"Carry On Stalingrad".....

Rating: 3/10 (22 April 2001)

The opening sequence is a plain rip-off of Saving Private Ryan.....and the casting in this film must be amongst the worst in living memory...... OK the film is intense with good battle scenes.....but the attempt to disguise this movie as truth is laughable. The essence of the picture is about 2 snipers battling it out for supremacy...one Russian and the other German at Stalingrad. Now.... what really irks me is that most of the lead actors have accents and mannerisms which are totally regional(south London circa 1980's at that) which from my perspective makes viewing this movie even more difficult as I am meant to be watching Russians in the 1940's! Ed Harris is the German Officer...Ed Harris you ask?....A fine actor normally but he is 100% Yank(and it shows)....and the really hilarious sight is to see Bob Hoskins with added nose as Krushchev.....oh dear.....its all completely over the top with blazing eyes, cockney voice and market trader mentality....at least dear old Bob has now taken over from Donald Pleasance as the Greatest Living Ham..... The film is further ruined for me by silly sub-plots such as Joseph Fiennes re-doing his role...though this time its' Shakespeare-in-Hate...and so all in all a 3 out of 10 is generous.