Epic historical drama about the Battle of Stalingrad

Rating: 8/10 (28 December 2015)

After watching this movie recently I was interested to see if others shared my opinion of the story. I was disappointed to see so many negative reviews, most of which complained about historical inaccuracies. This movie is not intended as a documentary of the battle. It's a drama based on the overall scope of events during a short period of several weeks at the height of the battle. The director takes artistic license to convey the apocalyptic carnage that was wrought by the Nazi's during their ill-conceived, make-or-break attempt to capture the city. This was total war and no person or institution was spared by either side during the battle. The opening scenes portraying the Soviet defenders crossing the River Volga to confront the Nazis are among the most stunning and terrifying battle scenes ever filmed, easily the equal of the heroic D-Day landings portrayed in Saving Private Ryan. Nothing is whitewashed or concealed. I am not a history expert but I assume and accept, as many other reviewers have noted, that there are extensive, albeit probably minor in the grand scheme of the movie, inaccuracies with respect to how the Russians managed their defenses, the frequent execution of soldiers deemed to be deserting their positions or retreating without permission, and so on. However I do believe the director portrayed the Russians in a very favorable and sympathetic light, as unbelievably tough, heroic and patriotic in the face of likely annihilation before a much larger and better equipped enemy. The story had to be told from the perspective of individual soldiers, mainly Vasily Zaytsev, a Hero of the Soviet Union who of course did not singlehandedly win the Battle of Stalingrad, but definitely made critical contributions by killing numerous Nazi officers and snipers, and more importantly, by inspiring the Soviets to fight on. Truly outstanding performance by Bob Hoskins as Nikita Khrushchev, and another surprise appearance by Ron Pearlman as a fellow sniper (in one scene the look on his face mirrors his role from "Quest for Fire"). The entire cast was great, this was a long, fascinating movie, it is no exaggeration to describe this movie as an epic production. Historical inaccuracies aside, the Soviets are depicted honorably as having fought back the Nazis to save their country, a turning point that spelled ultimate disaster for the ever-foolhardy Nazis.