Stalingrad (1993)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Stalingrad |
 | |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Publishing year | 1993 |
| length | Theatrical version: 132 minutes Long version: 138 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Joseph Vilsmaier |
| script |
Jürgen Büscher Johannes Heide Joseph Vilsmaier |
| production |
Hanno Huth , Günter Rohrbach |
| music | Norbert Jürgen Schneider |
| camera |
Rolf Greim Klaus Moderegger Peter von Haller |
| cut | Hannes Nikel |
| occupation | |
| |
Stalingrad is a German anti- war film from 1993. The thematic background is the Battle of Stalingrad at the end of 1942 / beginning of 1943 from the perspective of a German storm pioneer battalion. Directed by Joseph Vilsmaier . The film opened in German cinemas on January 21, 1993.
action
At the beginning of the film you can see soldiers of a storm pioneer unit who have just returned from the African campaign and are relaxing in Italy on vacation from the front. Your unit has been transferred to the Eastern Front to help capture the city of Stalingrad . On the train ride there, people joke: “Then we'll hit Ivan on the skin. Such a shoddy city, we'll take it in three days. "
In Stalingrad itself, however, a different picture emerges than in the propaganda. In the almost destroyed city, the advance of the soldiers got stuck in the bitter house-to-house war. The supply is getting worse and worse, morale is down. This is also where the first encounter with the loyal captain Haller, who turns out to be a fanatical Nazi and treats the storm pioneers with contempt. An accident occurs when a factory is captured. The soldier Feldmann jumps from a staircase, causing a shot to go off his weapon, which reveals the position of the German advance to the soldiers of the Red Army . This is then taken under fire and suffers heavy losses. At the sacrifice of his own life, Feldmann can take out the enemy machine-gun nest with a hand grenade.
The young lieutenant Hans von Witzland, at first ridiculed by his comrades, asserts himself and negotiates an armistice against every order. However, the recovery of the dead and wounded fails due to a fanatical German soldier who opens fire when he suspects an attack by the Soviet side. A Soviet boy who tried to throw a hand grenade is captured by the Germans. The soldiers receive their mail the day after this battle and are confronted with problems from home: a woman cheating on a prisoner of war, theft on the local farm, pregnant wives.
During a Soviet attack on their shelter, the storm pioneers attempt to flee through the sewer system. A Soviet soldier who is taken prisoner by the lieutenant pretends to show him a way out, but if he releases her afterwards, she pushes him into the water and is able to escape. In a firefight, one of the soldiers is hit in the leg and seriously injured. The comrades manage to carry him to a hospital , where conditions are completely chaotic. The hospital consists of only one room, overcrowded with the wounded and dying, without adequate care. At gunpoint, Corporal Fritz Reiser tries to force his comrade to be treated, but he dies shortly afterwards. Captain Haller noticed the scene and arrested the small group. The soldiers can only avoid being shot because General Hentz, who can speak to Lieutenant von Witzland, knows his high-ranking uncle. You will be transferred to a punitive battalion . In freezing cold and starvation rations, they have to look for mines in the frozen ground and defuse them. Here they meet the extremely cynical soldier Otto, who, unlike them, has been fighting on the Eastern Front since the beginning of the war and who now calls it his home. But soon the frontline fighters are running out. The soldiers from the punishment battalion are being returned to normal service in preparation for an escape from the cauldron. For this they are promised rehabilitation. The unit digs itself in a strategically important position and prepares for the attack of the Soviets. A little later, Soviet infantry approached the German position, supported by several T-34 tanks. A merciless battle ensues. Despite being inferior in terms of weapons technology, the Germans managed to take out all tanks and enemy soldiers with only one gun, machine guns and detention mines, with high losses. The survivors retreat to a rallying point, which they reach exhausted.
Here comes a key scene in the film: Captain Haller shoots old men and children who are supposed to be saboteurs. The captured boy is also with the victims. The pioneers refuse to shoot, but the captain threatens to put anyone right next to the “saboteurs” who refuses. Ultimately, each and every one of the soldiers committed the war crime. The lieutenant, Reiser and Müller deserted together. Your destination is Pitomnik Airfield . Airplanes are supposed to take off from there and it is hoped to be able to escape this way. Along the way, they find a deserted dressing station before the Wehrmacht. They take the wound notes from the corpses of fallen soldiers (on which the doctor's signature can still be read) and put bandages on themselves, hoping that as alleged wounded they have a better chance of being flown out.
When they arrive at the airport, however, they find that they are not the only ones hoping to be evacuated by plane. Thanks to the wound slips and the bandages put on, the three are actually believed to be wounded and they are given access to the airfield's runway. Other soldiers with fresh injuries and no wound notes are shot without much discussion because they are accused of self-mutilation . Hundreds of soldiers crowd on the tarmac, but there is only one transport aircraft left. There are tumultuous scenes and warning shots when the desperate soldiers try en masse to reach the Ju 52 and secure a place on board. After some high-ranking officers board the plane, it starts moving and leaves all the other soldiers behind, including the three deserters. After this experience, they give up and decide to return to their remaining comrades, whom they also meet in their old barracks. There is nothing left of a fighting unit, Captain Musk even loses his right leg in the cold.
Shortly afterwards a supply capsule is dropped from a transport plane by parachute and lands near the barracks. The men observe this and help themselves from the capsule, which is filled with foods such as Scho-Ka-Kola and medals with “Greetings from the Führer”. Captain Haller notices the scene. He draws his pistol and tries to prevent the "looting". Von Witzland walks slowly up to the captain, who clearly has completely insane ideas about the current situation of the 6th Army , in order to disarm him. When the captain raises his weapon, Rohleder fires a short volley with his MP40 , seriously injuring the captain. When he falls to the ground, he fires a shot at the small group and fatally hits Müller, whom Reiser can no longer help. Otto then shoots the captain, who is begging for mercy and who, in fear of death, reveals the way to his hiding place.
Arriving in hiding, they discover lavish luxury with plenty of supplies of all kinds. There they also find the Soviet soldier from the sewer system, tied to a bed, traces of abuse are evident. The soldiers decide to rape them one by one. The lieutenant, who is the highest ranking officer, can begin. The desperate young woman holds up the mirror to the young lieutenant. Von Witzland has to realize that his plan and existence are pathetic. The lieutenant, finally mentally at the end, gives the Russian woman his pistol so that she can shoot herself. She can't bring herself to do it. The other soldiers also despair after a brief phase of exhilaration caused by the unexpected luxury.
In the following scene the surrender of General Hentz is shown: The fantasizing Captain Musk wants to go back to the main battle line . When Rohleder agrees, Otto begins to laugh maliciously and shoots himself. Rohleder carries the crippled captain out of the cellar. Both of them sink to the floor in front of the door, Musk dies, Rohleder is disarmed by General Hentz who marches by and asked to come along. Without winter-proof clothing and with a strong cough, he watches the prison train for a while.
Lieutenant von Witzland and Corporal Fritz Reiser do not want to go to Siberia as prisoners of war . The Russian offers her help to escape. The three of you move through the endless expanses of the snow-covered landscape. As they approach a Soviet position, the Russian tries to make contact and promises to vouch for her with the Soviets for her salvation. However, she is fatally hit when fire is opened on the three from afar. The German soldiers can flee one last time.
In the last shot of the film you can see the lieutenant and Fritz Reiser sitting in the snowstorm, whereby the lieutenant is already lying down with his head in Reiser's lap. You gave up. Then you only hear the snowstorm and the camera retreats further from the soldiers, who are more and more covered with snow. Reiser's head has sunk forward on his chest. A final text is shown that in Stalingrad over a million people lost their lives due to shelling, cold and hunger. Soldiers from various nations died there. Of the 260,000 soldiers in the 6th Army, 91,000 were taken prisoners of war, of which only 6,000 returned home years later.
Reviews
“With Stalingrad, a German (anti) war film was re-released, which is still able to stir up today with uncompromising severity and realistic battle scenes. The "plot holes" of the second half of the film diminish the overall impression of the film a little - nonetheless, Stalingrad convinces as an unvarnished cinematic contribution to one of the greatest battles of World War II.
“The battle scenario, presented with great effort, is supposed to have a deterrent effect, but the weakly constructed plot with its in places not very believable features damages the overall impression. Conceived as an anti-war film, but largely superficial and not convincing despite the remarkable staging details. "
Awards
- Bavarian Film Award 1992 in the categories producer award , cutter award and camera award
- Jupiter 1994 in the Best National Film category
- The German Film and Media Evaluation FBW in Wiesbaden awarded the film the title valuable.
See also
In 2001, Duell - Enemy at the Gates , an international cinema production with German participation, was released, in which parts of the battle are dramatized with a more Russian perspective.
Web links
- Stalingrad in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Stalingrad at Filmportal.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Stalingrad (1993) - comparative versions: theatrical version / Arte long version . Schnittberichte.com . Retrieved January 12, 2016.
- ↑ Stalingrad - Film: Drama, D 1993 . cinema.de . Retrieved January 12, 2016.
- ↑ The uncompromising hardness and the realistic fight scenes are still able to stir up today , filmempfoice.com from September 13, 2012
- ↑ Stalingrad. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .