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Stalingrad
1992
This German film is a gritty, devastating retelling of the battle for Stalingrad during World War II, in which more than a million and a half soldiers lost their lives. Told from the point of view of the German soldiers, who were under orders to neither retreat nor surrender, this film realistically portrays the brutality of combat. Read more
| Starring | Dominique Horwitz, Sebastian Rudolph, Jochen Nickel, Thomas Kretschmann |
|---|---|
| Director | Joseph Vilsmaier |
| Genres | Action/Adventure, Drama |
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Critics' reviews (6)
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Produced to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Soviet rearguard that cost the Nazis all but 6,000 of their besieging army, Joseph Vilsmaier's combat epic makes its points about the barbarity and futility of war through the sheer scale of the enterprise. However, the lack of a human focus for our horror and pity reduces the impact of the impeccably-reconstructed battle sequences, as the fighting moves from foxholes to street corners without ever really making us care for the stereotypical troopers. Mightily impressive, but insufficiently involving or cautionary.
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An impressive, downbeat account, from the viewpoint of a lieutenant and his troop, of an attempt to survive the depredations of the harsh Russian winter and of their own officers.
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"...STALINGRAD is an expertly crafted epic war movie....The film's ability to re-create the complete disintegration of a formidable fighting machine is impressive..."
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Most helpful members' reviews (3)
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41 out of 48 people found this review helpful
No Hollywood heroics in this brutal depiction of war.
I agree with most of the other reviewers, this should have been subtitled instead of dubbed. However I don't agree that this is a poor film. As an Eastern Front WWII enthusiast I am delighted that we have version of events from the other side. The Battle of Stalingrad lasted from the end of August 1942 until January 1943(it wasn't a Siege as the Germans did not surround it and try to starve it out; they tried to take it by force - think some reviewers got mixed up with Siege of Leningrad). The film is actually very clear about events; although having a background knowledge of events helps. Stalingrad is the high watermark of German conquest in the USSR. They have reached the River Volga which was their original objective and well East of Moscow. The Germans are triumphant however they must take the city of Stalingrad, a city which runs for 40 miles along the Volga's West Bank. A major industrial city the Germans change their tact and instead of surrounding the city ie cross the river and cut off Russian reinforcements they opt to fight for it. In doing so they condemn the average soldier to fight street by street, building by building not what their army was best at. This is made worse by the huge bombardment prior to battle that turned the city into rubble; ideal for defenders. This film begins with an elite German unit under a new and inexperienced Lieutenant being transferred from North Africa fighting the 'Tommies' to Stalingrad. They are immediately thrown into the fray of street fighting, fighting for individual buildings as well as in the sewers. Shortly afterwards the Russians launch their counterattack and surround the Germans trapped in the city and on the Steppe West of the city. As the Russians move in the unit are ordered to help stop the Russian advance out on the snow filled Steppe, however they are vastly outnumbered and outgunned. Despite attempts to desert and to be evacuated out of the pocket they are trapped and with no hope of escape, with Russian captivity out of the question they each attempt to deal with their horrific situation. This is a truly brutal depiction of war in a particularly brutal battle of the most bloodiest war the world has seen. I thought this film was a triumph and I recommend anyone interested in looking at the other side of the war especially on a front that we in the West know compartively little about to watch this film
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23 out of 27 people found this review helpful
Argggh!
Didn't read the reviews first...and they're absolutely right. The film producers would be appalled at this mess. The UK distributors, 'Entertainment in Video' (a misnomer if ever I've heard one), have shamelessly knocked out this dvd using a duff old analogue beta tape they used to make VHSs from. Hence the lack of audio or subtitle options, and there's even evidence of a tape twist halfway through. It took me back to 1975 watching 'The Flashing Blade' where the rubbish dubbing made everyone sound the same. And do distributors still think a couple of dodgy trailers add value? Get outta here.
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10 out of 10 people found this review helpful
Please see for yourself
Please view this yourself and make your own mind up. I nearly didnt, having been put off by a number of the reviews. I guess those critic like the Arnie & Sylvester Stallone stuff but I find those kind of war films an insult to those to have to endure the true agony of war. This film, while unlightening about Stalingrad itself depicts some of the grim realities of war, with its brutality and senseless killing. It is a thinking persons film and not for those who like a super hero who can take a hundred hits but still save the damsel in distress, and bed her to boot (and all before lunch!).
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Most recent members' reviews (2)
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
Read Lord Q's review
I couldn't finish this with the dubbing. It made the action and dialogue seem ridiculous. I gave it 2 stars because the settings seemed to be well planned.
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41 out of 48 people found this review helpful
No Hollywood heroics in this brutal depiction of war.
I agree with most of the other reviewers, this should have been subtitled instead of dubbed. However I don't agree that this is a poor film. As an Eastern Front WWII enthusiast I am delighted that we have version of events from the other side. The Battle of Stalingrad lasted from the end of August 1942 until January 1943(it wasn't a Siege as the Germans did not surround it and try to starve it out; they tried to take it by force - think some reviewers got mixed up with Siege of Leningrad). The film is actually very clear about events; although having a background knowledge of events helps. Stalingrad is the high watermark of German conquest in the USSR. They have reached the River Volga which was their original objective and well East of Moscow. The Germans are triumphant however they must take the city of Stalingrad, a city which runs for 40 miles along the Volga's West Bank. A major industrial city the Germans change their tact and instead of surrounding the city ie cross the river and cut off Russian reinforcements they opt to fight for it. In doing so they condemn the average soldier to fight street by street, building by building not what their army was best at. This is made worse by the huge bombardment prior to battle that turned the city into rubble; ideal for defenders. This film begins with an elite German unit under a new and inexperienced Lieutenant being transferred from North Africa fighting the 'Tommies' to Stalingrad. They are immediately thrown into the fray of street fighting, fighting for individual buildings as well as in the sewers. Shortly afterwards the Russians launch their counterattack and surround the Germans trapped in the city and on the Steppe West of the city. As the Russians move in the unit are ordered to help stop the Russian advance out on the snow filled Steppe, however they are vastly outnumbered and outgunned. Despite attempts to desert and to be evacuated out of the pocket they are trapped and with no hope of escape, with Russian captivity out of the question they each attempt to deal with their horrific situation. This is a truly brutal depiction of war in a particularly brutal battle of the most bloodiest war the world has seen. I thought this film was a triumph and I recommend anyone interested in looking at the other side of the war especially on a front that we in the West know compartively little about to watch this film
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41 out of 48 people found this review helpful
No Hollywood heroics in this brutal depiction of war.
I agree with most of the other reviewers, this should have been subtitled instead of dubbed. However I don't agree that this is a poor film. As an Eastern Front WWII enthusiast I am delighted that we have version of events from the other side. The Battle of Stalingrad lasted from the end of August 1942 until January 1943(it wasn't a Siege as the Germans did not surround it and try to starve it out; they tried to take it by force - think some reviewers got mixed up with Siege of Leningrad). The film is actually very clear about events; although having a background knowledge of events helps. Stalingrad is the high watermark of German conquest in the USSR. They have reached the River Volga which was their original objective and well East of Moscow. The Germans are triumphant however they must take the city of Stalingrad, a city which runs for 40 miles along the Volga's West Bank. A major industrial city the Germans change their tact and instead of surrounding the city ie cross the river and cut off Russian reinforcements they opt to fight for it. In doing so they condemn the average soldier to fight street by street, building by building not what their army was best at. This is made worse by the huge bombardment prior to battle that turned the city into rubble; ideal for defenders. This film begins with an elite German unit under a new and inexperienced Lieutenant being transferred from North Africa fighting the 'Tommies' to Stalingrad. They are immediately thrown into the fray of street fighting, fighting for individual buildings as well as in the sewers. Shortly afterwards the Russians launch their counterattack and surround the Germans trapped in the city and on the Steppe West of the city. As the Russians move in the unit are ordered to help stop the Russian advance out on the snow filled Steppe, however they are vastly outnumbered and outgunned. Despite attempts to desert and to be evacuated out of the pocket they are trapped and with no hope of escape, with Russian captivity out of the question they each attempt to deal with their horrific situation. This is a truly brutal depiction of war in a particularly brutal battle of the most bloodiest war the world has seen. I thought this film was a triumph and I recommend anyone interested in looking at the other side of the war especially on a front that we in the West know compartively little about to watch this film
-
23 out of 27 people found this review helpful
Argggh!
Didn't read the reviews first...and they're absolutely right. The film producers would be appalled at this mess. The UK distributors, 'Entertainment in Video' (a misnomer if ever I've heard one), have shamelessly knocked out this dvd using a duff old analogue beta tape they used to make VHSs from. Hence the lack of audio or subtitle options, and there's even evidence of a tape twist halfway through. It took me back to 1975 watching 'The Flashing Blade' where the rubbish dubbing made everyone sound the same. And do distributors still think a couple of dodgy trailers add value? Get outta here.
-
10 out of 10 people found this review helpful
Please see for yourself
Please view this yourself and make your own mind up. I nearly didnt, having been put off by a number of the reviews. I guess those critic like the Arnie & Sylvester Stallone stuff but I find those kind of war films an insult to those to have to endure the true agony of war. This film, while unlightening about Stalingrad itself depicts some of the grim realities of war, with its brutality and senseless killing. It is a thinking persons film and not for those who like a super hero who can take a hundred hits but still save the damsel in distress, and bed her to boot (and all before lunch!).
-
9 out of 11 people found this review helpful
Appalling dubbing
Dreadful.
Why couldn't they encode this in German (with English subs) and add an English soundtrack option for the hard of reading?
The dubbing is so wooden that it ruins the whole film which looks to have been shot beautifully.
Very disappointing. -
11 out of 18 people found this review helpful
Blood is black and red, not pink
This had real promise. I have an obsession with the war on the eastern front... from the Russian perspective. This portrayal is from the German perspective.
The plot of the film was disjointed and seemed to lack a central thread. I was left wondering at the end what Stalingrad had to with it all. This is more realistically a movie about the encirclement of the 6th Army, itself a great and tragic story that one day will be told so much better.
Then there's the whole dubbing thing. Its not that you can't live with it, but it does spoil some of the intensity. It also seems to play on the rest of the audio. Sounds are almost as disjointed as the plot.
My pet hate with this film though is the blood. Plenty of it, and the action sequences are good. But please hold the tomato sauce! Real blood is black when dried and bright red when fresh. It is never pink (unless there's bits of lung in it....sorry).
Where are the snipers? Where are those hapless Russian conscripts pushed into the firing line without any weapons? In the end this film is almost there but not quite. Now the remake if they do one, that will be one to watch. -
7 out of 8 people found this review helpful
The Siege of Stalingrad
I'm not a historian but I do believe the siege of Stalingrad lasted for about a year. This film hardly pays any attention to Stalingrad at all (or at least I think it doesn't) because I'm not sure where they are. One minute they are in the middle of nowhere and then suddenly they are in a built up area, then lo and behold we are back in the middle of nowhere. There is no continuity in the film and we are left wondering what happened in between the scenes. Its all a disjointed mess just like the Third Reich retreating from Russia.
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7 out of 9 people found this review helpful
Stalingrad -- not Russia
After reading Beevor's book, 'Germans in Russia' would be a better title for a film which hardly covered the siege. With modern technology, would it not have been easy to create a 'virtual Stalingrad' landsscape?
Dispappinting that original language was not available or sub-titles, even on DVD. Instead, one has to suffer atrocious English dubbing except for an untranslated Hitler speech on radio (which might have been interesting). The Russians too, are left voiceless for some reason.
Disappointing, disjointed film, without a story. -
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful
Comical
What a shame!
I couldn't even watch this film all the way through as the dubbing was so comical, it took all the shine and all the importance away from what was meant to be a dramatisation of one of the turning points in European History. Also, the narrative of this film was appalling - one minute they are in a sewer, the next minute they receive a reprimanding from a disgruntled officer and then as if by magic they are suddenly in some stereotypical Russian snowscape.
Who knows, if I could have stood to watch this film all the way through then maybe I could have offered a better review but it was embarassing to the point of making me cringe - not too disimilar to the embarassment you feel at your parents' dancing!
I only gave this 2 points as the camerawork seemed quite nice. -
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful
Probably as close as you'll get
Any film attempting to capture the horror that was the Stalingrad campaign faces an awesome challenge.
The disappointing 'Enemy at the gates' only goes to show how wrong you can get it. You can throw money at authentic costumes and sets but without believable characters (based on the Sniper Zaitsev-Jude Law ... what!) its a no hoper. 'Stalingrad' however is seen from the German point of view and doesn't pull any punches about what a tremendous balls-up it actually was. The characters are all believable and in some way likeable , because they are real people not 'heroes' and suffer from gangrene, malnutrition and lice. Produced by the same production company that made 'Das Boot' and it shows - attention to detail, no shirking from portraying Germans as arrogant and superior minded (at times) and enough action to get the pulse going.The best scene has to be when after weeks of arrogance and threats from a real nasty piece of work officer (who they kill) they discover an alladins cave of all the goodies that have been kept form the starving front line troops.Watch it and thank your stars that you weren't involved in the real one - nothing glamorous about war here... -
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful
How it really was
This how a war film should be made, shows the true horror of war no glory no glamour this is how it really was; a must see film.
Critics' reviews (6)
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Produced to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Soviet rearguard that cost the Nazis all but 6,000 of their besieging army, Joseph Vilsmaier's combat epic makes its points about the barbarity and futility of war through the sheer scale of the enterprise. However, the lack of a human focus for our horror and pity reduces the impact of the impeccably-reconstructed battle sequences, as the fighting moves from foxholes to street corners without ever really making us care for the stereotypical troopers. Mightily impressive, but insufficiently involving or cautionary.
-
An impressive, downbeat account, from the viewpoint of a lieutenant and his troop, of an attempt to survive the depredations of the harsh Russian winter and of their own officers.
-
"...STALINGRAD is an expertly crafted epic war movie....The film's ability to re-create the complete disintegration of a formidable fighting machine is impressive..."
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Director/cinematographer Vilsmaier's WWII chronicle is a convincingly hard-edged movie, contextualising subtitles to... read more on Time Out
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"...[Vilsmaier] has a marvellous eye, whether for dense, crowded interiors or for landscape..."
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"...It is a film with integrity..."
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- Stalingrad
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This German film is a gritty, devastating retelling of the battle for Stalingrad during World War II, in which more than a million and a half soldiers lost their lives. Told from the point of view of ... -
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