Review of 9th Company: 2 Disc Collector`s Edition

Introduction

Fyodor Bondarchuk, the son of renowned Soviet director Sergey, offers proof that quality filmmaking is in the genes. Sergey Bondarchuk made his directorial debut in 1959 with the Soviet war drama `Destiny of a Man`, a film in which he also played the lead. Nearly 50 years later, with his directorial debut, Fyodor helmed `9th Company` (9 Rota) in which he also takes the main acting credit.

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan had only previously been seen from the `western` point of view, with James Bond helping the Mujahideen in `The Living Daylights` - a Cold War thriller that was not concerned with the invasion itself. Whereas World War 2 and the Vietnam War are awash with films covering almost every aspect of the conflicts, other wars have largely gone uncovered. Only two films have been made about the first Gulf War: `Three Kings` and `Jarhead`, with no films devoted to the nine year conflict in Afghanistan between the Soviet army, which was supporting the Marxist government, and the US backed insurgents. As with every invasion before and since, it failed and has remained a sore point in Russia so to make a film about it was a brave move and one that has paid off: by my calculation it made approximately half its $9.5 million budget back in the opening weekend alone.

Evoking Oliver Stone`s `Platoon` and particularly Stanley Kubrick`s `Full Metal Jacket`, `9th Company` opens in 1988, as a disparate group of men volunteer to serve their country and are sent to Uzbekistan where they are turned from civilians into soldiers by a hard nosed Drill Sergeant, Warrant Officer Dygalo. Having convinced Dygalo that they are fit for duty, the men are sent to Bahgram in Afghanistan, where they join the prestigious 9th Company and on to Hill 3234, which they must defend. 1988 ends and the war enters its final year unknown to the men on Hill 3234 who are left without radio contact fighting Afghan warriors after the war had ended and Soviet troops had begun to return to their bases. The fact that this was based on true events makes the film all the more tragic.

Video

The 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer is as good as you would expect from a 2005 film, which was only released in British cinemas less than 4 months ago.

Most of the exterior filming took place in the Crimea which, thanks to terrific cinematography by Maksim Osadchy, looks exactly like Afghanistan (which has become all too familiar from recent news footage). CGI is used sparingly and effectively, although the major set piece, though impressive, is not as seamless as bigger budget war movies.

Audio

Both the Russian DTS and DD5.1 soundtracks are stunning and show the benefit of recording some sound in Pinewood Studios which has more experience of `big` movies than the Russian production system. The optional English subtitles are well written and free from grammatical and spelling errors, though I can`t vouch for the veracity of the translation.

Features

Disc 1 has trailers for `Typhoon` and `Duelist` with the rest of the supplementary material on Disc 2.

`Making the Movie` is a thorough and comprehensive feature covering the construction of `9th Company` including interviews with most of the principal cast and crew. It was interesting to find out that most of what you saw on screen was real, in that the cast were really undergoing basic training and handling live weapons, including a grenade launcher!

`Behind the Scenes` includes the original Theatrical trailer and teaser trailer, two TV spots, and the UK trailer.

`20 Years Later` is a 30 minute feature in which veterans of the conflict are interviewed about the war and the film which provides a insight into the accuracy of the picture.

`The Premiere` blows the trumpet of `9th Company` somewhat, with interviews giving glowing reports about how the film affected them, especially Fyodor`s mother who talks about how the film made her `heart and soul weep`!

Conclusion

Fyodor Bondarchuk has done what so many directors fail to do: succeeded with his first attempt at making a film and, if you didn`t know that he had previously only made commercials, you would think that the film was made by an experienced filmmaker. Like Oliver Stone and Stanley Kubrick with their inexperienced `grunts`, Bondarchuk has created a realistic war film with accurate depictions of the process in which civilians become soldiers and the devastating mistakes that happen in the theatre of war.

With Afghanistan rarely out of the news, due to the difficulties faced by NATO troops in suppressing the Taliban, it is relevant that we are reminded that one of the Superpowers tried the same thing twenty years ago and failed.

Although this is the most expensive Russian film ever made, Bondarchuk`s budget of $9.5 million, is dwarfed by western war films like Clint Eastwood`s `Flags of our Fathers` ($55 million), `Saving Private Ryan` and `Enemy at the Gates` (both $70 million). Even allowing for the cheaper production costs in Russia, it is clear that money does not a good movie guarantee (viz Pearl Harbor which cost over $135 million) and Bondarchuk has made a war picture which is equal to, or better than, any of the above successful war films.