The Battle of Neretva, a film by Veljko Bulajic, has been included among the 10 most important films about the Second World War at the 32nd Moscow International Film Festival, which will be held from June 17 to 26.
The Battle of the River Neretva made it into the top 10 together with David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai, Ken Annakin's The Longest Day, Rene Clement's Is Paris Burning? and Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun.
"Along with a US Academy Award nomination among five foreign films four decades ago, this recognition is of special significance to me and my associates, because it confirms that the Battle of the River Neretva has secured a permanent place in international cinema," Bulajic told Hina in an interview.
Bulajic said that after its release in 1969 the film had been seen by 5 million people in the former Yugoslavia and 1.5 million in Croatia, and that 350 million people had seen it worldwide in the first round of showing.
These figures have been exceeded many times over by television screenings, so the Battle of the River Neretva ranks among the most seen films in the word, he added.
The film featured an international cast of actors, including Yul Brynner, Orson Welles and Franco Nero.
