Stalingrad (Subbed)

2014 • 130 minutes

About this movie

An epic look at the battle that turned the tide of World War II. A band of determined Russian soldiers fight to hold a strategic building in their devastated city against a ruthless German army, and in the process become deeply connected to a Russian woman who has been living there. The scale of the battle contrasts dramatically with the human drama of the Russian soldiers, the few remaining civilians and their invaders into Stalingrad.

Ratings and reviews

This is a very good movie to watch. I think its based on the battle around what was called 'Pavlov's House' during the early part of the battle. It gets this name because of the sergeant and 60 men who held out for a month against superior enemy forces. By the end of November 1942, the Germans had taken close to 90% of the city but they never could capture 'Pavlov's House' which thus became a symbol of the struggle.

It's a Russian movie, and cultural expectations show. This is never more evident than in the opening minutes, when a company of Russian soldiers, having been caught in exploding fuel tanks, have all caught fire, but with their dying, agonised moments, charge the German lines with such determination that even machine guns can't stop them. But the movie is worth the perseverance, because what follows is a superbly performed story which succeeds better than any other Stalingrad movie I've seen at conveying the desperation and brutality of that battle. Both sides are sensitively and intelligently portrayed, as are the civilians caught in the middle. Despite a silly and slightly bewildering start, it turns out to be a gripping and thought-provoking story, with plenty of action and stuff going "bang".

Talk about russian propaganda, it stinks of it, would have been better if thought went into it and made it grittier, for gods sake it was stalingrad, hardly any russian dies but loadsa germans come on, russians lost very heavily before and during encirclement