Martin A
A sickening glimpse into the horror of the Stalingrad battle, seen through the eyes of a handful of Wehrmacht soldiers. Soon after the successful invasion of the city, the now-trapped German main characters quickly realize that desertion is the only way to make it out alive.
The story-telling is immersive, to the point of causing despair and nausea. The battle against the tanks is memorable: instead of heroism of the characters, it focuses on well-chosen, grim details, to reveal just what close combat must really be: a desperate struggle to stay alive. I especially like the character of Fritz, very humane and compassionate.
Although the movie is from the point-of-view of German soldiers, the unspeakable cruelty of the German army, especially the chain of command - and this both towards their enemy as well as their own men, is a central aspect of the story.
This is the finest movie about war that I have seen.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
08/08/23
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Dallas J
A group of German soldiers experience the grim reality of the doomed battle of Stalingrad. There is no strong plot instead it is a character study of the way this experience changes then. Not a fun movie, but well acted and interesting throughout.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
04/19/23
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Ahmed A
Epic viewing! 1million dead men at Stalingrad. The horrors of war are suitably shown here. The English subtitles leave a little to be desired regretably.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
07/01/22
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Audience Member
a True war movie, that shows the real Horrors of war.
Might be the best war movie i have ever seen.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/07/23
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Audience Member
Stalingrad is a brilliantly realized, but brutally nihilistic (anti-war) war film. It captures the historical moment of the horror that took place in Stalingrad from August 1942-February 1943. While it never excuses or sugarcoats the reality of German aggression and savagery towards both the Russian armies & civilians, it does a great job of humanizing the main characters. It doesn't make the mistake of trying to downplay what the Germans did, instead it highlights the reality that war is horrific for all sides. The main character is sympathetic, and holds onto his humanity in spite of the fact that it gets him into major trouble with his superiors. Realistically though, he is unable to do anything to stop the horrific acts taking place around him- one harrowing scene shows him look helplessly on while a young boy is executed by German firing squads. The nihilistic ending is bleak, and the entire film gives you a sense of dread and despair. In no way would I say this film is fun to watch- but it uses this unflinchingly realistic approach to show the viewer just how terrible this battle was.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/31/23
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Audience Member
In August 1942, German soldiers enjoy leave in Cervo, Liguria, Italy, after fighting at the First Battle of El Alamein, where Unteroffizier Manfred "Rollo" Rohleder and Obergefreiter Fritz Reiser are introduced to Leutnant Hans von Witzland, their new platoon commander. Their unit is promptly sent to the Eastern Front to fight in the Battle of Stalingrad. Witzland's platoon joins a company commanded by Hauptmann Hermann Musk. Musk leads an assault on a factory, which results in heavy casualties. Later, Witzland requests a ceasefire with the Soviets so both sides can collect their wounded, which they agree to. Müller (called "HGM" to distinguish him from other Müllers) breaks the ceasefire, much to the anger of Witzland and Reiser. Witzland's platoon is surrounded in a decrepit building. During a Soviet attack, Witzland, Reiser, Rollo, Emigholtz, and "GeGe" Müller go down to secure the sewers. Witzland gets separated from the others and captures a Soviet female soldier named Irina; she offers to lead him to safety, but instead pushes him into the water and escapes. His men rescue him, and Emigholtz is found severely wounded by an explosive trap; they take him to a crowded aid station, where they grab a doctor at gunpoint to treat Emigholtz, who nonetheless dies. They are then arrested by Hauptmann Haller, who has previously clashed with Witzland regarding the treatment of Soviet prisoners. They end up in a penal battalion disarming land mines...
In 1993, the film won Bavarian Film Awards for Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Production. It was also entered into the 18th Moscow International Film Festival. In Germany, the film earned mixed reviews, allegedly due to the second half of the film containing plot holes, although what these apparent plot holes were is not revealed; this may in fact have been a reference to the film's bleak and nihilistic ending.
This big budget (around EUR 10 million in modern German currency) WWII film from 1993 depicts the Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 1942 – 2 February 1943), Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) in Southern Russia. Marked by fierce close-quarters combat and direct assaults on civilians in air raids, it is one of the bloodiest battles in the history of warfare, with an estimated 2 million total casualties. The movie follows a platoon of German Army soldiers that ends up in the Battle of Stalingrad. Despite being a big scaled film and with a base in a truly tragic battle during WWII, the acting wobbles, the direction wobbles, the sound wobbles (seems it was added during the editing or certain actors are dubbed) and the dramatic structure is uneven. The dvd I bought with the film, contained a very interesting and deeply sad documentary about the Battle of Stalingrad which was to my mind better than the film. "Stalingrad" is simply not "Saving Private Ryan".
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
02/21/23
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