Stalingrad (1993 film)

Stalingrad is a 1993 German anti-war film directed by Joseph Vilsmaier. The movie follows a platoon of German Army soldiers transferred to Russia during World War II, where they ultimately find themselves fighting in the Battle of Stalingrad.

Stalingrad
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJoseph Vilsmaier
Produced byHanno Huth
Günter Rohrbach
Written byJürgen Büscher
Johannes Heide
Starring
Music by Norbert Jürgen Schneider
Martin Grassl
CinematographyRolf Greim
Klaus Moderegger
Peter von Haller
Edited byHannes Nikel
Distributed by Senator Film (Germany)
Strand Releasing (USA)
Release date
  • 21 January 1993 (1993-01-21)
Running time
134 minutes[1]
CountryGermany
Language
  • German
  • Russian
Box office$152,972

The film is the second German movie to portray the Battle of Stalingrad. It was predated by the 1959 Hunde, wollt ihr ewig leben (Stalingrad: Dogs, Do You Want to Live Forever?).

Plot

In August 1942, German soldiers enjoy leave in Cervo, Liguria, Italy after fighting in North Africa, where Unteroffizier Manfred "Rollo" Rohleder and Obergefreiter Fritz Reiser are both introduced to Leutnant Hans von Witzland, who is their new platoon commander. Their unit is promptly sent to the Eastern Front to participate in the Battle of Stalingrad.

Witzland's platoon joins a company commanded by Hauptmann Hermann Musk. Musk leads an assault on a factory, which results in heavy casualties and Witzland's platoon being surrounded in a decrepit building. During a Soviet attack, Witzland, Reiser, Rollo, Emigholtz, and "GeGe" Müller go down to secure the sewers. Witzland gets separated from the others and captures a Soviet soldier named Irina; she offers to lead him to safety, but instead pushes him into the water and escapes. His men rescue him, and Emigholtz is found severely wounded by an explosive trap; they take him to a crowded aid station, where Emigholtz dies. They are then arrested by Hauptmann Haller, who has previously clashed with Witzland regarding the treatment of Soviet POWs. They end up in a penal battalion disarming land mines.

Four weeks later, a brutal winter has set in and the Soviets have surrounded the German Sixth Army. Hauptmann Musk thus reassigns the penal battalion—which includes disgraced fellow officer Otto—to combat duty. Witzland's platoon defends a position from a Soviet tank column, and emerge victorious after a bloody battle. Hauptman Haller later orders von Witzland and his men to execute some unarmed civilians, much to their reluctance.

Witzland, GeGe, and Reiser decide to desert and head towards Pitomnik Airfield in hopes of catching a plane back to Germany, stealing medical tags from some dead bodies along the way to feign being wounded. By the time they arrive, the last transport leaves without them as the base is shelled by Soviet artillery. They rejoin the others in the shelter, where they find Musk suffering from severe trench foot. While the men recover a German supply drop, Haller appears and holds them at gunpoint, but is quickly subdued; he accidentally shoots GeGe as he falls, killing him. Haller then pleads for his life, telling them about the supplies he is hoarding in a nearby house before being executed by Otto.

In the house's cellar they find shelves stocked full of food and liquor, and Irina tied to a bed. Witzland cuts Irina free; she reveals she is a German collaborator, and both bond in their despair and disillusionment. As the rest of the men gorge themselves, a deluded and dying Musk tries to rally them to rejoin the fighting. Otto becomes hysterical and commits suicide. Rollo, the only one to obey the order, is last seen carrying Musk's corpse outside, only to find the Sixth Army surrendering to the Soviets.

Irina offers to help Witzland and Reiser avoid capture, but while trudging through the snow they are shot at by the Soviets; Irina is killed and Witzland is wounded. The two Germans get away, but Witzland eventually becomes too weak and dies in Reiser's arms. Reiser cradles his body, reflecting on his time spent in North Africa before freezing to death.

Cast

Production

The film was shot in several locations, including Finland, Italy, and Czechoslovakia, and cost approximately DEM 20 million (around EUR 10 million in modern German currency). Director Joseph Vilsmaier hired a German military consultant to advise him on set. A series entitled The making of Stalingrad was released, featuring a behind-the-scenes look at the film. In Germany, the film earned mixed reviews, allegedly due to the second half of the film containing plot holes, although what these apparent plot holes were is not revealed; this may in fact have been a reference to the film's bleak and nihilistic ending.[2]

Reception

In 1993 the film won Bavarian Film Awards for Best Cinematography, Best Editing and Best Production.[1] It was also entered into the 18th Moscow International Film Festival.[3]

See also

References
  1. "Stalingrad (1993)". IMDb. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  2. https://www.filmempfehlung.com/kritik,1312.html Review at Filmempfehlung (in German)
  3. "18th Moscow International Film Festival (1993)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 2014-04-03. Retrieved 2013-03-10.
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