Trial on the Road

Trial on the Road
Directed byAleksey German
Written byYuri German.
Screenplay byEduard Volodarsky
StarringRolan Bykov
Anatoly Solonitsyn
Vladimir Zamansky
CinematographyYakov Sklansky
Distributed byLenfilm
Release date
  • 1987 (1987)
Running time
96 min
CountrySoviet Union
LanguageRussian

Trial on the Road (Russian: Проверка на дорогах, romanized: Proverka na dorogakh) is a 1971 black-and-white Soviet film set in World War II, directed by Aleksey German, starring Rolan Bykov, Anatoly Solonitsyn and Vladimir Zamansky.[1][2] It is also known as Checkpoint or Check up on the Road.[3]

Trial on the Road was censored and taken out of circulation in the Soviet Union for 15 years after its release due to its controversial depiction of Soviet soldiers.[4] The film is based on a story by the director's father, Yuri German.[5] The screenplay was written by Eduard Volodarsky.[6]

This film is Alexei German's solo directorial debut which took a philosophical approach to the Soviet usage of "heroes" and "traitors". Screenplay by A. German and Eduard Y. Volodarsky (1941-2012), the film is based on the novel of his father (Operatsiya "S Novym Godom", or Operation "Happy New Year"), Yuri German (1910-1967), a Soviet novelist, screenwriter, and journalist.[7] The original film title was that of the novel.

  1. ^ "TRIAL ON THE ROAD". Gene Siskel Film Center - School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  2. ^ "Trial on the Road". Lincoln Center Film Society. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  3. ^ IMDb
  4. ^ Nancy Condee (2009). "Aleksei German: Forensics in the Dynastic Capital". The Imperial Trace - Recent Russian Cinema. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 185–216. ISBN 019045122X.
  5. ^ "Trial on the Road (Proverka na Dorogakh)". Seattle International Film Festival 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  6. ^ Roth, Andrew (2012-10-13). "Eduard Volodarsky, Screenwriter Banned by Soviets, Dies at 71". New York Times. Retrieved 2013-03-22.
  7. ^ VOLAND, JOHN (1986-11-15). "Soviet Emigre Hopes His Film Trials Are Over". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2016-02-11.