Voskhozhdeniye (1977)

User Rating:

8.5/10   

Director:

Larisa Shepitko

Writers:

Vasili Bykov (novel) and
Yuri Klepikov (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

2 April 1977 (Soviet Union)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

Two Soviet partisans depart their starving band on a short march to a nearby farm to get supplies. The Germans have reached the farm first...

Plot Keywords:

Partisan | Betrayal | Religion | Collaboration | WWII

Awards:

4 wins

Cast

Boris Plotnikov	...	Sotnikov
Vladimir Gostyukhin	...	Rybak
Sergei Yakovlev	...	Village elder
Lyudmila Polyakova	...	Demchikha
Viktoriya Goldentul	...	Basya
Anatoli Solonitsyn	...	Portnov, the Nazi interrogator
Mariya Vinogradova	...	Village elder's wife
Nikolai Sektimenko	...	Stas'
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sergei Kanishchev	...	Boy wearing Budenovka (as Serezha Kanishchev)

Directed by
Larisa Shepitko

Writing credits
Vasili Bykov		(novel "Sotnikov")
Yuri Klepikov		writer
Larisa Shepitko		writer

Produced by
Willie Geller	....	producer

Original Music by
Alfred Shnitke

Cinematography by
Vladimir Chukhnov
Pavel Lebeshev

Production Design by
Yuri Raksha

Sound Department
Yan Pototsky	....	sound

Production Companies

• Mosfilm

Distributors

• Europa Film (1977) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Seagull Films (2006-2008) (worldwide) (theatrical)
• Criterion Collection, The (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Eclipse from the Criterion Collection (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Empresa Hispanoamericana de Video (EHV) (Argentina) (video)
• International Film Circuit (USA) (subtitled)
• Sovexportfilm (Argentina)

Also Known As:

Восхождение (Soviet Union: Russian title)
Ascent
The Ascent (USA)

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | Argentina:13

Company:

Mosfilm

A Christian parable from Soviet Russia!

I saw "Ascent" in Bombay (dubbed in English) when I was 18, soon after the film was made. I have tried to see it subsequently EVERY TIME it was screened at the local Russian cultural centre. One of the first images in the movie is of a series of telegraph poles in a snowscape, one of which is out of alignment....and you realise that they look rather like the sign of the cross in the Russian Orthodox Church. This is a Judas-Christ parable, with several scenes "composed" like famous paintings of scenes from the Passion. The references and symbolism are endless....in the plot-line, the characters, the mise-en-scene --- the final hanging of the protagonist among "thieves" on a hill (which he has to climb) is a clear reference to Golgotha. The black and white photography is among the most beautiful I have seen; the acting is superb, especially the man playing the protagonist -- though making him a "special agent of the Red Army" is obviously a nod in the direction of Big Brother! I cannot begin to tell you how important this film probably is in world cinema....I use the word "probably" because I am only a film-lover, NOT a film-historian. However, if its available on DVD, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!!!