I Was Nineteen (1968/DEFA/First Run Features)
Picture:
C Sound: C Extras: C Film: B-
Konrad
Wolf’s I Was Nineteen (1968) is an
autobiographical drama a young Soviet solider of German descent that becomes
part of the force that crushes the Nazis during the final days of WWII. It was a film that confronted some unspoken
issues that the German cinema had not dealt with at all. The result is a classic that has aged pretty
well upon its 40th Anniversary.
Jaecki
Schwarz stars as the young man who has to grow up fast as the world around him
starts to rightly crumble, though the Nazis intend to hold out as long as they
can, radicals they are. The screenplay
by Wolf and Wolfgang Kohlhaase pulls no punches, deals with the Holocaust, the
madness and goes into detail of the ignorance and stupidity that led to the
final downfalls, all as often witnessed by the 19-year-old realizing how doomed
the situation is, no matter who wins.
Fortunately, the USSR saw one of their few credible moments unfold as
the rotten Stalin outbrutalized his former “friend” and a war concluded.
The film
even marks the dates occurrently as if to show a countdown of the course of
events. My only complain about the film
is that it does not show all the brutality of both armies, but for 1968, it
still has enough edge to keep it alive and politically speaking, it was a
watershed in its time. I Was Nineteen is enough of a classic
to see at least once, especially if the topic is of interest.
The 1.33
X 1 black and white image is soft and has aliasing errors, but has somewhat
consistent Video Black. Depth can be an
issue, but Director of Photography Werner Bergman delivers believable
camerawork throughout. The Dolby Digital
2.0 German Mono is compressed throughout.
Extras include two brief newsreels, introductory essay, set design
gallery and text bio/filmographies.
- Nicholas Sheffo
