Moscow Strikes Back

"IT'S SENSATIONAL!"

1942 0h 55m RU

😐

5.6

MID

★5.6TMDB · 17

DocumentaryWar

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“IT'S SENSATIONAL!”

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Cast

N. Dubravin
Narrator(voice)
Edward G. Robinson
Narrator (English version) (voice)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Leonid Varlamov
Writers: Pyotr Pavlenko
Languages: Russian
Countries: Soviet Union

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 55-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

84 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ilya Kopalin shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

N. Dubravin and Edward G. Robinson carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "IT'S SENSATIONAL!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0035085 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 17 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Leonid Varlamov directs. Ilya Kopalin cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Soviet Union. Dialogue in Russian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 55-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
284 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
4Editor Ilya Kopalin shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5N. Dubravin and Edward G. Robinson carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "IT'S SENSATIONAL!".
7IMDB entry: tt0035085 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 17 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Editing: Ilya Kopalin
Runtime: 55 min · 0h 55m
Status: Released
Original language: RU
IMDB: Moscow Strikes Back (1942)

Awards

Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Leonid Varlamov

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2026-03-15
★ 6/10
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 with sabres and furry hats, but entire platoons of soldiers use them as the principle mode of transportation whilst their far more mechanised enemy used machines. What soon appears obvious is that their methods prove more resilient as their well armed forces gradually appear to turn the tide. Sure, it’s a propaganda exercise extolling the virtues of Stalin, his comrade generals as well as the stoic and proud population itself, but it isn’t any different from those produced by the UK or the USA to raise and sustain moral, and on that front this is one of the more gruelling films featuring an astonishing selection of imagery.

Production companies