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List Price: $19.99 | | Label: Paramount
Salesrank: 541
Released: June 2, 2009 |
| Our Price: $8.45 |
| Used Price: $3.00 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
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
Description of Defiance:
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)
Defiance Reviews:
Liev Schreiber's acting chops put to good use! 
2009-12-21 - What a fantastic story, and one I never even imagined had happened during those awful times. Liev Schreiber blew my socks off in his role. My typical genre is horror, and he is best known to me as Cotton Mather from the Scream trilogy. That was a fun, trite role, but he rocked as Zus, and was believable in the hardness that would take over many of us put into his shoes.
I thank the movie company for showing us a courageous story that shows people at their best, and others at their worst when faced with such adversity. This makes me appreciate what I have even more. It was a pleasure to learn of the Bielski's story.
People of the Forest...
2009-12-20 - It is 1941. Nazi Germany has invaded Soviet Russia, straight through the Soviet Republic of Belorussia. Three Jewish brothers, Tuvia, Zus, and Asael Bielski (Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, and Jamie Bell), take refuge in the nearby forests. They are joined, more or less by accident, by other members of their Jewish community. It falls to the three brothers to take charge and defy the odds to save the lives of their fellow refugees.
Such is the premise of 2009's "Defiance", which shines a light on a obscure corner of World War Two's Eastern Front. Trapped behind the German lines, the Bielski group must battle lack of food and shelter, a harsh winter, and the vicious tactics of the German Army. They get little help from the local Soviet partisan group, which regards them with suspicion.
The narrative proceeds on parallel tracks. The otherwise ordinary Bielski brothers must grow, painfully, into leaders, while their fellow refugees struggle to maintain their sense of community under the most difficult of conditions. The interactions between the brothers ring true, thanks to some solid acting. Some of the best moments of the movie are the efforts of the people of the forest to fashion a new, if precarious, life for themselves in the midst of war.
"Defiance" narrates some painful events that may be difficult to watch. The partisan battle may be unknown to the average viewer, who is encouraged to explore the extra features explaining the history behind the movie. "Defiance" is very highly recommended to fans of the World War Two movie genre as something new and special.
Defiance of extermination! 
2009-12-16 - True story of a couple brothers that saved hundreds... Truly one of the scariest times to go through.. To face war at its worst... just being alive is the problem whether you were a threat or not.. in fact during this time the fact that you didn't fight back made it real easy to exterminate people by the masses.. well this groups fight was to not go easily into the night but to fight for their right to stay alive... hmm almost sounded like " Independence Day " there for a second..Loved it.. check it out!
Courage and Survival 
2009-12-09 - Defiance, 2006 film
In 1941 Germany occupied Belorussia. SS death squads and local police arrested Jews. Fifty thousand were murdered. Families were rounded up. A few escaped into the woods for safety. They shared scarce food. One man gets his revenge [but doesn't acquire arms or food]. More bad news arrives. The Bielski's become active in the resistance and learn from experience. They must survive and build shelters in the woods. More arrive. There is dissension, some will join another group of partisans. Tuvias asks people to flee into the woods. A watchmaker becomes a gunsmith. Women will learn to shoot. The group lives deep in the forest, snow is falling. Tuvia gets more food.
A young lady meets a wolf while carrying food. They requisition medicines from a police station. Tuvia develops a cough, but he is still in charge. A German officer is captured [believable?] and suffers his fate. There is a threat of a German attack, they will leave for a new location. An enemy airplane drops bombs. Some remain as a rearguard until they are overwhelmed. They pass across the swamp to safety [recalling the Red Sea]. "Keep moving!" An enemy tank and soldiers show up. It looks bad until help shows up. They continue to retreat into the forest. They built a new camp and were joined by new people over the next two years. The last scenes tell of their future. They never sought recognition for those they saved.
This motion picture is based in part upon actual events and people. Certain actions and characters were dramatized, some are entirely fictitious. The purpose is to tell a story about one part of history. These events happened in Belarus (White Russia) but the scenes were filmed on location in Lithuania. [Many names in the credits are Lithuanian.] The Bielski brothers lived in the country and had the skills and knowledge to survive in the woods, unlike city dwellers.
unseen
2009-12-08 - Very quick service & well packed, only problem is I have not been able to watch it as it is coming up wrong area on my television. Can the people that sold it to me please explain why!!!I have rated this dvd 5 stars because it is the type of movie I would be interested in.
