Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4837 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-10-22
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Dubbed, PAL
• Original language: English, German
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 132 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
It's tempting to call the harrowing Stalingrad a World War II version of All Quiet on the Western Front, since both films take the perspective of ordinary German soldiers at ground level. Stalingrad surveys the misery of the battle of Stalingrad, the winter siege that cost the lives of almost one and a half million people--Russian defenders and German invaders alike. Not unlike Spielberg's approach to Saving Private Ryan, German director Joseph Vilsmaier rarely steps outside the action to comment on the higher purpose of the war, assuming the audience is aware of the evil of the Nazi regime. Instead, we simply follow a group of soldiers as they endure a series of gut-wrenching episodes, events that have the tang of authenticity and horror. Vilsmaier has a taste for symbolism and surreal touches, which only add to the unsettling sense of insanity this movie conjures up so well. --Robert Horton

Special Features
English
Region 2

Synopsis
This German film is a gritty, devastating retelling of the battle for Stalingrad during World War II, in which more than a million and a half soldiers lost their lives. Told from the point of view of the German soldiers, who were under orders to neither retreat nor surrender, this film realistically portrays the brutality of combat.

Customer Reviews

A very poor release of a masterpiece!
The UK release of this film is a paradox beyond belief!
"Stalingrad" is a military history masterpiece, with a fantastic mix of action, historical accuracy, very good acting and an overall downright unbiased description of the fight for Stalingrad, and the ensuing fate of Von Paulus 6th Army.
This would make it a "must buy" for anyone with an inkling of interest in the subject, but for the way it is presented in the UK.
Instead of doing the sensible thing, and releasing the film in the original speak (German), giving the choice for subtitles or dubbing, the publisher decided to just "force-feed" us a very dubious quality, English dubbed version.
I mean, in a film of considerable drama, at points I nearly had to hold my laugh at the ridiculous German accents that the dubbers used, as it looked more like something fitting for "Allo, Allo" (in all its brilliance) than a serious war film.
Bottom line, do not buy the UK dubbed version and either buy the NTSC version in the original language (which I never had the chance to review) or, if you have knowledge of German, the German release.
Beyond the issue mentioned, "Stalingrad" is a masterpiece.

Great film, ruined by its dubbing
This film, as many of the reviews before have said could have been great. Das Boot was an amazing film, tense, and exciting without loosing the original feeling by dubbing. Stalingrad, im afraid to say is ruined by this. Had it been German with English subtitles i believe it could easily rank up there with the best of war films, but as it stands, the emotion, fear, excitment and feeling is all lost by high pitch sqeaky voices and naff acting. The fighting is intense,

buy it in German
The only reason not to rate it 5-star is the dubbing. It's amongst the worst productions I've ever come across. The movie itself is one masterpiece, in my opinion the best 'infantry' war movie ever made. It shows modern Blitzkrieg-type war, not from the viewpoint of some pathetic hollywood wannabe-hero, but from the viewpoint of the ordinary German soldier. Men with families, regular jobs, dreams and fears. Their illusions of fighting a just war for their fatherland get shattered in battles and mass-murder, and so do their hopes of once returning home. Although the movie misses out some of the most horrifying things that happened on the Eastern front, this movie is to be highly recommended to all those who think that war is cool, or ever was cool, or ever will be.
My recommendation is, try to get hold of a German language version with subtitles. And forget about Saving Private Ryan, which in fact is nothing but the extended version of the American national anthem.