Sadly realistic, not for romantics

Rating: 9/10 (28 January 2000)

Most movies from this genre have a hero that an audience can warm to, however in this film, as in life, heroes are thin on the ground. What we are presented with is a gritty depiction of warfare conducted in the harshest of conditions, the frozen steppes of Russia.
There are many factual errors, but one must remember this is a movie and not a documentary, licence must be given to the director to tell the story.
My only grudge being the amount of scenes that must have ended up on the cutting room floor during editing, some scenes ended up a bit dissjointed, with the viewer trying to pick up the threads to give the movie continuity. It will be interesting to see if there is a 'Directors Cut' in a few years time!
If you want a warm fuzzy war film, aka 'Saving Private Ryan', 'Stalingrad' is not for you. But if you like your films to question why, this is one for you. 9/10