The Last Assault


The Last Assault is a 1986 Romanian drama film directed by Sergiu Nicolaescu. It is set during World War II, during the period when Romania in [World War II|Romania] joined the Allies against the Axis.

Plot

Horia Lazăr is an eager but inexperienced officer given a command of Romanian troops. His unit marches across Transylvania, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia, during which it suffers heavy casualties. Much of the second half of the film covers the Siege of Budapest, including German efforts to relieve it.
During the course of the war, Lazăr forms a relationship with Silvia, the daughter of General Marinescu.

Production

In lieu of working German tanks, T-34's with German markings and some modifications were used instead. Some of the filming took place at the Văcărești Monastery during March 1985. Damage was committed during the filming, the worst being a fracturing of a marble cross given by Constantine Mavrocordatos, one of the monastery's founders.
Sergiu Nicolaescu wrote in his memoir that The Last Assault was the most censored of those films directed by him. The Leadership Council for Socialist Culture and Education forced the removal of a few key scenes: one involving violence committed by Hungarian soldiers; the removal of the Romanian Army from Budapest, on orders from Stalin, so that the Soviet Red Army could be the first to reach the Hungarian Parliament building; and the drama involving General Gheorghe Avramescu, who was accused by the Soviets of treason and was later executed.
One scene involves a pianist found by Romanian troops within a bombed out home in Budapest; Nicolaescu claimed this as a reference to the story of Władysław Szpilman, which was later dramatized in Roman Polanski's The Pianist.

Reception

The film was successful upon release. Many commented that The Last Assault felt like an American film, which Nicolaescu took as a compliment. It was selected as the Romanian entry for the Academy Award for Best [Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Language Film] at the 59th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.

Cast