Defiance Thoughts/Reviews

[Disco]

Defiance is released in the theatre's this Friday, January 16th.

http://www.defiancemovie.com/

Looks like it could be a great movie.

Who is going to go see this?
What are your thoughts and Reviews??

[SillyMammo]

The movie looks interesting. Does anyone know how historically accurate is it?

[VinnAY]

This looks really, really, great...I'm a minor Nazi/Germany/Hitler/WWII history buff.

[Crim122]

though the reviews are not that great I still want to check it out, will probably wait for dollar theater release.

[Disco]

Originally Posted by SillyMammo

The movie looks interesting. Does anyone know how historically accurate is it?

Is anyone able to answer this question?

[Offender_Mullet]

Haven't seen it yet, although I've had a copy for about a week now. Will get to viewing it soon.

Here's what I found on the almighty Wikipedia about historical inaccuracies:

"The largest controversy centers around the Naliboki massacre in May 1943, when Polish peasants and members of the Polish national resistance were killed by Soviet partisans. (For more on the relations between Polish and Soviet resistance, see Soviet partisans in Poland). While historians have yet to finish their research on that subject, some sources contend that the Bielski partisans participated in the Naliboki massacre with the Soviet partisans. Other sources argue that so far little evidence has been found to suggest the Bielski partisans were responsible for the massacre, and some historians, including Tuvia Bielski’s son, claim that the Bielski partisans were not in the area at the time. No mention of this event is present in the film, which has been criticized for this omission, particularly in Poland, and also for glorifying people who may have been responsible for the massacre.

While the issue of the Naliboki massacre remains the most controversial, the Polish press and historians have criticized the movie for other historical inaccuracies. The mainstream Polish journal Gazeta Wyborcza (editor Adam Michnik is of Jewish descent) noted in a series of articles that Zwick inaccurately portrayed the Bielski partisans as actively fighting the German army. Citing research by Polish historians and the Institute of National Remembrance, the critics point out that the Bielski partisans followed a "survivalist" strategy: their goal was to stay alive, not to strike at the Germans. Thus they fled German manhunts and avoided direct confrontations as much as possible.

Further, the background of the movie is criticized. The movie portrays the Navahrudak (Nowogródek) and surrounding areas (pre-war Nowogródek Voivodeship of the Second Polish Republic) as entirely Jewish and Belarusian, while, according to Gazeta Wyborcza, there was a significant Polish minority in those areas. (According to official Polish pre-war census data, Navahrudak was approximately 50% Jews, 25% Poles, 20% Belarusians, and 5% others.) Critics also complain that the movie ignores the significant presence in the region of the Polish resistance, not just the Soviet-allied groups. There have also been complaints that the movie portrays the Bielski partisans as fluent in Russian (or Belarusian), but not Polish, when in fact, according to Gazeta Wyborcza, they were more fluent in Polish, and might have not known Russian at all. However, since the film is mostly in English, it is possible that this is being used as a simplification to represent Polish and Russian, thus making this point moot. Gazeta Wyborcza proposes that the movie's main problem is not the in-progress investigation of the (possibly false) Naliboki connection, but the gross historical inaccuracy of ignoring the dominant Polish element in the background.

The Jewish Press cited the chief American prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials, Telford Taylor, as saying that, with regard to movies generally, "historical misrepresentations could leave the uninformed viewer with an inaccurate historical record about what a movie is depicting" while criticizing the fictionalization of the story.

Another claimed inaccuracy is the portrayal of Zus as the next oldest brother after Tuvia, whereas in fact Asael was the next oldest and was in his mid-thirties. (Asael is played by the 23-year-old Jamie Bell.)"

[master_8ball]

I have seen it and thought it was pretty good. The story was excellent and claims to be based on fact but reading the above post I guess thats questionable. I just wish it was a little bit longer for the type of film it is, and they built a little more around the relationship of the 2 brothers.
I would recommend it.

[Disco]

Originally Posted by master_8ball

I have seen it and thought it was pretty good. The story was excellent and claims to be based on fact but reading the above post I guess thats questionable. I just wish it was a little bit longer for the type of film it is, and they built a little more around the relationship of the 2 brothers.
I would recommend it.

My understanding after some research is the movie is based on a true story.
I would imagine that by the time it comes out on Blu Ray it very well could be
a Directors Cut. Making it a much better disc than the original movie itself.
Kind of like Troy Directors Cut.

[Gremal]

Some local Jews served as consultants for Defiance.

Here is an article about their ordeal. They touch upon the film's accuracy.

http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-...playstory.html

[ZackL]

I saw Defiance a couple weeks ago. Good premise but the story was all over the place.

[Keiths Light]

I thought it was a good movie. I love the WWII genre, so I may be a little biased. Don't know how historically accurate it is, but the storyline pulls you in and it has a satisfying ending.

Should be a good movie for blu-ray. Most of the movie takes place outside, and the soundtrack should be fairly involving.

[HKMOVIESAREBEST]

Originally Posted by Keiths Light

I thought it was a good movie. I love the WWII genre, so I may be a little biased. Don't know how historically accurate it is, but the storyline pulls you in and it has a satisfying ending.

+1, felt the same way.

[Astalder]

I'm thinking about it, how are the production values of the movie? The trailer makes it look pretty cheap, they got one running on TV but it's in SD so it makes the movie look B-grade (stupid marketing decision). Everything about the setting and story and Daniel Craig being the lead tells me I could love this movie if it isn't Cloverfield bad visually.

Taken and Underworld are the other two movies on my list for these early months.

[Kyot]

Saw it last month, I really enjoyed it.

[HKMOVIESAREBEST]

Originally Posted by Astalder

Taken and Underworld are the other two movies on my list for these early months.

Do not miss Taken, one of my top films last year.

[Disco]

DEFIANCE opens today at theatre's in the US.
Anyone going to go see this.

[wnicholas76]

Daniel Craig is now my new favorite actor after seeing his Oscar-worthy performance in Defiance today. The performances of Craig, Liev Schreiber, and Jamie Bell were dynamic! The action was well-paced and the storyline was unforgettable! I can't wait for that eventual day one Blu-ray purchase of this!

[Bateman,Patrick]

Just Watched It. It Was Good, But The Story Was Everywhere, Lol

[alomar]

Originally Posted by Keiths Light

I thought it was a good movie. I love the WWII genre, so I may be a little biased. Don't know how historically accurate it is, but the storyline pulls you in and it has a satisfying ending.

X2

[gamer4eva]

Originally Posted by Astalder

Taken and Underworld are the other two movies on my list for these early months.

DO NOT MISS Taken Liam Neeson kicking a$$ it doesnt get better than that and its got a good storyline rather than a mind-less action movie with no story A MUST WATCH ACTION MOVIE