Customer Reviews

Stalingrad

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a fine 3-part documentary (3-hours long) on the Battle of Stalingrad. It is a German/Russian co-production made in 2003 to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the battle that turned the tide of the war. It is a remarkable collaborative effort between the two former belligerents, with unprecedented access to their joint historical archives, both in terms of film footage and documentary records. The progress of the battle is told through the recollections of surviving veterans from both sides, as well as poignant letters home from those who perished. Alongside the better known footage from the German archives, there are rarer clips from the Russian vaults, of life in the city before, during and after the battle, and propaganda films of German POWs in Soviet concentration camps. From the NKVD (KGB/FSB) archives, we learn how, contrary to long accepted historical accounts, Field Marshall Paulus' surrender did not bring the battle to a close - over 10,000 German troops chose to fight on amidst the rubble, holding out against superior Soviet forces for another 2 months before finally being defeated. In all, over a quarter-million German soldiers (the mighty 6th Army) died at Stalingrad. The Russians suffered over half a million casualties.

The documentary is far from exhaustive. Only cursory mention is made of the Romanian, Hungarian, and Italian Armies (over half a million men) that took part in the assault and perished alongside the Germans. But on the whole, it is a balanced, moving and admirable account of a battle that has for too long, remained untold in the west. Its value lies not so much in the battle-footage unearthed but more in preserving the first-hand testimony of the last remaining survivors of this decisive moment in history.

My only criticism is of the irritating English dubbing of every spoken word in the documentary. This was originally shown in German and Russian with all the interviews conducted in those languages. It's fine to dub the main narration but dubbing over the veterans' and survivors' accounts was overkill and highly annoying. As the previous reviewer said, it was to appease the "subtitle-averse" crowd. Personally I thought the producer should have given his audience more credit. Many of the veterans interviewed were emotionally distraught as they recounted the trauma. Having American voice-actors trying to capture their distress with faked emotion made the whole exercise laughable. For me, the height of absurdity was when Hitler and Goebbels had their speeches dubbed over by some American voice-actor. Optional English subtitles should have been the way to go.

The documentary was shot in 1.78:1 widescreen and is presented as such on this DVD (Anamorphic). The recent footage, including the interviews, shots of the present-day city and the graphics used, all look excellent, with sharp images and strong, natural colours. The archive footage is understandably poorer in quality, unrestored and from the Russian side, significantly grainy. Sound is in Dolby 2.0. There are no subtitles. Extras include a 10-minute long interview with Prof. Guido Knopp who wrote and co-produced the documentary, 20 minutes worth of additional interviews with veterans (both in German with optional English subtitles) and a 5-minute modern-day tour of a pristine, snow-clad Volgograd (City on the Volga - the new name for Stalingrad).

A solid documentary with interesting new footage and invaluable testimony from participants in the battle and related events is ruined by loud voice-overs by poor actors. Both the narration and the voice-overs of interviewees are mediocre at best. If you are averse to dubbing of fictional films, you will understand that overdubbing of non-fictional work is particularly onerous. Clearly a decision was made to create a version that would be accessible to those averse to reading subtitles. But in the age of DVD it is fairly absurd not to include the original version of the film.

This doc does for Stalingrad what Ken Burns "Civil War" did to the ACW. Outstanding archival film research resulted in never before seen footage of Operation Blue & Stalingrad (especially life in the Kessel). 99% of the footage is genuine late 1942 vintage, and quite a bit in color. This is a MUST-SEE on HDTV. The doc also reveals a stunning secret regarding the Kessel, but I won't spoil it for you. I have $3K in English, Russian & German Stalingrad books/video, and I would buy this one again if I had the choice. You can't possibly regret this.

I saw this about 3 years ago when it was playing in a very limited release in NY city, this documentary was unbelievable, extremely moving and the best documentary ever made on Stalingrad. Told throughout by interviews with the people who were there (or sometimes the wife they left behind)it is so enlightening, even to someone like myself who has seen everything on the battle including even visiting Stalingrad(Volgograd) in 1998. I had been trying to find out how I could purchase this documentary in the three years since I saw it , to no avail, to see it finally on Amazon is great,I am ordering it today. Worth every penny!!!!!!

After reading the generally favorable reviews of this documentary, I was anxious to view this DVD. What a huge disappointment! This documentary is almost completely devoid of any factual information. There is some nice footage from the 1942-43 time frame, but other than that this DVD is a waste of time. Large segments show modern video of the Volga or of the snow covered steppes with repeated dialogue about how Hitler was evil, how he abandoned 300K soldiers to their fate, etc. ad nauseum. Some of the other reviewers were bothered by the voice-overs, I thought they were fine. The main problem with this DVD is that you'll learn almost nothing about the battle. If you've read the Wikipedia page on Stalingrad, you already know orders of magnitude more than anything you'll learn from this documentary. There are no maps, no discussion of the strategic or operational situation, no real attempt to place the fighting around Stalingrad into the larger picture. Most of the documentary is dialogue (with voice-overs) by participants on both sides. They all basically say the same things: the Germans were doomed from the beginning and they knew it, the Soviets were proud at how hard they fought. Interspersed between these accounts the narrator presents some trite dialogue about Hitler, von Paulus, Stalin, and the other major players. This entire documentary is essentially a rehash of platitudes about WWII with no information. Given the generally favorable reviews, there are obviously many who liked this, but I think for a serious student, this documentary is a waste of time. Ugh. I wouldn't recommend anyone spend 2+ hours watching this, and I certainly wouldn't recommend that anyone spend their own money buying this to add to their collection. You're better off picking up one of David Glantz's books on the Eastern Front.

Just finished watching this BRILLIANT ZDF and Co. production on the terrible battle for Stalingrad. After reading some of the B.S. complaints and reviews of others, I felt compelled to set the record straight. Unless you understand the Russian/German language, or if you enjoy those captions at the bottom of the screen, there is no other way to fully understand this movie. The scenes of death by fire, starvation, battle and the like bring the shear horror of this wasteful battle. A battle that was fought for Hitlers pathetic vision of German supremacy, and the unbelievable lunacy of leaving 250,000 men to starve and freeze to death for German glory. Apparently these other reviewers have never seen any of Ken Burns documentaries where voice overs are always used to great effect. I HIGHLY recommend this documentary. It will leave you utterly stunned. I feel sorry for anyone who MISSED THE MESSAGE, and chose to complain about something they obviously can't comprehend, or understand apparently. After recently retiring from the U.S. Army (2007) I am adding this to my military video collection today, and you should too.

This film has been around a long time now. I first saw it in the cinema in London, and was totally blown away by it. I then bought it on VHS, finding to my horror, that it had been dubbed! Do not watch a dubbed version of this film! It is available cheaply on DVD, and it must be remembered that this was well before the days of 'Saving Private Ryan', or 'Blackhawk Down'. Possibly the finest portrayal of close combat and street fighting ever committed to film, this German production pulls no punches, and asks for no sympathy for the German aggressors. Films such as 'Enemy at the Gates' simply do not compare. It is a must buy for any collector of war films, or anyone interested in the brutal campaign to take Stalingrad. Completely authentic, posing little or no moral issues, it is a classic modern war film that stands out from the crowd.

This is a great documentary and I would highly suggest it to anyone who is interested in Stalingrad, the Eastern Front battles, or really any of the battles from the war. Inferior English dubbing aside, this documentary does present some good material and quite a lot of good footage. Check it out...

An interesting DVD perhaps a bit light on historical fact and detail but providing a good "layman's" overview of the battle with excellent footage. The interviews with the Russian and German veterans were very good but good have been improved by naming them and placing them in their historical context. Subtitles would have been better than dubbing for the interviews. Overall, worth watching for the footage and overview it provides

Very powerful and accurate. This video really brings the horror or this bloody battle into perspective. The historical footage, interviews, and battle analysis are superb. The extras are worth the cost in themselves. The only complaint is the voice over work is a bit lack luster. I recommend to any WWII buff or history nut.