STALINGRAD - Dogs, do you want to live forever?

Rating:
Summary: An excellent old war movie of the most terrible battle
Review: A German war movie of the late fifties recreates the encirclement, agony and destruction of the German VI Army (and part of IV panzer army) in Stalingrad. Very well recreated battle scenarios inside the city and the surroundings of the "kessel". For all those interested in this horrendous battle, a "must see" film. Black and white, German.

Rating:
Summary: A low budget movie & an expensive DVD!
Review: Frank Wisbar weaved this tale on the Stalingrad campaign like a student of the Tolstoy school of thought with its strong emphasis on historical accuracies. Unfortunately, nearly every scene in this movie was melodrama over dramatic creativity.

All the basic facts regarding what had happened at Stalingrad is here; the Romanian(Rumanian as they were called then) division's sucumb to tank fright, the city in ruins, desparate street fights(not so desparate here), the encircling of the German Sixth Army and the 4th Panzer Army's(under General Hoth) failure to reinforced it, the Luftwaffe's inability to resupply 'der Kessel' and their insignificant crates of worthless goods, the Russian winter, the German soldiers' near-starvation diet and their attempt at AWOL by clinging on to JU-52 transport planes, Hitler's indifference to the Sixth Army's doomed fate, General Paulus' unswerving loyalty to the Fuehrer's directives, Paulus' promotion to Field-Marshal hinting of suicide rather than surrender, and the Field-Marshal's last act of defiance to Hitler's orders.

The acting was apathetic as characteristic in most '50s classics. So stiff were the actors' performances, don't even expect to learn the psychology of the German soldier here. But the set design was near perfect, if not a bit under-budgeted. The costume and makeup looked too flush on the depraved Germans, otherwise accurate. The military equipments remained faithful, except for the T-34/85(sans the T-34/76s from newsreel footage) that was featured prominently during the battle scenes. It hasn't been developed yet at the time of Stalingrad. But at least they didn't throw in a surplus Sherman tank in disguise with red paint seared over its white star.

The DVD itself is a dissappointment. It has no special features except for the chapter selections. There is also no dual language selection. And the English subtitle was permanently burnt into the feature. Occasional grain here and there has not been cleansed. Frankly speaking, it is like a cheap direct VHS to DVD transfer. The hefty price tag is simply not justified. This DVD is most certainly fit for yard sales.