Another Finnish War Flick

[Cosmoline]

You've probably all heard of Talvisota and The Unknown Soldier. This one, Rukajärven tie (Ambush) is a more recent movie set during the Continuation War. Unlike the other two it's pretty easy to find on DVD and doesn't cost much. It's not as gritty, but it's also less of a downer. And there's lots of Mosin vs. Mosin action, with more subguns in the mix since this was during the later war when they had more. Here's a scene from the final battle, when they're trying to get out from behind Soviet lines and end up in their rear. Some spoilers, to the extent that matters. You can see Suomis, the big Lahti, M-27's and a mix of Mosins including M-39s:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EVvq2jB8CA

 

[CZF]

Amazing how German their uniforms look in that movie.
I once read a novel abour a German advisor to the Finnish Army in 1930s.
Called WINTER, was an excellent read.

 

[ECVMSparky]

Good clip, thanks..

 

[Cosmoline]

IIRC, their military was something of a hybrid of Imperial Russian and Prussian military traditions. But they were getting some direct assistance from Germany by the Continuation War.

 

[igor]

Cosmoline, you're right in the ballpark about the traditions. Got to check the movie, it's been around for a couple of years already and I missed it in the theaters.

CZF, might you have an author name for the book?

 

[rocinante]

Okay so the "germans" are finns. I always admired their amazing ability to survive as a country with Russia breathing down their neck. They had to make compromises politically but they made the most of their situation.

 

[Oleg Volk]

Good film. Decent war scenes, by and large. Good acting.

 

[Cosmoline]

You can tell them from Germans because their helmets are bigger and have bolts through the sides. Also, because they're speaking Finnish. Which is like Swedish sung backwards by a Hungarian polka band, then covered by Lordi.

 

[igor]

Got to love my mother tongue...

 

[Trebor]

I'm still looking for the long version of "Winter War" with Engish subtitles. My understanding is that it was originally a mini-series in Finland. I have the short movie version with subtitles but the longer version is only available in Finnish with no subtitles. I heard a rumour that the BBC once broadcast a subtitle or dubbed version of the long mini-series but I haven't been able to track that down yet.

 

[Jack Straw from Wichita]

"Winter War" DVD?

I'm still looking for the long version of "Winter War" with Engish subtitles.

So would I. For that matter, I'd like to find a decent-looking Region 1 DVD of "The Winter War", short or long version. The only ones I've seen look like they were transferred from a tired VHS tape.

-Jack

 

[Valkman]

Try www.belleandblade.com - more war movies than you can shake a stick at!

Winter War and Cross of Iron are 2 of my favorites.

 

[Trebor]

So would I. For that matter, I'd like to find a decent-looking Region 1 DVD of "The Winter War", short or long version. The only ones I've seen look like they were transferred from a tired VHS tape.

Yeah, the DVD transfers I've seen aren't very good. I sold my buddy my VHS copy awhile back and I regreted it as soon as I saw how bad the DVD transfer was.

 

[Cosmoline]

belle and blade is where most of us got our copies of Winter War. It's a pretty grainy transfer, and as noted I don't think it's the complete show. I'm also looking for the recent remake of "Unknown Soldier." Bits of it are on youtube, but I can't find any source for a DVD stateside:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uREvtOmAuWQ

However, the fellow posting these tidbits has them for sale from Finland here:

http://www.suomikauppa.fi/

Of course, it's bound to be the wrong region so it would be for an unset DVD player or multi-region computer player.