Сражение (Battleground) (1986) – Soviet Stop-Motion Short Film / Based on the Story by Stephen King

A masterful and atmospheric Soviet stop-motion animation that brings Stephen King's tale of a hitman terrorized by toy soldiers to life with chilling silence and visual brilliance.

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📖 STORY
A cold and cynical hitman completes a job by assassinating the owner of a toy factory.Returning to his sterile, modern apartment, he receives a mysterious package containing a box of toy soldiers. He soon discovers they are not mere toys but a highly trained, relentless miniature army that launches a full-scale military assault against him, turning his own home into a deadly battleground.

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⭐ HIGHLIGHTS

· A rare Soviet-era adaptation of Stephen King's work
· Expert stop-motion animation and cinematography
· The film is completely dialogue-free, telling its story through visuals and sound
· Perfectly captures the claustrophobic and absurdist horror of the original story
· A unique blend of psychological thriller, horror, and black comedy

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🎬 PRODUCTION DETAILS

· Genre: Horror, Thriller, Stop-Motion, Short Film
· Director: Vladimir Samsonov
· Screenplay: Vladimir Samsonov (based on the story by Stephen King)
· Runtime: 9 minutes, 57 seconds
· Studio: Soyuzmultfilm
· Country: USSR
· Year: 1986

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🎪 BEHIND THE SCENES

· The film was created in the experimental Workshop № 5 at the legendary Soyuzmultfilm studio.
· Director Vladimir Samsonov was known for his philosophical and visually meticulous films, often made without dialogue.
· This is one of the earliest and most unusual adaptations of Stephen King's work in the Soviet Union, made before the author's mass popularity boom in the region.
· Despite its dark themes, it was officially released as part of the animated anthology "Vesyolaya Karusel No. 19."

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🏛️ CULTURAL LEGACY
"Srazhenie"is a cult masterpiece, highly esteemed by fans of both Soviet animation and Stephen King. It is considered one of the most accurate and atmospheric adaptations of his short stories, successfully translating the core of the original work into the language of cinema and stop-motion. It stands as a unique example of how Soviet animators could tackle universal, even dark, themes that transcended ideological boundaries.

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💬 DISCUSSION
How does the Soviet animation aesthetic influence the perception of King's horror?Why is the silent format so effective in this story? What other Stephen King tales would work well in this style of animation?

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#Srazhenie #Battleground #StephenKing #USSR #SovietAnimation #StopMotion #Soyuzmultfilm #VladimirSamsonov #Horror #ShortFilm #1986