Come And See (1985) All Region DVD (Region 1,2,3,4,5,6 Compatible) by Aleksey Kravchenko

"And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see! And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth." -- Apocalypse of John, 6: 7-8I've watched a hell of a lot of war movies in my day, produced in many countries and shot over many decades, from the 1930s to today. I've seen cinema from Weimar, Nazi and contemporary Germany; from Soviet Russia; from America, Britain and Australia; and from other countries as well. I feel pretty comfortable in saying that I'm well versed in most of the styles in which war movies are shot, from gritty to stylized, from pro-war to anti-war, from low budget to blockbuster. COME AND SEE is the first truly "surreal" war movie I have ever personally encountered. In terms of its feel, the closest analog I can think of is the last hour or so of APOCALYPSE NOW, when the movie becomes totally dreamlike, but even that is a bit of a reach. This movie is its own horrifying, surreal self entirely from start to finish.COME AND SEE is the story of life and death in the Soviet Union while under German occupation during World War Two. The film opens with a farmboy, Florya, playing among the wreckage of an old batlefield near his home. He manages to unearth a working rifle from the dirt and decides this will gain him entry into the partisan band which lives in the forests and fight the German occupiers. He is correct, but the partisan commander, Kosach, orders Florya to remain at his farm and work against the Nazis from there. This causes quarrels with his mother, who like many under German occupation just want to keep their heads down and hope the storm of war will blow over them. While out and about, he encounters a pretty farmgirl, Glasha, and tells her of his role as a partisan; but when he returns home he cannot find his family. It turns out the German military police have "paid them a visit" and here begins the films' full descent into the nightmare world, both in terms of subject matter, writing, direction and cinematography. Florya cannot accept what has happened to his loved ones and drags Glasha into a swamp in a futile effort to locate them. Florya entually begins to grasp that his digging-up of the rifle may have caused his family's deaths, and this pushes him further into quasi-madness. The desperate, tragic situation leads to a series of horrible "adventures" where the two children extort a supposedly Nazi-friendly farmer of his cow, encounter a fellow partisan who is killed in a skirmish, and are eventually taken in by villagers who provide them with false identities. Unfortunately for the village, it lies in the path of an SS anti-partisan squad whose way of dealing with guerilla warfare is to massacre everyone in their path, whether involved with the partisans or not. This brings the film to its fiery, vicious climax, which shows what the war was really like for the Eastern peoples: a life of terror, hunger, moral compromise, random violence and, often as not, horrible death, all without rhyme or reason.COME AND SEE shows its form early, by its curious use of extended sequences in which the characters speak directly into the camera, often in ways which show they have only a tenuous grip on reality, probably due to the horror of their daily lives. German occupation was capricious and cruel, and put the ordinary Soviet citizen in an unwinnable situation where simply trying to survive was often considered "collaboration" and punishible by death at the hands of the partisans: hence the scene where the farmer is humiliated and robbed of his only cow by the guerillas. On the other hand, compliance was no assurance of safety: the villagers at the end of the film are exterminated like rats in a barn, and with less regard for their suffering than one would give vermin. This insanse atmosphere leads to a film that often appears the work of a madman: when the cow is killed -- presumably it was really killed, because the actors were using live ammunition for most of the movie -- there is an extended close-up of its eyes as it is dying which is almost unwatchable. Likewise, there is an explosion which causes Florya's ears to ring: the ringing is overwhelming and lasts so long I almost had a nervous breakdown trying to get through the scene as I already suffer from tinnitus. None of the human relationships in the story are "normal" -- Florya and Glasha act like children away from their parents, alternately quarreling, indulging in fantasy and flirting in a kind of chaste, pre-sexual sort of way. The partisans come off as feral as beasts, untrusting and pitiless, yet their leader, Kosach, alternates between the sort of humanity which allows German prisoners a chance to explain their actions -- if only to satisfy Kosach's curiousity as how men could do such horrible things -- and ordering his men to douse the prisoners in gasoline and set them alight. Everyone and everything, including the landscape, is twisted and tormented by the war, and by the lust for murder and destruction that drives it.I very nearly gave COME AND SEE three stars because the movie is so deliberately surrealistic, strange, and brutal that it is not enjoyable to watch. In one scene, an SS officer jams the muzzle of his pistol into Florya's temple and orders a photograph taken for his scrapbook; the expression on the child's face, as he kneels helplessly, watching the village burned, the women raped, the men herded into a barn and shot, is one of such extreme terror and horror as to disfigure his visage. It doesn't look like acting. It looks like the worst nightmare you could have. Which in effect is what this movie is.

Come and See, also titled Idi i smotri, is a film I will never forget. I am still thinking about it and will be for a very long time. It is not "entertainment" but a history lesson, a LIFE lesson. This is a rare glimpse into the Soviet side of World War II as seen through the eyes of a 13 year old boy. The film is based on the real life experiences of Ales Adamovich, who fought with the Russian partisans against the Nazi regime 1n Belarus in 1943.We were not taught about the Soviet side of WWII in my public school. I had never heard of the 600 villages and all the inhabitants being systemactically wiped out by the Nazis. Both Elem Klimov and Ales Adamovich wrote the screen play with Klimov directing. The film gives you a true sense of what this young boy not only saw but felt and even heard. While watching, I felt as if I had climbed into this once young,innocent heart and soul and experienced all he had gone through.The acting from Aleksei Kravchenko is as if he were channeling the spirit of the dead. His acting is somewhat supernatural. I love great film and have watched many many films of this nature but have never seen anything like this particular film. It is incredibly violent, nothing is too gruesome too show. Nothing is omitted for the sake of the audience. It is a film of the horrors of war. It has something I did NOT see in Schindlers List, Platoon, Galapoli,Apocolypse Now,The Deer Hunter or even Night and Fog,to name just a few of the best. The acting,is truly incredible right down to every single extra. The lighting and music are haunting and I will never hear certain pieces of Mozart quite the same again. If you could somehow transfer the feelings of the words "Insanity,Courage,Cowardice and Hopelessness onto cellonoid you might find yourself watching either this film or have traveled back to 1943 in the mind of the boy, Flor. I would love to see this film become part of every schools curiculum. All children aged 13 and up should see this film. I can already hear mothers saying they are too young to view this much violence and how it would traumatize them. I disagree and think most of the crap kids of that age group watch are just as violent as this movie if not more so. The same goes for the videos they watch. The difference is the violence in THIS film is powerful and thought provoking enough to make young men and women think twice about the realities and consequences of any WAR. This is such an important film. I am amazed I had never heard of it until a few days ago, where I found it listed on an IMDb list of movies that deserve more recognition. It was awarded the Grand Prix in 1985 at the Moscow Film Festival but for whatever reason did not get the public attention it should have. I thank AMAZON for having this piece of history available for rent and would recommend everyone watch it at least once. Again, this is not a movie that will entertain you. It is NOT going to make you feel good about the world we live in and will make you ask yourself the hard questions we'd rather not think about. It is the absolute best film about the horrors of war, the loss of innocence, the insidious nature of human beings and a film that should not be tucked away on a shelf. I would love to see this film get the attention it so deserves. The actual archived footage of Hitler and the insanity which took hold of millions of people remind us of who we are and what we are capable of. HIstory continues to repeat itself and I believe great films such as this should be made widely available. You will never forget the last 10 minutes of this film. You will never forget the madness and agony reflected in the eyes of what was once an innocent child. Hopefully, a film such as this reminds us to Never Forget.

This movie is a work of art from a culture that simply no longer exists. Whatever the Soviet Union and its satellites were, and the high art it was able to produce, simply is no more.Thus we are left with a film of such power as this, looking at us like the voices and pictures of an extinct people which we can still understand.Really I cannot say anymore as this movie is beyond words as it takes an unflinching look at the dark side of human nature as it intersects with simple people who merely wish to live their lives.

An incredible, brutal, breathtaking, compelling, thought-provoking, nightmare-inducing piece of art that is every bit as good as---and, in many ways, even greater than---any of the other war classics that have become classics in western cinema. Made in the Soviet Union in the mid-80's, it is nonetheless right up there with Saving Private Ryan, Schindlers List, Thin Red Line, Full Metal Jacket, and Apocalypse Now. If David Lynch, Steven Spielberg, and Francis Ford Coppola got together, drank vodka and dropped acid and then collaborated on a war movie together, this is what you'd get. I'd give this 10 stars if the Amazon review format would allow it.

This is a review for the "Artificial Eye" version of Come and See. I hope this helps some people, because there isn't anything on the internet regarding this version. The film is a World War Two anti war film, with horror elements. We follow the tragic story of a young Belyorussian boy, who joins the partisans. I won't add anymore as I don't want to spoil the movie. Read a synopsis if you want, but I advise to just watch it.Now on to this particular version of the film. "Articial Eye" is a company that commonly releases old movies, cult movies and foreign movies alike. They also do restoration work as far as I am aware. I got this version for that very reason. I have another version, which while is okay, looks blurry most of the time. This version is definitely a superior transfer, you can especially tell in the close up shots, which have more detail, and the colours general look richer with a more detailed overall imagine. I would definitely say this is the definitive disc version of the film so far, that us until Criterion hopefully releases it on Blu-Ray. On my trouble is hunting it down. It is a rare movie (on Artificial Eye) and I've only ever seen it twice before and that was on Ebay. Expect to pay £20 - £30 for it.The seller initially sent me the wrong version of this film, but quickly sorted this out for me, and refunded me money for postage, so props there.Definitely pick up this version if you can, if not, then buy the "Nouveaux Pictures" version. You can find a few on CEX's website.

One of the best war movies I have ever seen, focuses on the brutal realities of war as seen through the eyes of a young Belurus boy Florya, you will find yourself swept in to the harsh environment, the merciless assault that was attributed by the Germans and the atrocities that were committed on the Belurus countryside and to its inhabitants, hands down this easily tops any war movie Hollywood can supe up. I had never heard of this movie until recently. Another great masterpiece by Elem Klimov along with Agony, there are so many hidden gems I have discovered in the Soviet movie industry, this is authentic, honest, brutal and the acting is second to none. All I can say to you about this movie is"Go & See " , you will never forget it.

The title "Come and see" sounds like an invitation, but it doesn't give any indication of what it is you're going to see. I like the French title better: Requiem pour un massacre. It gives you a fair warning of what you're going to see. The film is not a documentary but historic events seen through the eyes of children. How a child might have experienced the Nazi's extermination of whole villages of ordinary soviet people living ordinary lives during World War II. As the film progresses you can feel the final tragedy to come in a subtle way pervading every scene. At the end of the film when everybody is either action out or victimized by the worst possible horrors and atrocities, you almost have to detach yourself from what you experience. It's unbearable. Human behavior at its worst thinkable expression. How Klimov managed to make a film like this, getting all the details down and still keeping some kind of perspective and distance is quite frankly impressing. But he succeeds and creates images and scenes that will stay with you for a very long time. If not forever. After this you will be forever inclined to distance yourself from the violence of any totalitarian regime or idea.In other words a masterpiece. Also you have to admire Klimov for having the guts to look at extreme violence through the eyes of innocent, defenseless children. Vulnerability facing annihilation. I need to say no more. Klimov says it all.

Of all the war films I have ever seen, this is the most unsettling. It is weird, brutal, graphic, shocking and a depiction of the horrors of the Nazis rolling towards the East in the same way that impressionists reflect fields of flowers - a somewhat artistic interpretation of the horrendous events. A nightmarish circus of the worst things that can happen when war and civilians overlap.I think that this is an essential introduction to someone who had not really ever uncovered this campaign of the war but it isn't for the squeamish, it left me deflated but I have watched again a couple of times since as it was a fantastic piece of film and is as relevant today as it was when it was made. I gave it five stars but I can't say "I love it" as per the Amazon guidelines in the same way I might enjoy a lighter subject, I just respect it as one of the most accomplished films I've ever seen.

A very unusual movie for a western audience: WW2 as seen from the Soviet perspective. A young boy digs up a rifle from a soldier's grave and runs off to join the Partisans, huge groups of irregular soldiers backing up the Red Army. It has that 'realist' quality that seems typical of Soviet cinema. For example, during a bombing raid, a bomb explodes some distance from the boy, damaging his hearing. From that point on the sound in the movie is muffled. At first I thought there was a problem with the TV but soon realised it was an effect by the director. Towards the end of the movie he (and we) starts to get his hearing back. I remember when I first saw this movie on TV in the 1980s and was quite taken by this - and I didn't see the idea copied in a western war movie until perhaps the realism of 'Saving Private Ryan' towards the end. 'Come and See' is rather long - two hours, and at points it can be hard to follow what's going on, soldiers all over the place, running everywhere, are they coming or going? But I suppose the director wanted us to see war as being like that - moments of total confusion where we have no idea what's happening, except that it's all bad, and we just want to keep our heads down and stay alive! In that respect it reminded me a bit of the (much later) Terernce Malick's "Thin Red Line" when the Marines overrun the Japanese camp and everyone's just running and yelling and hitting and stabbing without apparent rhyme or reason.