Written by: admin at 5:20 pm on June 10, 2009

BD Review: Defiance

Filed under: — Action, Reviews

Defiance Blu-Ray Box Art Movie Info:
Writers: Clayton Frohman, Edward Zwick
Director: Edward Zwick
Cast: Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell, Alexa Davalos, George MacKay, Allan Corduner, Mark Feuerstein, Tomas Arana, Jodhi May, Kate Fahy
Rating: R
Studio: Paramount

Release Info:
Theatrical Release: January 16, 2009
DVD Release Date: June 2, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $24.99

In Hollywood there are a slew of directors that stand out for the controversial and thought provoking films that they make. These are directors that can be named at the drop of the hat. They are directors like Sam Mendes, Oliver Stone, Francis Ford Coppola, and Martin Scorsese. Then there are directors you know, by body of work, but they have a name that constantly escapes you. For me, this is Edward Zwick to a tee. Zwick has directed a few well known films, such as Blood Diamond, About Last Night, and Glory. Having seen and loved all three of these movies, I feel I know the quality of Zwick’s work much better than I know him by name.

I may not have had a clue who Zwick was, but the names of a few key cast members are names not easily forgotten. Two of the main leads are played by Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber. These two men are well known for their acting ability, so that naturally helps quite a bit. In the beginning, there was only one real problem from what I could tell. Before I received Defiance for review, I don’t recall hearing one thing about it!

After watching the movie I went ahead and looked up more details about the Bielski brothers. Come to find out, some of the story that you see in the movie is true. Granted, much of it (especially the fighting) has been trumped up to make a better picture, but the brothers’ trying to save themselves and other Jews from persecution was on the money. This makes the film more interesting than originally anticipated.

With all of the excellent WWII movies that have been made over the years, putting another film in this space automatically places it in good company. However, on the flip side it means that it’s going to have to be a phenomenal film to make its mark. Defiance, at least for me, is somewhere in the middle of amazing and pointless. It is not a movie that made a significant impact on my life.

It was entertaining, but it was slow in parts. Some of the people in the film I wanted to see live and I felt an emotional connection to them. Meanwhile, others I didn’t care about either way. It was a harsh film, just like the time period that was being shown. Still, improvements could have been made to retain the true story and please moviegoers at the same time. At the end of the day though, I don’t know how much of either occurred.

The Defiance Plot
One of the most important things to note, especially in the beginning of the film is the heading that states that the film is a true story. The brothers and the people that live in the village with them are real. Everyone for the most part existed. However, much of the story told in the movie is not true. The basic aspects are true and the rest has been added in for dramatic movie effect. The action and fight scenes, for the most part, did not exist.

In August 1941 the Nazis were doing their best to rid Eastern Europe of their Jewish population. They were doing a good job of completing their goal for the most part, too. However, some of the Jewish population managed to slip under the radar. Among the ones that were not picked up, murdered, or placed in a concentration camp were the Bielski brothers. After their parents are murdered by the local police, following orders from the Germans Tuvia (Daniel Craig), Zus (Liev Schreiber), Aron (George MacKay) and Asael (Jamie Bell) all head into the forest with plans to not only survive, but to avenge the death of their parents.

When the men meet up with other Jewish escapees they form a group that grows over the following year. In order to live, they steal food and supplies from area farms. They do whatever means necessary in order to protect themselves and those in the newly formed community. This includes moving the camp when they have been found.

As things continue to get worse as the winter approaches, Tuvia manages to seek revenge on the local police chief in charge of killing his parents. He kills the officer and the group attack German soldiers when given the chance, though this method results in even more Jewish casualties. While Zus thinks this is a necessary evil, Tuvia does not think that the lives of anymore Jewish should be lost. This, along with what seems to be a long standing feud between the two brothers, causes Zus to leave the group and join the Soviet Partisans.

The winter comes with great discontent. The Jews are starving and they are running out of hiding places. In these devastating times it seems that little options remain for these brothers and the people they have come to call their family throughout the course of discontent. The film follows the path of the true survivors, through hell and back, on their ultimate journey of freedom.

Storyline/Plot:
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:

Audio/Visual:
Defiance is a harsh looking film in reality. It’s hard to say it looks amazing because the majority of the film you are looking at rough terrain and elements that were beating the people trying to beat the Nazis. Available in 1080p with an MPEG-4 AVC transfer, you see everything in Defiance. Every small detail is exemplified for your viewing pleasure. You will see all of the lush forest and how cold and unforgiving that forest is in the winter.

Even the stubble on a man’s face is as clear as it would be if he were standing next to you. The close-up shots allow you to see every fine line on the face of the person in the shot. At times, this is both chilling and dramatic. There is little to complain about when it comes to complaints. The colors are fair, the blacks could be a bit better, but overall things are just where they should be when it comes to this film.

Dolby TrueHD 5.1 gets the job done and manages to trump the quality of the visual aspects of the film. This strong track makes you feel the rough, unforgiving time in which these people were trying to survive. Without seeming to try, you can almost feel the good air and the destructive nature of the war. The chilling musical score is handled with perfect timing and the sound effects are both realistic and well placed.

The dialogue is also easy to hear. Naturally, the action sequences allow for the most interesting auditory moments, but the entire film sounds pleasing, in one way or another. Along with the English audio, there are French and Spanish tracks in Dolby Digital 5.1. Subtitles are available in all three languages.

Visual:
Audio:

Bonus Features:
Defiance is offered a few special features that only add to the movie in the best possible way. Among them are a commentary track with the director, three or four featurettes, and two of the trailers for the film. This isn’t a bad offering for a movie that I didn’t even know existed until it showed up on my doorstep.

The audio commentary is handled solely by Zwick and it ends up being a quite interesting and informative experience overall. Zwick covers a lot about the movie, but he also tells about how he became interested in the story, about the culture of Jewish people, and he offers a lot of myths explaining the truth about the extermination of Russian Jews during the Holocaust. Zwick offers a full-bodied commentary that is well worth a listen.

Defiance: Return to the Forest: This 26 minute featurette ends up serving as your typical making-of feature. The film’s production is looked at, along with the costumes, weapons, and other props and how they were used in the film. Interviews with cast and crew are added in with a lot of footage from the set. It’s not a bad piece, even if it’s standard.

Children of the Otriad: The Families Speak: While this is only 14 minutes, it is by far the best featurette on this disc. Vintage home movies, pictures, and interviews with the children and grandchildren of Tuvia and Zus. The kids and grandkids offer a good insight into both men and what they were really like. It is also quite interesting to see them visit the set and the place where their family began, in Belarus.

Scoring Defiance: This featurette includes both Zwick and the composer of the film, James Newton Howard. They discuss the score and how the violin was used particularly because of it’s meaning in Jewish culture. Joshua Bell is also briefly brought in, as well as Steven Rosenblum who had to put it all together, as the editor.

The special features come to an end with “Bielski Partisan Survivors” a two minute look at the survivors through photos taken by Zwick and two trailers for the film.

Bonus Features:

Bottom Line:
I have always been a sucker for movies based in and around WWII. The Holocaust is a subject that has always interested me, so this was a movie that I was hoping to enjoy. I wasn’t too familiar with the men behind the true story, which made watching this movie even better. Defiance offers everything that a good war/hardship movie needs. It offers drama, action, bits of romance, and a compelling story. This comes highly recommended for fans of action movies, though others might want to rent this.

Overall Rating:

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