Stalingrad (1993)

The story follows a group of German soldiers, from their Italian R&R in the summer of 1942 to the frozen steppes of Soviet Russia and ending with the battle for Stalingrad.

Director:

Joseph Vilsmaier

Writers:

Jürgen Büscher, Johannes Heide

Stars:

Dominique Horwitz, Thomas Kretschmann, Jochen Nickel

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:

eastern front | wehrmacht | year 1943 | cold | shivering | 

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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 Studios, Bavariafilmplatz 7, Geiselgasteig, Grünwald, Bavaria, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

DEM 20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,882, 29 May 1995, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$77,848

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

Thomas Kretschmann is featured in both Stalingrad (1993) and Stalingrad (2013).

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Goofs

Towards the end of film a Ju52 drops a single supply parachute. When dropped out of the plane and falling towards ground, it is green, when they recover it on the ground it is white. (In reality the Luftwaffe was first using white parachutes until they realized it is too difficult to spot white parachutes on the snowy ground.)

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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

Featured in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005)

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Soundtracks

Santa Lucia
(uncredited)
Traditional, transcribed by Teodoro Cottrau
Heard as the troops leave Italy on the train

User Reviews

The filmmakers of "Enemy at the Gates" should have seen this.

The film is about the battle of Stalingrad. For those of you who don't know anything about it, it was the worst battle in the Second World War. Over 1 million people died in the course of the battle. This is the only film that I've seen that seems to have actually captured how bad things were in the war between Russia and Germany. What I really liked about it is that the two ideologies (Nazism and Communism) were nowhere in the film. Unlike most American films, the Germans are not seen as blood thirsty murderers, but what the average German foot soldier was, a person.

The film revolves around four soldiers fighting in Stalingrad. They were transferred there to try and take the city. The film follows these men from August of 1942 to early 1943. During this time, they learn about the horrors of war and try to find a way out of the battle.

Through the entire film, one feels the desperation of the entire battle. Unlike "Enemy at the Gates" the film makers didn't try to put some sappy love story or dress up factual occurrences of the battle. This film may be fiction, but it conveys what happened in the bloodiest battle in World War II.