Without a doubt, intelligence is the most romanticized military specialization… Only people who have undergone advanced training, are physically developed, who know languages and are incredibly resourceful are trusted to perform tasks of increased complexity. However, a spy always risks more than an ordinary soldier, because his life can end at one moment with the slightest mistake.
Let’s be honest, today there are films about scouts not very popular… The heyday of the genre took place in the post-war period, when the events were fresh in the memory of the people and represented the current reality. When filming war films, directors prefer to bypass the topic of scouts or create entire series, but we’ll talk about them later.
Now we present to you a small selection of full-length films that resonated in the hearts of the viewer. These pictures about scouts in the narrow sense of their specialty – no Western spies and agents.
Scout feat
Director: Boris Barnet
Genre: Drama
Year of issue: 1947
Connoisseurs of the genre should not be intimidated by the year the picture was released, because we classic spy story, the reliability of which will give odds to many modern tapes. In 1947, filming about intelligence officers simply could not be bad – the ideology put the director in a rather rigid framework. The fact that the protagonist had real prototype, therefore, artistry is closely intertwined with documentary here.
Alexey Fedotov – Soviet intelligence officer, entrusted with a very difficult mission. He will have to go to Vinnitsa, occupied by the Germans, posing as Heinrich Eckertto get the correspondence of the local general with the headquarters. Facing numerous obstacles on his way, Alexei not only fulfills the task, but also captures a German officer.
The film has many advantages – satisfactory staging, lack of an explicit propaganda message, the Germans are a dangerous enemy, not cardboard dummies, which is the sin of modern directors. Of course, the quality of the shooting is at a low level due to the age of the picture, but this does not spoil it at all. The prototype of the main character – Nikolay Kuznetsov, which will be discussed below.
Strong-willed
Director: Victor Georgiev
Genre: Adventure
Year of issue: 1967
Since filming the movie “The exploit of the scout” more than 20 years have passed, and we are witnessing the release of another picture about saboteurs. And again the prototype of the protagonist Nikolay Kuznetsov, whose personality it is necessary to dwell in a little more detail.
In wartime, the eminent intelligence officer destroyed 11 German generals as well as senior officials and is deservedly recognized as one of the greatest masters of his craft. Its main task was considered to be the elimination Erica Koch, but the efforts of the saboteur did not lead to the desired result. And the most important achievement of the scout was the destruction Max von Ilgen, which Kuznetsov produced together with a group of partisans. Nikolai and his comrades got hold of a Wehrmacht uniform and, having learned from the informant the general’s daily routine, they captured him and Koch’s personal driver in Rovno. Since the situation did not allow the prisoners to be taken out, they were dealt with in the nearest forest according to the laws of wartime.
If the painting “The Exploit of the Scout” was only inspired by the work of Nikolai Kuznetsov, the tape “Strong-willed” dedicated to his direct activities on the territory of Rivne.
Scouts
Director: Igor Samborsky, Alexey Shvachko
Genre: Adventure
Year of issue: 1968
This scout tape boasts a stellar cast. The viewer sees in the frame Leonid Bykov and Alexey Smirnov, which already testifies to the high quality of the casting. The picture was positively received by the audience and became one of the leaders of the box office.
The action of the tape takes place in 1945, when the victory was already close, and the main events took place on the Danube. The advance of the Soviet troops was stopped – extensive minefields do not allow to effectively continue the offensive. That is why it is urgently necessary to get maps, for this the scouts will have to penetrate the occupied city and risk their lives for a noble goal.
Curious fact: Smirnov – Honored War Veteran… Alexey was a scout, like his on-screen character (although Vasya part-time cook), so it is especially interesting to watch the actor’s play – in modern films you will not find such a level of reliability.
In the area of special attention
Director: Andrey Malyukov
Genre: Action
Year of issue: 1977
Andrey Malyukov can be called a real master of modern military cinema. It was he who shot such pictures as “We are from the future”, “Saboteur”, “Match”, “I am a Russian soldier”… “In the area of special attention” – the first full-length film directed by the director and it turned out to be very solid in its quality.
The focus of the exercise is that the Yuzhny ones must plan an attack on the Severnykh and solve the assigned task. Several sabotage groups are thrown into the rear of the enemy, but soon only one of them has a chance to find a command post. In the course of the assignment, conflicts arise between the participants in the operation, they will have to face not only imaginary, but also real danger. This film tells about the hard work of intelligence officers, friendship, respect and duty.
By the way, the episode in which scouts encounter a group of fugitive prisoners – this is not fiction. A story like this really took place in real life and made the plot of the film even more exciting.
Star
Director: Nikolay Lebedev
Genre: Action
Year of issue: 2002
Usually remakes do not enjoy significant success with the viewer, but now we are dealing with an exception to the rule. New version of the film “Star” received approximately the same marks with the 1949 painting, so we are considering it. The tape immediately distinguished itself with a good casting – Alexey Kravchenko and not so scandalous yet Alexey Panin became a kind of magnet for the viewer.
It’s summer 1944, most of the occupied territories have already been returned, but the war is far from over. A group of Soviet intelligence officers with the call sign “Zvezda” was thrown into the German rear to collect the necessary information. Alas, the guys were not destined to return from this assignment, but the data transferred to the command can seriously facilitate the further planning of operations.
The movie was filmed not from scratch, each character has a prototype. In fact, the story ended more optimistically – the group not only completed the task, but also survived. Veteran Ivan Meshcheryakov, a real participant in the operation, spoke condescendingly about the film – the picture is replete with inaccuracies specially made for the sake of the artistic component. However, the man admitted that the creators of the tape did not lie to the viewer about the events presented.
Not only a wonderful movie was shot about the scouts, but also wonderful serials. We have prepared TOP-10 TV series about scouts for those who are not satisfied with these five excellent films. Alternatively, fans of war stories can read the TOP 10 films about tanks.