Defiance

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DVD details

Actor: Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber
Brand: CRAIG,DANIEL
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Dubbed); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 137 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-06-02
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Paramount

DVD Reviews of Defiance

DVD Review: AWESOME!
Summary: 5 Stars

This movie was amazing! Such a great history lesson. Why weren't we taught about this in school? Watching this type of movie reminds me how fortunate I am to have the petty problems I have!

If you want to watch something worth your time and like to be educated, this movie won't disappoint.

DVD Review: History Can Be Stranger (and Grander) Than Fiction
Summary: 4 Stars

Hidden amongst the multiple film histories that litter the movies, occasionally you'll find a gem of a story that surprises the hell out of you. And DEFIANCE is definitely one of those. Based on the real-life story of the Bielski brothers who helped hide and save over 1,000 Jews from the Nazi death camps, this story is told in an unflinching narrative with brutal acts alongside those of extreme courage.

We often hear that reality can be stranger (and grander) than fiction, and here this holds doubly true. For not only did the Bielski brothers do this amazing ordeal, they also didn't ask for any recognition, reward, or medals. They married and immigrated after WW II ended and decided to live out quiet lives in their little corners of the world (with the exception of one brother who was conscripted into the Soviet army and died in battle).

But fate has a strange way of finding heroes, and this time was no exception. A documentary in 2006 entitled The Bielski Brothers: Jerusalem in the Woods was aired on the History Channel, and two books about them can easily be found, too. As word of what they'd done passed down through generations of survivors (now numbering in the tens of thousands), Hollywood took notice and sought out their history. Not having to embellish much (if at all) this incredible story, a screenplay was rapidly approved, director Ed Zwick (BLOOD DIAMOND) attached, and the rest is ...well ...history.

Daniel Craig (Quantum of Solace) takes the lead role as brother Tuvia, a man with a military past and Jewish roots. When his parents and friends are killed by Nazi hunters and sympathizers, Tuvia and brothers Zus (Liev Schreiber, The Painted Veil), Asael (Jamie Bell, King Kong, 2005), and young Aron (George MacKay) head into the woods for safety. But vengeance versus fear drives what will come next. Tuvia kills his parents' murderers and then ducks deeper into the forests around Belarus. And with him comes other Jews fleeing the Nazi slaughters. Playing a game of hide-and-seek with their tormentors, The Bielski brothers and their followers didn't just cower in fear, but stood up and launched occasional attacks against the German troops. But their greatest victory was surviving and thriving in their forest hideouts. By wars end, they had not only survived, but multiplied and thrived.

Fascinating.

To this day, I often wonder if Hitler is turning over in his grave over this. I think he is. And what a wonderful form of revenge that is. Not because it took some violence on the Jews part to achieve it, but because violence wasn't their primary goal. It was survival. Surviving "The Final Solution" was the one thing Hitler most certainly wouldn't have wanted. And not only did the Bielski brothers and their followers achieve it, they added to their numbers. Sweet revenge!

Daniel Craig does a superb job as Tuvia, including a very believable accent. As does Liev Schreiber as his embittered brother Zus. In fact, I can't think of a single actor/actress that didn't live up to their part in this film. It was a gem to find amongst the forest of other movies out there.

DVD Review: Excellent!!!
Summary: 5 Stars

Daniel Craig does not disappoint!!! This movie is action packed and full of great characters.
I highly recommend this movie to anyone who loves fact based World War 2 movies.

DVD Review: Must See
Summary: 5 Stars

This is the story that every free person must see. Even more so, it is a movie every Jew must see, to learn about the other story of Jews--the ones that fought and lived. It is a moving and well made film, telling the story of truly great men. In the face of oppression and unbelievable odds, these men made a difference!

DVD Review: World War
Summary: 4 Stars

This is a tough movie to watch--mainly because of its realism in detail of this very true incident of WW-2. I recommend this work to any who enjoy visualizing of history as I think it does give understanding to DEFIANCE.

Like Schindler's List, this movie should be watched once a year to remind us where the possiblities are for humanity inflicting horror on humanity.

Description of Defiance

Daniel Craig (James Bond: Quantum of Solace) stars as Tuvia Bielski, an ordinary citizen turned hero, in this action-packed epic of family, honor, vengeance and salvation. Defiance is a riveting adventure that showcases the extraordinary true story of the Bielski brothers, simple farmers -outnumbered and outgunned- who turned a group of war refugees into powerful freedom fighters. Tuvia, along with his unyielding brother, Zus (Liev Schreiber, X-Men Origins: Wolverine), motivate hundreds of civilians to join their ranks against the Nazi regime. Their "Inspirational story"* is a true testament to the human spirit. - David Densby, The New Yorker

Three ferociously committed actors fill the roles of the Bielski brothers, Jewish partisans who escaped into the forests of Eastern Europe during the Second World War. Daniel Craig (taking a break from 007 duty) is Tuvia, the leader of a group of refugees who eventually number over a thousand; Liev Schreiber is Zus, the antagonistic warrior; and Jamie Bell is Asael, a peacemaker no less devoted to the survival of the community. The three performers give life to director Edward Zwick's account of this little-known chapter of Jewish resistance to the Holocaust, which otherwise plays more like a history lesson than a full-blooded movie. The film's best achievement is its strong location work, in Lithuania--as the community makes its home in the forest, the landscape becomes an important player in the drama at hand, and the changing of the seasons is charted with bone-chilling detail. Schreiber manages to get a little wry humor into this otherwise sober enterprise, and Daniel Craig creates an unusual character: a sort of anti-Bond, a hero whose body is all too fallible and whose decision-making is sometimes hesitant or morally compromised. It's a rare hero in a World War II movie that tends to withdraw from scenes rather than stride into them, but that's what Craig does. More than likely, the movie's main achievement will be sending the curious to read the histories of the Bielski brothers and why they matter in the chronicles of the Holocaust. --Robert Horton

Stills from Defiance (Click for larger image)

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