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Defiance

Play trailer Poster for Defiance R Released Jan 16, 2009 2h 16m History Drama War Play Trailer Watchlist
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58% Tomatometer 187 Reviews 72% Popcornmeter 250,000+ Ratings
In 1941, Nazi soldiers are slaughtering Eastern European Jews by the thousands. Three brothers, Tuvia (Daniel Craig), Zus (Liev Schreiber) and Asael (Jamie Bell), manage to escape and take refuge in the forest where they played in childhood. Seeking a way to avenge the deaths of their loved ones, the brothers turn their daily struggle for survival into a battle against the Nazis. As news of their exploits spreads, others join the fray, willing to risk their lives for even brief freedom.
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Defiance

Defiance

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Critics Consensus

Professionally made but artistically uninspired, Ed Zwick's story of Jews surviving WWII in the Belarus forest lacks the emotional punch of the actual history.

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Critics Reviews

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Joshua Rothkopf Time Out Rated: 3/5 Nov 16, 2011 Full Review Ben Kenigsberg Time Out Rated: 4/5 Nov 16, 2011 Full Review Sandra Hall Sydney Morning Herald Schreiber and Craig make a well-matched pair of bulls. Schreiber's volatility is a nice foil to the taciturn intelligence that makes Craig such a great Bond. Rated: 3.5/5 May 8, 2009 Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Zwick is ardently devoted to entertainment value, even if it means sacrificing the dignity of his otherwise stimulating story. Rated: 2.5/4 Dec 15, 2023 Full Review Keith Garlington Keith & the Movies It doesn’t take many risks and it never strays too far from the more conventional survival movie path. But it’s a very well made film that captures the look and tone of the period. Rated: 4/5 Aug 20, 2022 Full Review Danielle Solzman Solzy at the Movies Every minute that the cast and crew shot Defiance on location in Lithuania was worth it. Jul 19, 2021 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Kit K A fairly good film except for one major detail: The shouting. I was continually annoyed and in disbelief that people who are hiding out in quiet woodland trying to avoid detection would be doing so much shouting!! Duh! Sort of defeats the purpose … Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/19/25 Full Review Ionut M I loved this movie, strong and heart-warming movie MUST SEE I also love the characters, the history of these events that are told they are true makes it mind-blowing!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/21/25 Full Review Penelope S I thought it was well made and kept my interest I do love war movies. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 10/17/24 Full Review M C A WWII story, well portrayed by actors which keeps the viewers interest. Being a true war survivalist. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/30/24 Full Review Jeremy H Outstanding!! A must watch! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/31/24 Full Review Sergey B Despite having a mainstream Hollywood actor as the main protagonist, the film succeeds in telling the story of one of the best-known accounts of Jewish resistance against Nazis quite well. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/27/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Defiance

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Cast & Crew

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Edward Zwick

Director

Daniel Craig

Tuvia Bielski

Liev Schreiber

Zus Bielski

Jamie Bell

Asael Bielski

Alexa Davalos

Lilka Ticktin

Allan Corduner

Shimon Haretz

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Defiance

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Movie Info

Synopsis In 1941, Nazi soldiers are slaughtering Eastern European Jews by the thousands. Three brothers, Tuvia (Daniel Craig), Zus (Liev Schreiber) and Asael (Jamie Bell), manage to escape and take refuge in the forest where they played in childhood. Seeking a way to avenge the deaths of their loved ones, the brothers turn their daily struggle for survival into a battle against the Nazis. As news of their exploits spreads, others join the fray, willing to risk their lives for even brief freedom.
Director
Edward Zwick
Producer
Edward Zwick, Pieter Jan Brugge
Screenwriter
Edward Zwick, Clayton Frohman
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Production Co
Bedford Falls Productions, Grosvenor Park Productions
Rating
R (Violence|Language)
Genre
History, Drama, War
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 16, 2009, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 10, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA)
$28.6M
Runtime
2h 16m
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