Assembled by the same producer-director team responsible for the popular Russian wartime drama The Baltic Deputy, The Last Hill centers around the legendary battle of Sebastopol. During this 250-day siege, it looked for a while that the Russians would be devastated by the invading Nazi hordes. Fortunately, the tide eventually turned and the Soviets emerged triumphant, albeit at a great personal cost. The action scenes are superbly staged and utterly convincing; a romantic subplot involving a female partisan fighter is less effective. In America, The Last Hill was released in tandem with another Russian production, Sergei Gerasimov's The Ural Front. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
