragment from the film "Jolly Fellows" (1934). In reality, on June 21, 1941, the film "Valery Chkalov" (1941) was shown in the fortress.
• Sashka Akimov is a composite character dedicated to the boys from the musical platoon of the 333rd (44th) regiment, who, together with adults, defended the Brest Fortress. Among them were Pyotr Klypa, a young hero awarded the Order of the Patriotic War 1st degree, and Pyotr Kotelnikov, who is still alive today.
• Filming took place on the grounds of the Brest Fortress, at the site of the real events shown in the film. Unique sets were built according to a project by Alim Matveychuk, copies of buildings from pre-war times and an exact replica of the Holmsky Gate. On the last day of filming (October 14), snow fell in the morning, and the final shot of "Brest Fortress" was filmed (the film begins with it); two hours later, there was no trace of the snowdrifts.
• According to the film's producer, some areas of land were demined for filming explosions, unexploded grenades and shells were discovered, as well as a German rubber boat.
• The Brest Fortress Hero Memorial Complex Museum now has an exhibition dedicated to the filming of the movie, including, among other things, the uniform worn by Andrey Merzlikin as Kizhevatov, and a pipe damaged by an exploding grenade belonging to Sasha Akimov (Aleksey Kopashov).
• The roles of German tanks in the film, judging by the chassis and gun, are played by modified BMP-1s.
• At the end of the film, the head of the outpost, Lieutenant Kizhevatov, gives Sasha Akimov a rolled-up battle flag, but it is unclear which unit's flag he could have had with him, since a border outpost is not a military unit and cannot have a flag. Apparently, this is an artistic interpretation of a real historical episode with the flag of the 393rd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division, which junior sergeant Rodion Semenyuk carried on his chest under his tunic, then hid in the fortress and dug up after the war. It is now kept in the Brest Fortress Defense Museum.
• Most of the German soldiers in the film are armed with Mauser 98k rifles (which is historically accurate), however, the rifles are equipped with slings that do not match them (presumably from a Mosin rifle).
• The German flamethrower tank shown at the end of the film could not have been used in 1941.
• It is unclear how German saboteurs could have infiltrated the USSR through a railway station, arriving by train and bypassing border control at the checkpoint.
• The German major in the scene is decorated with the 'For Close Combat' badge, which was introduced in late 1942.
• At the end of the film, it is stated that Pyotr Mikhailovich Gavrilov was repressed after the war, which is an error or historical inaccuracy. Major Gavrilov, after being released from captivity, was reinstated to his rank and continued to serve in the Red Army in Siberia and the Far East. He received several commendations for his service and was subsequently reinstated into the party (he was not immediately reinstated after the war due to the loss of his party card). In 1957, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.