Softwing Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Sexylocher Masterful Movie

Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

denis888 Soviet films about WWII may be tedious, long or pathetic, but not this one, which is done by the great filmmaker Tatiana Lioznova and since she is a woman the movie has that deep, thoughtful, sweetly painful feeling of heroism, tragedy and bravery. Sure, some things are exaggerated and of course there could never be such an ideal spy as Stirlitz, played here by awesome Vyacheslav Tikhonov. What is very important here is to show what crafty and smart enemy as Nazi were we managed to win over at a cost of 30,000,000 lives. The film is about people who stay human in the fire of war, and about humans who become beasts and cruel monsters. This is the fine example of a great war movie without propaganda or sickly patriotism.

vldv22 What make this movie unique, is how Germans are shown. They are villains, but unlike in many modern movies these villains are not ugly, stupid or emotionless. They have personalities, they are clever, cunning and often charming. Just like one would assume many Nazis were in real life.There is no much shooting or killing in this film. No special effects. What it has is a great story (loosely based on actual events, I think), great acting, dialogues, and cinematography. Although there are 12 episodes of the film, you will wish there have been more.Great film. I should watch it again...

South62 Reading comments I am glad to see that 90 percent of them are speaking about this serial in superlatives. Nothing better could be done in Brezhnev Era but in this context I am not underlining that fact like an obstacle. Russian creativity was always able to overrun political circumstances. I am posting this comment to point out one of the most touching and best acted scenes in entire motion-picture history. Character acted by Tikhonov is Soviet spy enduring 17 years in Nazi-surroundings. Bosses from Moscow Centre know in what kind of psychological pressure he was and want to help him in in some way. NKVD arranges meeting between Stierlitz and his real Soviet wife. They met in one restaurant somewhere in Third Reich. They did not see each other for years but due to security reasons and keeping Stierlitz's under cover job, man and woman must not talk, must not show that they even know each other. They are permitted just to look each other for couple of minutes. Tikhonov made acting bravura: extremely high emotional suffering suppressed by duty. He did not show he knows the lady. Nobody in German restaurant noticed nothing but TV audience understood his pain.

lowway One of the best films of Soviet Union. It is not about intrigues and spy games, though the plot is really gripping. Last months of WW II. Shtirliz - Soviet resident is under suspection of Gestapo. Being in the heart of Hitler's sistem, he struggled with hazi regime long years. The Third Reich bosses Himmler, Shellenberg, Wolf understand that their game is over, they try to save their own skin and seek for separate peace with USA and Great Britain. This treaty could be big calamity for Soviet people, and USSR secret service breakes ignouble plans of nazi. The famouse Soviet actor Vyacheslav Tikhonov (Prince Andej in "War and peace" by Bondarchuk) have excellent incarnated the interesting and very complicated character of Shtirliz. All other roles were played by the best actors of Soviet screen.Some parts of film were shot in GDR. For the first time after WW II in Soviet cinema appeared the German soldier character, who was kind and humane person. Gestapo guard Helmut saved Russian secret service woman Katya with her child, but himself perished. This role was brillant played by GDR actor Otto Mellies."Seventeen moments of spring" is about people, who were cut off their home, country, families in order to fighting with nazi criminals.