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69% Critic Match
They Fought for Their Motherland
6.9 / 10• 1975• 2h 31m•NR• Russian
WarHistoryDrama
Storyline
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.
Cast & Crew
Vasiliy Shukshin
Pyotr Lopakhin
Lead
Vyacheslav Tikhonov
pvt. Nikolay Strel'tsov
Sergei Bondarchuk
pvt. Ivan Zvyagintsev
Georgi Burkov
pvt. Alexander Kopytovsky
Yuriy Nikulin
pvt. Nekrasov
Ivan Lapikov
sergeant Poprischenko
Nikolai Gubenko
lieutenant Goloschyokov
Andrei Rostotsky
corporal Kochetygov
What People Are Saying
4.0
“A staggering achievement of craft and ambition. Sergei Bondarchuk's vision lands with breathtaking precision.”
3.0
“Every frame feels alive. They Fought for Their Motherland is the rare release that takes its audience seriously.”
