Stalingrad

I liked the movie! It shows ordinary people that became heroes within extraordinary circumstances. The battle scenes are astonishing and professionally shot. I watched many documentaries about Stalingrad defense and even the German veterans admitted that the Russian soldiers crashed them in combats. Kretschmann was perfect in his decadent role also. Movies about Russian heroic resistance could be made only by Russians themselves. As a total I don't think that this movie deserves worse rating than "Saving private Ryan" or "Enemy at the gates". In fact, the movie shows the Russian perception of the war. Some could find it propaganda, but having experienced in documentary literature and movies about Stalingrad siege and defense, for me the movie shows the real status of the war with modern cinema weapons!

Bondarchuk is quite famous film director in Russia. This film of his obviously is a little step forward for post Soviet cinema. Some German characters, especially main protagonist are depicted in a human way in contrary to familiar image of a German solder as animal, coward and rapist.But Soviet solders in the film remain as in old Soviet movies. They are all brave, unstoppable hardcore yet loving, tender warriors. Battle scenes are professionally recreated, shot and edited and used mostly to glue together the rest of the film, which are mostly long monologues or dialogs of the various characters and landscapes of covered in ash ruins of the city. Cast is great. Great faces, costumes and prop installations. Much effort to make this film great fails however short of success. Story lines runs unevenly and very weak at times. Message of the film is unclear.And what really brings it down are unnecessary comments by voice over telling us of horrors committed by German solders. old habits of Soviet propaganda never die ?? Pity really.

Unfortunately, this movie turned out to be what I expected from a Russian produced film about the Great Patriotic War. The film depicts the heroic soldiers and sailors of the Soviet Union fighting to the death the barbaric fascist invaders. The Soviet defenders are almost all saintly; one is even nicknamed Angel. The Germans are all beastly underlined by the atrocities they commit on screen against the surprisingly large number of Russian civilians living in the middle of the battlefield. This movie compares unfavorably with the German produced movie Stalingrad and Enemy at the Gates because of its simplicity. The only scenes that I found interesting showed the Germans preparing to attack and those which depicted the Soviets crossing the Volga. I have great difficulty recommending this movie especially considering alternatives.

Actually, this film MUST not have its name. There is nothing about Stalingrad battle... Yes, cute pictures how burned Soviet soldiers attacking German positions and slow-motion hand-to-hand battles looks nice, but that is nothing related to real history of this battle.

In terms of scale the film does not give the answer at least about one local engagement in Stalingrad in WW2, especially if take into account that there were a lot of such events. Heroes behaves really strange and illogical sometimes. Very messy scene where commander made hysteric about killed German soldier who came for water. "Even animals do not devour each other at the watering!" he says. What? Hey, director, haven't you seen "Animal planet"?..

So the good name for this film is "Saving girl Katya", but not "Stalingrad". It's just a director's fantasies about THE WAR, and how does he see it, but there is nothing related to Stalingrad battle at all. Now we can easily change decorations and make film with same mental content named "Berlin" or "Kiev", because we could simply imagine the same "war story" anywhere. So, why Stalingrad?..

Admire the ambition, but this version of Bondarchuk fails to back up its camera work, special effects and editing with enough of substance to anchor the spectator.

Cant say i was convinced with the plot or the dialogs, neither my feelings were really touched. Thomas Kretschmann actually is the only one who's character seems to be convincing. Great actor who saved this film...

Descent piece of work, but not anything i would choose to watch one more time. Would have expected Fedor Bondarchuk to come up with something much more substantial, taking into consideration the topic...