So real you can smell it!

Rating: Null/10 (16 July 2002)

It is so refreshing to see a film where the actors and not the special effects are the stars.
This is based on an allegedly true story, concerning the duel between Vassily Zaitsev, a Soviet, and Major Koenig, a German sniping expert, Koenig is sometimes referred to in Soviet war documents as Thorwald.
The film focusses on Zaitsev, a shepherd, who has been a hunter in the Urals, and his rise to being not only a very sucessful sniper, but a talisman for the Russian people involved in the battle for Stalingrad.
When he finds himself, and a Political Officer in a bit of bother, surounded by Germans, he manages to shoot all of them and make good an escape. The Political officer realises the value of such a man, and begins to publish a record of his kills, ( I suppose he would be called a spin doctor today)
As Zaitsevs' kill rate and notoriety rises, the Germans dispatch the head of their sniper school to kill him, and the duel ensues.
Watch the film to find out what happens.
The actors in this film had to act. There is not as much dialogue as there would be in other films, and that is no bad thing, and to me it was an excellent way to work a film because of its realism, I don't think there would be much time for meaningless chatter when you are in a situation like this.
The special effects which accompanied the film, rather than overtook it were excellent.
This will go down as one of the great war films of all times, gritty, realistic and harrowing, you feel like you were there.
This is definitely one for the collection, very highly recommended.