Stalingrad (1993)

A depiction of the brutal battle of Stalingrad, the Third Reich's 'high water mark', as seen through the eyes of German officer Hans von Witzland and his battalion.

Director:

Joseph Vilsmaier

Writers:

Jürgen Büscher, Johannes Heide,

Stars:

Dominique Horwitz, Thomas Kretschmann, Sebastian Rudolph

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dominique Horwitz	...	Fritz Reiser
Thomas Kretschmann	...	Hans von Witzland
Jochen Nickel	...	Manfred Rohleder 'Rollo'
Sebastian Rudolph	...	Gege
Dana Vávrová	...	Irina
Martin Benrath	...	General Hentz
Sylvester Groth	...	Otto
Karel Hermánek	...	Hauptmann Musk
Heinz Emigholz	...	Edgar
Ferdinand Schuster	...	Double Edgar
Oliver Broumis	...	HGM
Dieter Okras	...	Hauptmann Haller
Zdenek Vencl	...	Wölk
Mark Kuhn	...	Pflüger
Thorsten Bolloff	...	Feldmann

Storyline

A depiction of the brutal battle of Stalingrad, the Third Reich's 'high water mark', as seen through the eyes of German officer Hans von Witzland and his battalion.

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Plot Keywords:

stalingrad | execution | frostbite | weather | elimination | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Germany

Language:

German Russian

Release Date:

21 January 1993 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Stalingrado

Filming Locations:

Bavaria Filmstudios, Geiselgasteig, Grünwald, Bavaria, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

DEM 20,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$77,848 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

B.A. Produktion, Bavaria Film, Perathon Film-und Fernsehproduktions GmbH

Technical Specs

Runtime:

134 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

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.

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Goofs

During the factory battle, the engineers place and light a demolition charge, but the fuse never actually lights.

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Quotes

Unteroffizier Manfred Rohleder: May I ask you something, sir?
Lt. Hans von Witzland: Please. Go ahead.
Unteroffizier Manfred Rohleder: Is this your first time at the front?
Lt. Hans von Witzland: Everyone must start somewhere.

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Connections

Referenced in Enemy at the Gates (2001)

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Soundtracks

"Heimat, Deine Sterne"
Lyrics by Erich Knauf and music by Werner Bochmann
Performed by Wilhelm Strienz

User Reviews

Top Ten war movie in my list

I can believe this movie will be a serious disappointment for a person, who is used to and likes to watch Hollywood war movies. Four reasons: 1. It's made in a world, where movie makers tries to have some personality. If you think 'When We Were Soldiers'... well, there are hundreds of directors who you can imagine making a similar war movie with personality and values of a hamburger.

2. Screenplay has a different structure. There's no shocking opening scene like in 'Saving Private Ryan'. This movie starts slowly in a very nice place and ends slowly in a very bad place, without hope or feeling that the characters have achieved something by their heroic actions.

3. It is first a movie about lost causes in the world of war, and only secondly a war movie which takes place in Stalingrad.

4. War scenes portray the horror, insecurity and confusion of a battle, instead of how cool, heroic and exciting fighting looks like. In this sense, this movie is closer to reality than most of the war movies you will ever see. 'Thin Red Line' also had similar "I would probably crap in my pants in that situation"-feeling.

Stalingrad, whether you think it as a movie or a war movie has so many good things in it... like honesty. Even the ordinary German soldiers were dreaming about farms in Russia when they were advancing. What a disappointment they must have had in Stalingrad! If you like to watch war movies, meaning also other war movies than When We Were Soldiers or Saving Private Ryan, you should see this one. (9/10)