When Stalingrad hit UK cinemas last February 21, a number of British critics have gushed at how the film not only gives a Russian perspective on one of the bloodiest battles in WWII and even in the history of warfare, they also pointed out that it is indeed a spectacular eye feast.
Stalingrad, described by movie critics who have watched it as “brutally straightforward in its story telling and every inch a war film”, was initially released in Russia last year and is, by far, the country’s only 3D film.
The movie centers on the stories of six friends and how their lives played amidst the backdrop of war in Stalingrad between Russia’s Red Army and Germany’s Nazi troops in 1942.
History chronicles the bloody battle for Stalingrad which ensued between the two mentioned forces. It is considered one of the bloodiest campaigns to have occurred and dealt heavy losses not just on the Russians but on the Germans as well. It was also one of the longest having lasted for almost six months.
As Stalingrad – directed by Fedor Bundarchuk – is mainly a Russian film with a Russian cast, UK audience won’t be expected to know much about the film’s lead characters and who is playing who. However, Stalingrad’s greatest strength which pulls theatergoers to watch lies in the fact that its huge battle scenes are shown in IMAX 3D making them compelling and so life-like.
Hollywood already released its take on the bloody battle for the city of Stalingrad with the 2001 offering Enemy at the Gates which starred Jude Law and Ed Harris. Russia’s Stalingrad is a Russian’s take on this piece of their own history which proves really interesting.
Stalingrad premiered in UK cinemas last February 21 and will be shown in the US for a week, exclusively in IMAX 3D, starting February 28.