Stalingrad

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).

Heart-wrenching and maddening true stories of one of the most important battles of WW2. The original footage and interviews with survivors on both sides really brought home the destruction of humanness and brutality of war. Although both sides are represented, I was a bit annoyed that it seemed to be told from the German side about 75% of the time, and I'd be interested to see a Stalingrad docu from the Soviet side. That said, I found it worthwhile that the low-level 20-year old German soldiers were humanized as "not fascists, just humans" (quote) from the point of view of (I think?) a Soviet doctor in the POW camp. Some of these Stalingrad POW's and German dead were low-level foot soldiers caught working for the wrong leader at the wrong time, and brainwashed since 1933 by Nazi propaganda. Of course, this is an excuse, but I have the feeling from watching this documentary that many 20-yr old German soldiers were just caught up, being forced into the draft or "everyone has to go" national pressure rather than a particular personal love for the hateful ideology of Hitler (although many higher ranking officers definitely DID share his disgusting manifesto). In any case, these young soldiers either did not have the desire, moral ability, or way of escape that would have enabled them to flee Germany rather than fight for Hitler. (Their families might have been killed in retaliation if they said no, also...?)The brutality inflicted by German generals and officers not just on the Soviet population, but on *their own starving German soldiers* came across many times in the film. Ouch. Betrayed with two enemies, the Reds and their own generals.Definitely a worthwhile watch for historical education. (Heads up: As in any true war documentary, there are some nauseating descriptions of graphic atrocities and horrors of war, of course. Just a disclaimer.)

Ich will mich kurz fassen, aber dennoch diese DVD dringendst weiterempfehlen für Interessenten der Schlacht von Stalingrad.Die DVD beschäftigt sich ausschließlich mit der Schlacht um Stalingrad und ist in drei Teile gegliedert, den Angriff, den Kessel, und den Untergang.Besonders und bisher einzigartig für mich wurde die Dokumentation durch die Menge der Zeitzeugen die dort zu Wort kommen. Dadurch wird der Fokus nochmal auf einige andere Themen gerichtet. Man kriegt ein Gefühl dafür, was die Soldaten während dem Martyrium beschäftigte. Dazu zählt unter anderem, der Hunger, das große Sterben, die Verzweiflung an den Flugplätzen, der Umgang mit der Zivilbevölkerung (welche auf der DVD auch zu Wort kommt)und der Glaube an ein gutes Ende, an die Heimkehr, sowie die aussichtslose Lage.Sehr zu Empfehlen sind deshalb auch die Extras. Sie enthalten nochmals 25 Min. Interviewmaterial der Zeitzeugen.Das grafische Kartenmaterial ist auch noch zu erwähnen. Es ermöglicht einen guten Überblick über Frontabschnitte und Kampflinien um Stalingrad.Fazit: Sehr authentische Dokumentation. Für mich ist das Kapitel Stalingrad erstmal beendet. Ich kann mir nicht vorstellen, eine bessere Dokumentation zu diesem Thema zu finden. Ich werde mich nun anderen Kriegsschauplätzen zuwenden. Ich danke sehr !

A very well produced account of the desperate end of the heretofore victorious German 6th Army. The Soviet armies won much but suffered horrible losses doing so.

One can only imagine the despair felt by the tens of thousands of German soldiers upon realizing that they had been abandoned to their fate at Stalingrad. Several of the German veterans who speak in this documentary (a few of the handful that actually survived)even now more than 50 years later they still have a hard time controlling their emotions when they recall their experiences. In spite of the horror and cruelty there were also examples of simple humanity on both sides. The comments of some of the Russians are quite interesting in that some of them felt a bit of sympathy for the starving freezing Germans some of whom shared their meager rations with hungry Russians. Some no longer saw one another as hated enemies but suffering human beings such as themselves. Altogether an excellent and well made documentary. Albeit a chilling one.

Tres bon documentaire. Donne les faits en quatre volets du debut de la prise de Stalingrad jusqu'a la fin. Documentaire d'epoque avec une narration des faits impressionante. J'aurais aimé une version francaise mais seul la version anglaise est disponible sur le DVD.

Nothing particularly new here but well done just the same.