The Battle of Neretva (1969): Production, Exhibition, Reception, Aesthetics, and Historiography

The Battle of Neretva, directed by Veljko Bulajić is one of the biggest war spectacles produced in Yugoslavia following the famous partisan battle with Axis forces during World War II. The film serves as a useful site from which we can understand the conventions of the Yugoslav war film while its exceptional production and exhibition strategies and reception history signal a critical turning point in the cultural understanding of the war film as a meditator of history. By studying the film’s production, exhibition, and reception, aesthetics, and historiographical significance, and drawing upon original archival documents preserved in the Jugoslovenska Kinoteka/Yugoslav Cinematheque in Belgrade, this paper aims to identify, assess, and expose the layered significance of the film The Battle of Neretva, and to further map out its position within (Yugoslav) film history.