Search - 100 Days Before the Command on DVD


100 Days Before the Command
100 Days Before the Command
Actors: Vladimir Zamansky, Armen Dzhigarkhanyan, Oleg Vasilkov, Roman Grekov, Valeri Troshin
Director: Hussein Erkenov
Genres: Indie & Art House, Drama, Gay & Lesbian, Military & War
UR     2000     1hr 11min

Visually astonishing, erotically charged and emotionally jarring. 100 Days Before the Command is Hussein Erkenov's courageous and stinging indictment of Communism. Five young Red Army recruits struggle for survival ag...  more »

     
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Movie Details

Actors: Vladimir Zamansky, Armen Dzhigarkhanyan, Oleg Vasilkov, Roman Grekov, Valeri Troshin
Director: Hussein Erkenov
Genres: Indie & Art House, Drama, Gay & Lesbian, Military & War
Sub-Genres: Indie & Art House, Drama, Gay & Lesbian, Military & War
Studio: Water Bearer
Format: DVD - Color - Subtitled
DVD Release Date: 10/17/2000
Original Release Date: 01/01/1990
Theatrical Release Date: 01/01/1990
Release Year: 2000
Run Time: 1hr 11min
Screens: Color
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaDVD Credits: 1
Total Copies: 0
Members Wishing: 6
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Languages: Russian
Subtitles: English

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Movie Reviews

Behind the lines, life in the soviet military
thecriticalbishop | London, England United Kingdom | 01/11/2001
(3 out of 5 stars)

"Enigmatic and at sometimes a surreal film about the day to day monotomy and futility of the lives of a group of conscript Russian soldiers. The film is stark and bare, the actors largely former recruits and the film style moves from dream sequences to fly on the wall documentary. Its hardly surprising this film was banned in the then Soviet Union - its harsh and disturbing view of conscript life is unreservedly critical, the visual presentation is almost hauntingly homo-erotic at times and as such the film isn't going to be a hit with authorities trying to conscript youths to military service where military life is marked by its drabness, un-ending boredom and the use of humiliation and bullying. The acting is naturalistic and realistic, the players gritty and real. The viewer is left in no doubt that national service behind the Iron Curtain was neither glamourous nor particularly pleasant. Well worth a spin if your into foreign films and like a challenging film, not for those who like Top Gun or Stripes."
A good look at Russian boot camp
J. Kersh | Tallahassee, Florida United States | 05/21/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Excellent movie. The film quality and color were above average. It is a somewhat surreal look at young men enduring life in a typical Russian boot camp setting. Haunting and powerful. You will want to watch this movie more than once. You will understand why this movie was banned in Russia. Not exactly a recruiting tool for the Red Army."
A timely meditation on the absurdity of war
Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 02/15/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)

"At this moment in our history we need all the input about the multiple facets of the hideous War Machine that has an apparent strangle hold on every country on the planet. In this Russian meditation, 100 DAYS BEFORE THE COMMAND, we are shown the behind-locked-doors view of youth preparing to become soldiers and leaders of soldiers. On the surface the director's eye seems to be telling us that 'boot camp' for these VERY young appearing boys is no more than a summer camp experience. But then he gradually shows the darker, terrifying side of what preparing these innocents for war produces - suffering, self-doubt, death, alienating behaviour, dreams and nightmares. There is an incredible sense of innocence in the eyes of these youth, and a groping for comradery that lightly brushes on eroticism. The multiple nude scenes seem to be offending more people than the Russian censors, but they are some of the more tender and tangible scenes in this meandering film about questioning our place and mindsets in the propagation of war leaders. Of note, in this very Russian film, the music used in the background is all Bach - excerpts form the Passions, cantatas - instead of works by Russian composers. This adds another dimension to this apparent 'paean' for world peace. This film is not for everyone, especially not for those who still have difficulty with male nudity........."
Male Nudity in all Honesty and Naturalness
Paul Stefanski | Carmichael, CA | 08/09/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)

"It's always wonderful to see European films that portray nakedness in a natural, non-pornographic setting; what a refresher from the average "American-Pie" films which I find phony. Furthermore, I myself am a Slavic person (born in the US)so I felt right at home with the movie, even though Communist oppression has never been conducive to the sensitive human spirit which is very much candidly seen in the young faces and eyes of the young boys in the film. It's also very refreshing to view a film where young boys are comfortable being naked with each other, without all the sexual shallowness very much associated with nudity in many other films. Watching this movie made me feel good and at home. It's only a shame that this film did not have a concise plot; it was a little on the messy and surreal side."