Rating: 
Summary: Captivating and moving but has minor flaws
Review: From the opening panoramic scenes of a seaport village in southern Italy where Wehrmacht soldiers are enjoying some r&r, to their long train ride through Russian farmland to their ultimate destiny in Stalingrad, we are witness to the beginnings of a visually stunning and spectacularly well made film. Director Vilsmaier's cameras are always at ground level to establish intimacy.The attention to detail is also remarkable. Authentic weapons, uniforms, vehicles, setting and buildings, you name it. In this way, it is very similar to both Das Boot and Saving Private Ryan. Some folks question the use of newer T-34/85 Russian tanks in the film as opposed to the older T-34/76 models. I think it should be understood that the Germans, both on offense and in retreat, destroyed Russian armor in great numbers, and it is unlikely that older serveable tanks have survived. The T-34/85 was in use long after WW2 ended. What lets the film down somewhat is its portrayal of German senior officers as sadistic martinets, bereft of any humanity or compassion. Yet the Russians are portrayed often as helpless, innocent and frightened victims, quite an oversimplification considering the reality of the Eastern Front during WW2. But scenes of soldiers caught in the frigid, snowy landscapes of Stalingrad are unforgetable. It cecomes evident that it was the winter, the worst in 100 years, that defeated the Germans, not the Russians. The ending of the film with Fritz and Von Witzland huddled and dying in the driving snow is profoundly sad. Just some comments about the DVD. All you get are basic features; theatrical trailer, brief bio's and language selection. The video quality is ok, but not remarkable. My biggest gripe is that, considering what you pay for this DVD, you cannot view the scene number you are watching or the time elapsed on your DVD player. All nitpicking aside, this is still an excellent war film and should be a welcome addition to anyone's war film collection.
Rating: 
Summary: The Eastern Front Revisited!
Review: One of the few movies which shows the other side of the war- the German side. There are no boot clickings and no goose-steppings here like so many of the other war movies we've seen depicting the Axis side. The movie focuses on a German platoon sent to Stalingrad in WWII to help the surrounded German 6th army from the advancing Russian army. It shows what the other side went thru in the last days of this tragic campaign in the Eastern Front, of which only 10,000 came back out of the 300,000 who were sent. To really experience the movie, try watching it using the German audio. The effects are awesome. Good movie.
Rating:
Summary: Quantitative Evaluation
Review: Audio Merits:8/10; Video Merits:8/10; Scenario Merits:10/10; Cinematographic Merits:10/10; Musical Merits:8/10; Overall Artistic Performance:9/10; DVD Extras:7/10; Recording Total Quality:9/10. Professor's Recommendation: Every person who considers war as an instrument intended to compel his opponents to fulfil his will must see this great movie.
Rating:
Summary: Strong Stalingrad
Review: A quick summary would say this is another " Saving Private Ryan" film from a German standpoint. ( although Stalingrad was released long before Saving Private Ryan) Both films take us down to a platoon level to show the grim horror and reality of war on a day by day, hour by hour, blow by blow basis. Stalingrad was one of the most bloodiest and ferocious battles of World War 2, which blunted Hitlers thrust into Russia and then was ultimately a turning point. The film Stalingrad promises alot ( it is from the makers of "Das Boot") but I felt I gained no real affinity with the characters portrayed and therefore the film petered out and the last half hour dragged on. However, even with these deficiencies this is still a good, strong film and has some 1st class battles scenes ( especially the Russian tank attack). It rates as one of the better war films made but doesnt reach the same heights as " Das Boot"
Rating:
Summary: A Good War Film, But Not On the Level of the Greats.
Review: First of all, this was not only produced by the same "team" that did "Das Boot," it actually plays similarly to "Das Boot," only this time focusing on the Eastern Front. Both films begin with the principal actors in leisure time so we get to know them immediately. It worked in "Das Boot," so I guess they figured, "Why not again?" Frankly, I thought it was lazy filmmaking. (As a comparison, establishing scenes for "Saving Private Ryan" characters don't occur until after the first half-hour.) I was surprisingly detached from the characters of the film. The fighting scenes were all fine, but the camera selections during the scene in the ruins were jumbled and incoherant. This diminished any shock value that might have occurred if the intensity had been cranked up. There was little of the urgency I've seen in movies like "Saving Private Ryan," or "Platoon." It definitely shows the bleak nature of the Germans' losing effort in Russia, and that alone makes it a must-see for war-film buffs. However, it is not one of the greats. I'd place it above "Casualties of War," but way under "Platoon" in terms of emotional impact.
Rating:
Summary: The best war movie ever!
Review: The people that gave negative reviews to this movie do not appreciate the accurate recreation of the eastern front, the crudeness of the combat and after all, the characters. This is one of the few movies that depict the german soldiers as people who has memories, desires to return home, who suffers for an unfaithful wife, who are patriots to their fatherland but at the same time know that their superiors are falling in abuses. (In a part of the movie an officer has a fight against a feldgendarme because the latter is abusing a soviet prisoner) Along with "Saving Private Ryan" this is one of the best movies about the WWII ever.
Rating: 
Summary: Stalingrad
Review: I was very excited about watching this movie, however I was a disappointed. The visuals are very good (uniforms, equipment, bombed out city, sewers, winterscape). The action sequences seemed cheap, much like an old spaghetti western, which really disappointed me. Could have been a great movie and topic.
Rating: 
Summary: A decent but not at all overwhelming film
Review: There is no doubt that the creators of "Stalingrad" had the best intentions when they started this project. However, good intentions do not necessarily lead to a good picture. The film opened in Germany 50 years after the devastating defeat of the sixth German army in Stalingrad. To avoid any misunderstandings, the film tried to convey one simple message. WAR IS HELL ! Of course, it is, but unfortunately, the film is far too clumsy and obvious to get this message across. There is really no ambivalence in the entire picture. The viewer is never allowed to think for himself. Director Joseph Vilsmeier bangs everything into your head over and over again until the last one gets it. Only officers are evil, the soldiers are all victims. Surely it was not that easy. Norbert Schneider's score is another weakness, since it is far too bombastic. The only assets are the good performances and the high technical level of the picture. If you want to see a great german war movie, watch Bernhard Wicki's "Die Brücke" (The Bridge) or Wolfgang Petersen's "Das Boot" (The Boat) instead. These films managed to embrace an anti-war message without denying that many people were (and still are) fascinated by war. After seeing "Stalingrad", one could not imagine that anyone does like war. Unfortunately, some people do.
Rating:
Summary: My "favorite" war film
Review: Before there was "Saving Private Ryan", the most graphic and visceral cinematic battlefield carnage was depicted in "Stalingrad". Ironically, the raw realism which drew rave reviews for SPR had elicited little more than horror and negativity for "Stalingrad". I'm not a sadistic guts'n'gore affictionado, but war is brutal and needs to be presented in an unsanitized manner. "Stalingrad" has been, and remains, my favorite war film. It is from the German producers of "Das Boot", and presents the point of view of the common Wehrmacht soldiers of Paulus' 6th Army, who were abandoned to freeze or be slaughtered in the bombed-out ruins of the city named for Stalin. Neither the Germans nor the Russians are portrayed as heroes or supermen in this film; there is only the desperation of fighters who are forbidden retreat. The anti-Nazi views of the producers are well-known, and occasionally a bit heavy-handed, but there is an admirable attempt to stick to realism. Even the Russians are presented accurately: from the presence of the female corpsman (yes, there were thousands of Russian women combatants at Stalingrad), to the playing of the phonograph song Temnaya Noch', to Stalin's cruel Edict that "there are no POW's -- only deserters". The tense ceasefires to allow tending of the wounded are also historically accurate, and are documented in various memoirs. The T-34 tank model depicted is, unfortunately, an anacronism. But the hand-to-hand fighting through the rubble of the buildings, streets, and sewers is realistic. As is the freezing Russian winter which sapped the energy and morale of the stranded Germans reduced to scurrying like rats and eating their own horses. From the cavalier attitudes of the would-be conquerers on the train to the desperation of the hordes of would-be escapees at the airport, this film takes us along with these German soldiers, allowing us to sympathize with their plight and even form a certain detached liking for them. The futility of their campaign haunts the poignant, sorrowful ending of the film (one can't call it a climax), as Russia Herself swallows her violators.
Rating:
Summary: A rewiew from "German" point of view
Review: I'm 14 years old and I live in a small town in the west part of Germany. I watched the movie "Stalingrad" in the German-TV and it is one of the best movies I've ever seen. Many actors in that movie are popular actors in Germany (Dominique Horwitz or Sebastian Rudolph). My grandpa watched the movie ,too and he said that it is very realistic. He must know it because he was in Stalingrad during the war. I was a little bit surprised when I have read that there are many Americans who like the movie . I think "Stalingrad" is important because Americans get a "German point of view". I watched "Saving Private Rian" ,too and it was boring. The German in "Saving Private Rian" was characterised not very good. He was the "Bad-German" and that's typical for a Hollywood movie of the Second World War.
|
