Stalingrad (1993)

Director:

Joseph Vilsmaier

Writers:

Jürgen Büscher (writer)
Johannes Heide (writer)

Release Date:

21 January 1993 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama | War

Tagline:

Bis zum letzten Mann... (Till the last man)

Plot:

A depiction of the brutal battle of Stalingrad, the Third Reich's 'high water mark', as seen through...

Plot Keywords:

Stalingrad | German | Military Police | Blood | Frost

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Dominique Horwitz	...	Obergefreiter Fritz Reiser
Thomas Kretschmann	...	Lt. Hans von Witzland
Jochen Nickel	...	Unteroffizier Manfred Rohleder
Sebastian Rudolph	...	GeGe Müller
Dana Vávrová	...	Irina
Martin Benrath	...	Gen. Hentz
Sylvester Groth	...	Otto
Karel Hermánek	...	Capt. Hermann Musk
Heinz Emigholz	...	Edgar Emigholz
Ferdinand Schuster	...	Double Edgar
Oliver Broumis	...	HGM
Dieter Okras	...	Capt. Haller
Zdenek Vencl	...	Wölk
Mark Kuhn	...	Sgt. Pflüger
Thorsten Bolloff	...	Feldmann

Runtime:

134 min | Argentina:135 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

German | Russian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Norway:15 | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:12 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-16 | Germany:12 (f) (w) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | Portugal:M/16

Filming Locations:

Italy

Company:

B.A. Produktion

Trivia:

The original screenplay was written by Christoph Fromm but the producers disagreed with his more realistic direction and had it rewritten. Consequently, Fromm took his name of the film.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Several Italian women can be seen wearing bikinis during the opening scenes. However, it was not invented until 1946. Bathing suits at the time were one-piece.

Quotes:

Otto: You know we don't stand a chance. Why not surrender?
Capt. Hermann Musk: You know what would happen if we do.
Otto: Do we deserve any better?
Capt. Hermann Musk: Otto, I'm not a Nazi.
Otto: No, you're worse. Lousy officers. You went along with it all, even though you knew who was in charge. Hermann...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005) (TV)

Very graphic and brutally honest. A must see.

Stalingrad should be ranked right up there among the top World War II movies ever made. I can't say it's the best but it certainly is a great film and is under rated in its importance. What the movie is about is simple. It shows the German soldiers war on the Russian front, in Stalingrad from the point of view of a few German soldiers. It should not be viewed with the intentions of seeing the battle of Stalingrad or any strategic view of the Russian Front. This is from the eyes of a select few. You won't see the broad picture. Just like the average soldier doesn't see it. He knows and sees the part of the war that is directly around him. That is his world and that is how you will see it. It's often very graphic and brutally honest in its depictions. The cold and the feeling of hopelessness were excellently portrayed. You could just feel it. I did have one major problem with the German English barrier. I watched this on DVD. It was dubbed in English and I chose to also play it with English subtitles. I started to see that frequently the subtitles and the dubbing were different. That was annoying hearing one thing and reading different words for the same lines. I soon shut off the subtitles and started watching it over again from the beginning without the subtitles. I have no idea if the subtitles or the dubbing was the more accurate translation. I'm very glad I viewed this film and I'm sure that I will watch it a second time. Highly recommended. A must see for the historian and war movie fan.