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23/02/1942 Documentary, War 0h 55m
55
User score

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Overview

A Soviet documentary chronicling the Battle of Moscow (October 1941 – January 1942), when Red Army forces repelled the German advance on the capital. Shot by numerous frontline cameramen, it combines harrowing footage of combat and civilian suffering with scenes of Nazi atrocities, framed against themes of Russian heroism and cultural survival. Originally released under the title Defeat of the German Armies Near Moscow, the English-language version, narrated by Edward G. Robinson, was retitled Moscow Strikes Back. The film won the 1943 Academy Award for Best Documentary. Warning: contains graphic images.

  1. Leonid Varlamov

    Director

  2. Ilya Kopalin

    Director

  3. Pyotr Pavlenko

    Writer

Top billed cast

  1. N. Dubravin

    Narrator(voice)

  2. Edward G. Robinson

    Narrator (English version) (voice)

  3. View more

Full Cast & Crew

Reviews

A review by CinemaSerf
Written by CinemaSerf on 2026-03-15
This isn’t really a documentary so much as a well edited collection of often quite perilously shot archive footage depicting how the Soviet army and it’s citizens prepared to fight back against the Nazis who were heading towards their capital. It’s the middle of winter and the snow is everywhere, so their tasks are made all the more difficult by the freezing conditions, the icy terrain and their own need to wrap up with so many layers of clothing as to make their fighting agility all the more taxing. What is striking about this is the number of horses employed. It’s not just officers w...read the rest
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Status
Released

Original Language
Russian

Budget
$0.00

Revenue
$0.00

Keywords