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Uzicka Republika (1974) Online

Uzicka Republika (1974) Online
Original Title :
Uzicka Republika
Genre :
Movie / Drama / War
Year :
1974
Directror :
Zivorad 'Zika' Mitrovic
Cast :
Boris Buzancic,Bozidarka Frajt,Marko Todorovic
Writer :
Ana Marija Car,Arsen Diklic
Type :
Movie
Time :
2h 50min
Rating :
6.9/10
Uzicka Republika (1974) Online

Uzice Republic a known as the 'first offensive'. is a story about Serbia in 1941 and monitor the emergence and decline of the Uzice Republic. Few months after German Wehrmacht forced Yugoslav Royal Army to capitulate in April War. Boro, Spanish soldier and hardened communists, is tasked to organize an uprising in western Serbia. Organized resistance is turning into massive uprising against occupying forces. Partizans, led by Communist party, manage to chase Germans from huge territory later known as the Uzice Republic. People gather around the partisans and were soon freed from Bajina Basta, Pozega, Uzice, Cacak. Supreme Headquarters of the Partisan army comes to the liberated territory. However, forces loyal to King have some other ideas. Uzice Republic lasted only 67 days, from 24 September to 29 November 1941, when a bloody and tragic battle on Kadinjaca where he tragically perished entire ''labor battalion'', fell into the hands of the German Wehrmacht and the Chetniks and the ...
Cast overview, first billed only:
Boris Buzancic Boris Buzancic - Bora
Bozidarka Frajt Bozidarka Frajt - Nada
Marko Todorovic Marko Todorovic - Josip Broz Tito
Branko Milicevic Branko Milicevic - Misa
Neda Arneric Neda Arneric - Jelena
Rade Serbedzija Rade Serbedzija - Cetnicki major Kosta Parac
Ivan Jagodic Ivan Jagodic - Ilija
Aljosa Vuckovic Aljosa Vuckovic - Luka
Marko Nikolic Marko Nikolic - Klaker
Miodrag Lazarevic Miodrag Lazarevic - Pukovnik Draza Mihajlovic
Vasa Pantelic Vasa Pantelic - Dragi Simic
Bogoljub Petrovic Bogoljub Petrovic - cetnicki kapetan Djordjevic
Petar Prlicko Petar Prlicko - Pekar Pera
Mija Aleksic Mija Aleksic - Majstor Toza
Dragan Ocokoljic Dragan Ocokoljic - Doktor

This meaning and relevance of this film's English title, 67 Days, relates to the period that the Republic of Uzice existed during 1941 i.e. Sixty-seven days. This movie examines the events that relate to the rise and fall of the Republic of Uzice.

Referred to as the "Uzicka Republika" in this film's natural title, the Republic of Uzice was a short-lived Yugoslav territory that had been liberated by the Partisan resistance movement from Nazi German occupation in the western part of Serbia around the town of Uzice (aka Uzite).

The Uzice Republic fell during November 1941 after being 67 days in existence. The Nazi German army re-occupied this territory as part of First Offensive. Most of the Partisan resistance movement escaped to Bosnia, Sandzak and Montenegro, and Foca in Bosnia.

This film's story begins on the eve of the 6th of April, 1941.

According to the Australian video-cassette release sleeve notes, this movie was the "Winner of 12 Major Awards."

This movie's closing credits (English version) don't state "The End" but "The End was the real beginning."

This movie was made in 1974 but many English-language countries list the film as being made in 1979 which was the time when the movie was distributed in many of these regions.

According to F. Maurice Speed (Ed.) in his 'Film Review 1978-1979', this film was "Made along the lines of the earlier Russian films."

Many versions of this movie are listed as running between 114 and 119 minutes. This is because the the movie was cut from its original 170 minute running time for it release in English speaking countries.


User reviews

Skiletus

Skiletus

Made in the mid-70s, GUNS OF WAR is one of a slew of Yugoslav-made war movies highlighting the heroics the Yugoslav "Partisans", every day citizens which took up arms to repel the German invaders. It's a pretty average movie, with some decent action sequences and some great scenery to help the proceedings along.

In 1941, a band of Yugoslav Partisans rose up in the Uzice Province and managed to keep the land free from German rule for 67 Days, until the Wehrmacht, Luftwaffe, Panzers and Chetniks managed to drive the people out.

Unlike most Yugoslav war dramas, such as HELL RIVER and BATTLE OF THE EAGLES, this film has a political focus rather than an action-oriented plot. It shows the unity between the Partisans and Royalist Chetniks and gradual breakup of the alliance when the Chetniks decide to the aide the Germans to stop the spread of Communism, rather than defend their homeland. This often pitted friends against friends; many Chetniks and Partisans grew up as best friends and were torn by political ideals, much like the "brother against brother" example of the American Civil War.

The movie features some pretty spectacular action scenes, set in a variety of locales. Some are small squad-size ambushes; others, mass cavalry charges a la the finale in THE BATTLE OF NERETVA; and finally, a huge German assault on central Uzice involving dozens of vintage tanks, planes, and hundreds of extras (not to mention some awesome explosions).

The movie also features some familiar sets and the typically stunning Yugoslav countryside. One scene of Germans and Chetniks marching through the snow feels chilling but still manages to look beautiful. The musical score is appropriately haunting and adds to the bleak atmosphere.

The Yugoslav cast does a pretty good job, portraying the values of Communism (uggh., one point I don't personally agree with, but its Yugoslav movie from the 70s so a pro-Communist point of view is to be expected) to the core. Each actor is believable in their role and make the plight of the Partisans in Uzice, fighting despite overwhelming odds, seem completely real. Every character is a human being stuck in a situation they'd rather not be in but must do their part if they want to survive.

Despite all this, GUNS OF WAR is not much more than an average war drama. It's got lots going for it, but also has several strong strikes working against it. The first is a lack of recognizable actors. While watching European war films, I'm always able to spot at least a few familiar native actors; Yugoslav epics usually have quite a few familiar co-stars among the ensemble, as well as international stars to draw audiences from around the world. GUNS OF WAR only features two recognizable actors: Rade Serbedzija from THE FIFTH DAY OF PEACE plays the Chetnik Major; and Karl Mohner (SINK THE BISMARCK!) is a German General.

The movie also features a number of decent-looking scenes of massacres or briefings with narration, often switching over to "documentary" footage showing the real events the scene is based on. Well, it's obviously not really documentary footage - just grainy, black & white footage of the same actors with badly-dubbed dialog. This technique is unintentionally corny and takes away from the value of every scene in which this it is used.

The American video release is trimmed to a running time of approximately 114 minutes. The movie makes sense, but has a choppy flow and sometimes moves far too quickly. The original cut supposedly runs almost 3 hours. I'd like to see this version, as it should flow better and offer more insight into the events portrayed. Anyway, the American video looks pretty good - colors are intense (kind of pinkish and soft, though) and there is very little print damage. Still, this video is ultra-rare and worth picking up.

GUNS OF WAR is a decent entry in the "Yugoslav Partisan" sub-genre. It's not a perfect movie, but it's not a bad film, either. Plenty of action to keep you satisfied, and lots of interesting politics, but the lack of familiar actors really hurts the outcome.