Gee Comrade Stalin you are so smart!
THE BATTLE OF STALINGRAD (1949) Directed by Vladimir Petrov.
Starring Aleksei Dikij (as Joseph Stalin), Vladimir Gajdarov (as General Paulus), Mikhail Astangov(As Adolf Hitler) and Nicolai Cherkassov as Franklin Delono Roosevelt)
A two part Russian WW2 epic on a tremendous scale about the gigantic battle of Stalingrad--the first great Axis defeat on the Eastern front----from the high echelons of power down to the common foot soldier.
In spite of what it is----more on that in a moment-----this is an amazingly good film and probably the definitive version of the battle itself. Except for the odd flub and omission(General Zhukov was in disfavor with Stalin in 49 and barely appears in the film), the film gives the viewer a functional knowledge of the strategy and tactics. This is the oly WW 2 film I have ever seen that shows the Romanian army fighting alongside the Germans. One of the great things about being an absolute dictator is one can order the...
A very good film in many ways.
This movie, made in 1949, is typical of the period. Yes, it shows Stalin as a wise and far-seeing leader who remined calm through all crises, and who was so gentle in his manner that he could never have commited any atrocities. Yes, it's got a good deal of communist propoganda in it. However, let the viewer remember that all war movies of that period showed the leaders in this same light, be they Soviet, British, or American. History is written by the victors, as they say.
Leaving aside the whitewash job it did on the soviet leaders, and the absence of Gen. Zhukov, who was out-of-favor at the time it was made, it is a film about a battle, and it does a good job of showing the crucial events. There is no 'love interest', and no stories of soldiers in basic training. It tells the story of the battle and very little else. There are many brief scenes of arrows showing troop movements, making the progress of the battle clear.
Todays' war movies owe nothing to...
Stalingrad
Another very good Russian account of this brutal battle. I can only imagine what it must have really been like during this battle. Good acting, good drama.
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