Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.0

Fortress of War Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 10, 2011

Winner of three Russian Academy Awards, Aleksandr Kott's "Brestskaya krepost" a.k.a "Fortress of War" (2010) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors G2 Pictures. The only extra on the disc is a trailer for the film. In Russian and German, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

It is time to die...

Russian director Aleksandr Kott’s Brestskaya krepost a.k.a Fortress of War chronicles the attack on the legendary Брестская Kрепость, a 19th century fortress in Brest, Belarus, which was one of the first targets during Operation Barbarossa (the Nazi invasion of the now defunct U.S.S.R.).

The film is broken into various uneven episodes and narrated by Alexander ‘Sashka’ Akimov, a Russian war veteran who miraculously survived the attack. The events each episode chronicles are seen through the eyes of different people scattered amongst three resistance zones.

Before the attack, director Kott allows the viewer to get to know the main characters - a fearless regiment commander, an ambitious political commissar, an outpost commander, and the young Sashka. They are seen falling in love, getting in trouble with their superiors, and simply spending time with their families and friends.

Excluding the regiment commander, who has repeatedly expressed concerns over the manner in which security in the fortress is handled and led to believe by various unofficial reports that Germany might be planning a surprising attack on the U.S.S.R., no one seriously believes that war is on the horizon. Naturally, no one likes the recent drills the red leaders in Moscow have ordered.

On the morning of June 22, 1941, Operation Barbarossa is initiated and Brest attacked. First the fortress is bombed and the majority of the buildings in it destroyed, then the Nazis appear, wearing Soviet uniforms. By the time the Soviets realize what is underway the majority of them are massacred. Those who survive the initial attack regroup in three resistance zones. Then one of the greatest battles of WW2, as intense as the battles of Stalingrad and Kursk, begins.

Though shot with a budget of approximately $7 million, Fortress of War looks and feels like an epic war film produced by a major Hollywood studio. The fights are incredibly impressive, on par and even more intense than those seen in Lu Chuan’s highly acclaimed Nanjing! Nanjing!, another recent epic war film chronicling a similarly tragic event, and the special effects top-notch (especially during the second half of the film, where the Nazis drop a two-ton bomb on the fortress after repeatedly failing to enter it).

The film is completely free of melodrama (and thus reminding about Elem Klimov’s Come and See) and surprisingly critical of the Soviet authorities who after the end of WW2 apparently decided not to immediately recognize some of the heroes who defended the fortress. There are no hidden political or propaganda overtones either.

The acting is first-class. Аlyosha Kopashov, the young actor who plays Sashka, is simply terrific. In of the film’s most memorable sequences he literally goes through hell to inform the soldiers in one of the three resistance zones that a mass counter attack has been planned. Аlexander Korshunov, who plays the seasoned regiment commander, is also excellent.

Cinematographer Vladimir Bashta’s lensing gives the film a most appropriate raw and gritty look. Because of Mariya Sergeenkova’s competent editing the film also never drags, even though it runs at approximately 138 minutes.

Note: Earlier this year, Fortress of War won three Nika Awards, including Best Sound (Filipp Lamshin, Anatoliy Belozerov) and Best Costume Designer (Vladimir Koretsky, Sergei Struchyov).

Fortress of War Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Aleksandr Kott's Fortress of War arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors G2 Pictures.

Aside from a few tiny compression artifacts that I noticed during a couple of scenes, Fortress of War looks great in high-definition. The very important close-ups look excellent, never appearing dull or plastic, while the panoramic vistas convey excellent depth and fluidity. There are various contrast and color manipulations that are introduced after the Nazis enter the fortress, and practically all of them look very convincing. Clarity is consistently pleasing, even during the darker scenes from inside the fortress and during the battles (there is plenty of smoke). Edge-enhancement is not a serious issue of concern. There are no serious stability issues to report in this review either. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Fortress of War Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: Russian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (with portions of German). For the record, G2 Pictures have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

If you wish to test the muscles of your audio system, this is the kind of Blu-ray disc you want to experiment with. Some of the special audio effects are indeed quite remarkable, placing the viewer right in the middle of the fierce battles. The sequence where the Nazis drop the two-ton bomb is also very impressive. This being said, the dynamic intensity is not on par with that from the Saving Private Ryan Blu-ray. However, the sound effects are top-notch and, more importantly, the surround channels are very intelligently used. The dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and exceptionally easy to follow. The English translation is very good.

Fortress of War Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original UK trailer for Fortress of War. Music only. (2 min, 720p).

Fortress of War Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Aleksandr Kott's Fortress of War is one of the best contemporary Russian films I've seen in years. It is brilliantly realized, uncompromising, and terrifically acted, guaranteed to appear on my Top 10 list at the end of the year. The film looks and sounds very good in high-definition. However, I wish there were some good supplemental features included on the Blu-ray. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.