In honor of the forthcoming WGA Russian Napoleonics I give you a review of the Soviet cinema classic "Hussar Ballad."
It is 1812 and Napoleon marches deep into Russia. It is a time for all brave Russian men to turn forth and defend the Motherland. All brave Russian men and one woman.
Alexandra Azarova is young Russian noble woman.
Donning the uniform of a Hussar and disguising herself as a man she rides towards the sound of the guns. She finds a wounded Officer and is tasked by him to complete his mission of carrying a message to the Army. Dodging French heavy cavalry she delivers the message to the Army's ranking Officer and wins a place on the staff. Her military career has begun.
What follows?
Firearms:
http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Hussar_Ballad_%28Gusarskaya_ballada%29
(IMFDB is a great website, great for hours of browsing).
Artillery:
Frozen Frenchmen:
Sword fights:
Spaniards in French Service:
Cavalry:
Duels:
Marshal Kutuzov:
And of course a Yentil style romance:
It's a fun movie. The uniforms and equipment capture some of the feel of the time. True Grognards will probably not be satisfied. There is some decent action. But at its heart it's a romantic comedy. There are a three or so songs sung in the movie, but I wouldn't call it a musical, at least not in the American sense. (Although "Hussar Ballad" did vaguely remind me of "Calamity Jane.")
In conclusion it's a lighthearted fun movie that should appeal to anyone with an interest in the Napoleonic era. 4 of 5 stars.
Notes:
Russian names have all kinds of shortened variants that sound nothing like the original. Similar to how William becomes Bill, or Richard becomes Dick.
The protoganist Alexandra uses the alternate form of her name Shura which conveniently can be male or female.
The movie is a classic. Most Russians and residents of former Soviet countries will at least be familiar with this movie if not having seen it. Several lines have become catch phrases.
There is an entire genre of Hussar Poruchik Rzhevsky (Shura's friend/comrade/enemy/love interest) jokes. Most extremely "bawdy."
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_jokes#Poruchik_Rzhevsky
To paraphrase one: Hussar Rzhevsky is getting dressed in the morning after spending a night with a young lady.
"Sweetheart" she says, "Aren't you forgetting the money?"
Hussar Rzhevsky exclaims "A Hussar never takes money!"
Available to watch with English subtitles here:
I have a bunch of Russian WW2 movie recommendations here:
https://wargamesatlantic.com/community/xenforum/topic/49886/suggestions-for-new-soviet-kits
Review of the WW1 era "Battalion" movie here:
https://wargamesatlantic.com/community/xenforum/topic/49177/battalion-2015-movie-review
