Stalingrad

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing, with some good parts
Review: After reading and hearing first-hand accounts of the Battle of Stalingrad I found this movie very disappointing. While it tried, I don't think it came close to expressing the horrors and tragedy of the battle, and worse, it had too much contrived silliness, such as the scenes with the young Russian woman. It does deserve credit for showing that humanity existed among some of the German and Russian troops, and for some effective combat scenes. If you would like to see a better movie about warfare in Eastern Europe, I strongly recommend the Finnish movie "The Winter War" (in Finnish "Talvisota"), about the 1939-1940 fighting between Finland and the Soviets. It has excellent characters and shows the terror of combat and the cameraderie, squalor and sorrows of the front lines, and life on the home front. It is not as slickly made as "Stalingrad," which actually is a point in its favor.

Rating:
Summary: Good Movie, But Lacks In Some Aspects
Review: Stalingrad is a worthwhile movie to rent or buy. It's a realistic depiction of war with all of its violence and destruction. But still after a few times of viewing this movie, it lacks in places. The acting is good, the battle scenes excellent, and the cinematography great, but it lacks in some aspects. The opening scene of Italy is gorgeous. I'm still sort of unclear on some of the reasons why the movie could've been better, but I do know it sort of drags in place, and it's sort of hard to feel part of it. This aside, this is still a recommended movie and is a good companion to Das Boot on anybody's shelf.

Rating:
Summary: Huge topic to cover, weakly done
Review: As a frequent reader and "Student" of History, I was hoping to see a Brilliant non-biased view on the war. What we got was a combination of "All Quiet on the Western Front" meets "Cross of Iron". The Story has its moments, seeing the Battalion at full strength at the beggining only to be mercessily shredded in combat gives a good Idea of what kind of meat grinder Stalingrad was. However, it was disappointing to see what was considered to be the most brutal of the close combat steet fighting portrayed in such a minor fashion. The first hour is Brilliant, the second hour is ok but is punctuated by a Brilliant battle sequence. But the last half hour........ouch. What was especially disappointing was the lack of creativity the writers used. Lets see, theres the disheartened veteran, the new lieutanant,the rogue sergeant,the scared new guy, the sinister commander and so on and so on...sounds like every other battle movie made eh? It was good to see a film made from the German point of view, But this film attempts too much. The characters seem to be fighting a small mini battle in every scene that those who have read about Stalingrad will recognise, but those who are unfamiliar will be confused by the constant jumping around. Theres Fighting in a Factory, On the steppes, in sewers, et al. If you know nothing about Stalingrad and are expecting an education.......dont get this. If you know a good amount about the subject, get it and sit back, and see every other War film made flash before your eyes only this time the characters are German,The "Bad guy" is war, and the acting is Euro-flavored.But for the determination it took to make this movie and the Cinematography is without a doubt good. Flip a coin and make the call.

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful movie
Review: I can't begin to know what it was like for soldier's in any army of that war, but in my opinion the film gave an accurate account of what it's probably like for a group of men who don't really want to be fighting a war, aren't buying in to why they're supposed to be fighting, and are sick and tired of the incompetence and illogic of the people who are supposed to be making the decisions. We get to see their optimism, pessimism, incredulity, and human-ness. Sorry for the lame review, but this is one of my favorite movies, and I wanted someone else to say something good about it.

Rating:
Summary: The Creepiest War Movie ever made
Review: After the fall of France in June of 1940, it was the German 6th Army that led the victory parade under the Arc de triomphe. I remember seeing that parade in the newsreels of that time. Who would have ever guessed that by February 3, 1943 that same army would be a shambles of corpses and wrecked equipment littering the steppes around and inside Stalingrad? This movie has the dramatic force of a Greek play in which Nemesis takes up the challenge of the hubris of the Nazi onslaught and with the help of the weather and inflexible leadership provides a stark retribution. Some of the soldiers on the train to the fated battle, watch approvingly as they see "their" Russian serfs tending the upcoming harvest. When the battalion arrives, they are assembled and given a "pep talk" by a political officer. That scene has to be one of the creepiest ever made. The arrogance of the officers is starkly portrayed. The battle scenes are uncompromisingly brutal. The vast icy underground hospitals filled with thousands of untended wounded and the deperate attempts in a driving snowstorm to fly the wounded out at the Pitomak Airfield add to the nightmarish quality of the movie. The English dubbing of this movie is masterful. After viewing this movie, read the "Ghosts 1942-43" chapter in Donovan Webster's AFTERMATH and learn why only 90,000 of the original 330,000 soldiers there, surrendered at Stalingrad after the battle had ended.

Rating:
Summary: What a biased, anti-German, hack-job this is.
Review: I'm just glad that most of the 6th Army isn't around to see themselves portrayed in this way, Spielberg couldn't have ripped them any better.

Rating:
Summary: In the thick of it all
Review: My major was history in college and I continue to study the subject. My specialty is the Russian-German war. I was especially moved by this film, tragic it may be. It lacks real accuracy in several areas but for an overall feel of what the greatest war of all time was like it is a must see. I think anyone really interested in the eastern front needs to see this picture. Remember, only 5,000 germans returned from this battle alive. I have read in other reviews that the sexual abuse of the russian female is excessive. This is only a reminder of the savage nature of war. Stalingrad will make you really understand what that war was like.

Rating:
Summary: Forget about saving private Rian!
Review: when you've seen this movie, and compare Saving private Rian you realize where Spielberg got his idea from. Spielburg should at least split his oscars... But this movie is purer, more honest. No heroic actions in Stalingrad. Not even a Tom Hanks like character, who is in a way still the classic American hero. If Saving Private Rian blew you away, go see this one. Its better!

Rating:
Summary: Huge potential; saddly disappointing.
Review: Folks, this is a light-weight film, predictably European in flavor. Some nice shots of German and Soviet equipment, a very nice battle scene...German soldiers fighting T-34s with only shaped charges to press their attack...but other than that its flat , sometimes boring. I know this will ruffle some feathers, and I mean no disrespect to the brave soldiers who were wasted in Stalingrad. Indeed, they deserve better than this. It's not even in the same ballpark as "All's Quiet on the Western Front" or "Saving Private Ryan." If you have studied the battle, and your are a fan of realism, you will be unhappy with this movie.

Rating:
Summary: A Good Movie, from a non-american point of view
Review: As a military fan, and a frequent war movie watcher I could state that this movie clearly and crudely expresses the extreme odds that stood against the germans soldiers in the battle for the city of Stalingrad, and for survival. It involves the viewer with the personal experiences of each and every member of a german fighting platoon: hunger, cold, fear, anger and despair all caused by three enemies: the russians, the weather and the lack of vision and support of the german high command. They could have skipped yhe russian female soldier, though. As a non-american film, i.e. not biased by political or social point of views, I find Stalingrad to be an outstanding film, and reccomend it widely. As a fan and reader of Sven Hassel's books, i did find the descriptions of war horrors similar, between the film and the book. Again, i do strongly recomend it to all those serious military history,students and fans. The details in equipment, surroundings and ambientation are very good.