Epic Defense of the Brest Fortress Dramatized in New WWII Movie

Janson Media today announced the digital release of the feature film Fortress of War to VOD markets in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

This World War II historical war drama portrays, with incredible accuracy, the heroic defense of the Brest Fortress, which took the first major blow from the Nazis on June 22, 1941. The film follows the troops as they held a border stronghold for nine days of intense fighting, led by the regiment commanders Peter Gavrilov, Commissioner Efim Fomin and the head of the 9th Frontier Andrei Kizhevatov.

The Brest Fortress is a 19th-century Russian fortress in Brest, Belarus. The battle marked the start of Operation Barbarossa of the German-Soviet War, when Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union.

Fortress of War (1 x 138 minutes), a Russian language film, subtitled in English, was directed by Aleksandr Kott, and stars Aleksey Kopashov, Andrey Merzlikin, and Pavel Derevyanko.

The film has launched on Amazon Prime Video in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, where it is available for rent or purchase in HD or SD. It is free to Prime subscribers and has already garnered strong viewers reviews and ratings.

"This epic account of the heroic defense of a Russian fortress against Nazi invaders in 1941 ranks as one of the most gripping and powerful war movies of all time," wrote Don Groves for SBS. "Working with a relatively modest budget of $7 million, director Alexander Kott and his crew delivered a spectacular, deeply moving picture whose production values would rival any Hollywood production... A remarkable true story of courage under fire."

"Beautifully shot," wrote Carlos Filipe Freitas at Always Good Movies.

The film was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Feature at the Russian Film Festival, and won three Nika Awards in the categories best sound, best costume design and best cinematography.