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| First Squad: The Moment of Truth | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Kana | ファースト・スクワッド |
| Directed by | Yoshiharu Ashino[1] |
| Written by | Aljosha Klimov Misha Shprits |
| Produced by | Eiko Tanaka Aljosha Klimov Misha Shprits |
| Starring | Elena Chebaturkina Michael Tikhonov Ludmila Shuvalova Damir Eldarov Irina Savina Aleksandr Gruzdev Sergei Aisman |
| Cinematography | João da Costa Pinto Sergey Akimov Kumiko Sakamoto |
| Music by | DJ Krush The 3ug3reeder |
Production companies | Studio 4°C Molot Entertainment Film Company |
| Distributed by | Molot Entertainment Film Company |
Release dates |
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Running time | 73 minutes |
| Countries | Russia Japan |
| Language | Russian |
| Box office | $ 292 377[2] |
First Squad: The Moment of Truth (Japanese:ファーストスクワッドFāsuto sukuwaddo,Russian:Пе́рвый отря́д,romanized: Perviy otryad) is a Russian-Japaneseanimated film directed by Yoshiharu Ashino. The film is a joint animation project of Japan'sStudio 4°C and Russia's Molot Entertainment. It won theKommersant newspaper's prize.[3]
Set during the opening days ofWorld War II on theEastern Front (autumn and winter of 1941/1942). Its main cast are a group ofSoviet teenagers with extraordinary abilities; the teenagers have been drafted to form a special unit to fight the invadingGerman army. They are opposed by aSchutzstaffel (SS) officer who is attempting to raise from the dead a supernatural army of crusaders from the 12th-century Order of the Sacred Cross (i.e. theTeutonic Knights) and enlist them in theNazi cause.
Most of the teenage crew die, except for the protagonist Nadya. She is taken to a secret Soviet lab that studies supernatural phenomena, especially contacts with the dead. Nadya's task is to dive into the world of the dead for reconnaissance. There, in the Gloomy Valley, she meets her dead friends and persuades them to continue fighting.
| Character | Russian voice actor | English voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Nadya | Elena Chebaturkina | Cassandra Lee Morris |
| Leo | Michael Tikhonov | Joey Morris |
| Zena | Ludmila Shuvalova | Carrie Keranen |
| Marat | Damir Eldarov | Tony Oliver |
| Valya | Irina Savina | Bryce Papenbrook |
| General Below | Aleksandr Gruzdev | Michael McConnohie |
| Baron Von Wolff | Sergei Aisman | Phineas |
The film is an adaptation of a music video for the song "Наша с тобой победа" ("Our victory") by Russian rap artistLigalize, which was released on May 9, 2005. The video, which depicted a battle between the SovietPioneers and Nazi armies, was directed by Daisuke Nakayama, and produced by Aljosha Klimov and Misha Shprits. The Nazis are shown to be in possession ofmecha and various supernatural powers. Among the featured locations are thePalace of the Soviets andMayakovskaya metro station, Moscow. In 2006, the video won an award at the MTV Russian Music Awards for best hip-hop video[4].
When it was released at feature-length in 2009, the film (whose expanded title is “First Squad: the Moment of Truth”) was the winner of the Kommerstandt Weekend Prize at theMoscow International Film Festival, as well as the Asteroide Award at theTrieste Science+Fiction Festival in Italy[5].
The film was also adapted as a graphic novel of the same name, by creators Aljosha Klimov and Misha Shprits, alongside the acclaimed manga artist Enka Sugihara[6]. It was published in October 2020 byeigoMANGA.
In 2007, it was announced that a motion picture titledFirst Squad: The Moment of Truth[7] was in the works. Film is produced byStudio 4°C and recently created for this purpose studio Molot Entertainment, distributed byAmedia. Directed by Studio 4 °C director and animator Yoshiharu Ashino, cowritten and produced by Aljosha Klimov, Misha Shprits, withEiko Tanaka, featuring character development by Hirofumi Nakata, and music by Japanese musicianDJ Krush.
The film has been shown atCannes Film Festival,[8]Locarno Film Festival,[9]Fantasporto[10] and Fantasia film festival.[11]
The film was released in North America on Blu-Ray and DVD by Anchor Bay Entertainment on January 17, 2012.[12]
