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 | freeze | cold | 

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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:

Barrandov Studios, Prague, Czech Republic

Box Office

Budget:

DEM20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,882, 29 May 1995

Gross USA:

$152,972

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$152,972

Company Credits

Production Co:

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

Technical Specs

Runtime:

134 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The "336 Pionier-Bataillon" was a historical unit that also fought in Stalingrad in the "336. Infanterie-Division". The battalion arrived at Stalingrad on the 8th of November 1942. The division was disbanded in 1944.

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Goofs

During the tank battle, the Soviets are using T-34-85 tanks. The Battle took place from 1942-1943, the T-34-85 did not see service until late 1943/early 1944. The correct model for the time would be the T-34-76.

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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...

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Connections

Featured in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005)

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Soundtracks

Im schönsten Wiesengrunde
(uncredited)
Traditional
Played on the accordion in the bunker

User Reviews

Stalingrad

This is a film that I keep coming back to, for a variety of reasons. As a testament to the suffering of the ordinary soldier on the Eastern Front in the Second World War, it is a powerful one. There are a number of very powerful scenes in the film which help to capture the horror of war, such as the tank battle for instance. Furthermore, from what I can see the experiences documented in the film are by and large 'true' - if you read A. Beevor's book 'Stalingrad' you will know what I mean. The film is also successful in the sense that it doesn't allow character or plot to dominate it - it is simply a tale of survival, that attempts to depict the battle mainly from the ordinary (German) soldier's point of view. I've read somewhere that the original screenplay had to be toned down, which doesn't surprise me at all - if they tried to really show what the battle was like, it would have been almost impossible to make I'm sure. Even so, there are still some moments that are difficult to watch - this was made before Private Ryan but is possibly even harder-hitting in places. Just one word of caution - don't buy the dubbed 'English' version, it's pretty awful and spoils the film - try to get a copy in the original (German) version with English subtitles, it's far more powerful. You may need to buy a Region 1 DVD of the film in this case, as I did.