Liev Schreiber Movie:

		List Price: $39.99		Label: Paramount Salesrank: 4343 Released: June 2, 2009
		Our Price: $23.99
		Used Price: $12.94
		MPAA Rating: R (Restricted) Media: Blu-ray

Editorial Review:

Genre: Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 2-JUN-2009
Media Type: Blu-Ray

Description of Defiance [Blu-ray]:
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 [Blu-ray] Reviews:
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.


Polish Jewish Resistance
2009-12-08 - I had read the book. The movie sticks closely to it and is very moving. A great action film.

Inspiring!
2009-12-05 - Among my favorite movies. What the Bielski brothers accomplished is almost incomprehensible. Christians in particular ought to watch such movies to acquire both knowledge of history and moral courage.

Terrible Movie
2009-12-04 - I went out with a bunch of friends to see this movie and EVERY SINGLE PERSON HATED IT. I could not wait for it to end. Not a good buy!