BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Milos Latinovic Two movies with the same title, the German made Stalingrad (1993) and 20 years younger Russian Stalingrad (2013) had some similarities but also important differences in their depicting of historically important battle from 1942/43.Both movies have thematic content that resembles each other. Besides shoeing us the same event, the same place and the same time, Stalingrads have a few important motives in common. Namely, spectators ate witnesses of a tragic situation of women who are forced to become mistresses of the conquerors and now fall in risk to be shot by their "liberators". In some way similar situation are German - Russian couples which are in danger from both sides.Stalingrad (2013), as expected, will attract public with spectacular, state of the art, scenes which were not available at the time Stalingrad (1993) was made. Another advantage of the newer film is start of the story in Stalingrad during the battle. Characters of the former are hard to track since they completely change their appearance during the battle. On the other hand, German version is way better in depicting horrors of war, everyday sufferings from fear, exhaustion, hunger, illness, cold, friendly fire and wounds. In this aspect Stalingrad (2013) is little more than a fairy tale in which heroic Russian soldiers beat evil Germans despite all the odds and only one person suffering from lice is no one else but a German general.So if you are making video clips about war be sure to check S(2013). But if you had a grandfather who fought in this battle S(1993) will be more informative. For other purposes we will have to wait for another 10 or 20 years.

s3276169 Stalingrad is a mixed film, with extremes of excellence and mediocrity. Lets start with the excellence. The visual direction and effects can only be described as "stunning". From the hellish inferno of the opening scenes, through to the slowed down hand to hand combat sequences, battles and back drops, this film is breathtaking. Where it falls down to some degree is in the characterizations. The best way I can describe many of the characters is contrived.The main male lead, in particular, comes across as a war hero, poster boy. He's simply not convincing, mouthing throw away militaristic platitudes, whilst acting like a propagandists nominal notion of a hero. The other main characters fare little better, with the female lead, perhaps being the only really rounded, truly humanized, character in the group. The result is a film that's visually compelling but feels populated, to degree, by animated manikin's. This limits the films emotional impact and lends an inappropriate air of absurdity to the whole affair. Its a shame a more humanistic and less militaristic treatment was not adopted. As is the case with the excellent German film that explored the German side of the extreme human tragedy, that was Stalingrad. A seven out of ten from me and mostly for the stunning visuals.

playbobbie13 This movie takes place during the siege of Stalingrad during World War 2 but just saying that takes away from the very human story that is portrayed. The Russian soldiers and "mama", a young Russian woman that is trapped with them as they defend their small corner of hell. During all this chaos, these characters try desperately to hold on to their humanity and, in doing so, create some powerful introspective scenes. I found myself really being pulled into their characters and their relationships in between the battle scenes. I even found myself engrossed in the relationship that began between the German Captain and Russian partisan. This is so much more than a war movie. I dare say it isn't a war movie at all, but a tragedy that takes place amidst the backdrop of a city at war. I've rarely been moved by a movie like I was here. Another great triumph for Russian cinema. Another very human movie from Russia that takes place during war that touched me like this was "9th Company". As with that one, this movie is well worth the time invested in it.

accidentaldays Look closely beyond the battle scenes and you will find ironies: A German captain judging Russians as back stabbers, as beasts -- all the while representing a fascist army occupying another country and destroying it. Russian soldiers who manage to find beauty while war rages around them. A Russian who shoots a water-fetching German who showed his canteen to the enemy to avoid getting shot. A fellow Russian reproaches the shooter as inhumane and the shooter reminds him of the Germans' inhumanity. The statue of children holding hands in a circle as the world crumbles around it. The battle scenes are good but the human element in this movie is priceless. I came away thinking that I knew every Russian soldier holed up in the building. And I came to care for them. We forget that the Russians were the valiant ones fighting fascism for so long while the U.S./Britain bade their time (and for good reason). We forget that while Stalin was as bad as Hitler that his soldiers held off the Nazi monster for so long and, ultimately, allowed the West (and my Army dad) to crack the western wall and march toward Germany. Unlike us in the U.S., Russians suffered so much. Their cities were destroyed. Millions of them died. They (the Russian people) are my heroes for their sacrifices so we could buy time. I hope this film reminds us to give credit where credit is truly due. -- Guillermo Torres