Stalingrad (1989 film)
Encyclopedia
Stalingrad is a 1989 two-part Soviet
-East German-Czechoslovak
-American
co-production directed by Yuri Ozerov
, who also wrote the script. The film revolves around the Battle of Stalingrad
.
appoints Fedor von Bock
to command Army Group South
and supervise Operation Blau. The German forces advance in the south of Russia, scattering the Soviets and approaching Stalingrad, that seems on the verge of falling to the enemy's hands. The movie ends with Vasily Chuikov
assuming command of the 62nd Army
at September.
and encircles the Wehrmacht
formations. At February 1943, the German 6th Army surrenders to the Soviets.
, with its plot starting directly in the beginning of the former, after von Bock failed to capture Moscow. In general, Stalingrad was Ozerov's fourth work dealing with the Soviet-German War, after the 1970-1 series Liberation
, the 1977 TV mini-series Soldiers of Freedom
and Battle of Moscow.
Due to the harsh economic conditions in the late 1980s Soviet Union, Ozerov was unable to secure funding for his film inside the USSR. After deliberations, he approached the American Warner Brothers for assistance. The company agreed to provide financial support, but demanded that American actors would be given representation. The reluctant director had to cast Powers Boothe
for the title role of General Vasily Chuikov
. The film was the first Soviet-American co-production in the Perestroika
era.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
-East German-Czechoslovak
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
co-production directed by Yuri Ozerov
Yuri Ozerov (director)
Yuri Ozerov was a Soviet film director and screenwriter. He directed 20 films between 1950 and 1995.-Early life:...
, who also wrote the script. The film revolves around the Battle of Stalingrad
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southwestern Russia. The battle took place between 23 August 1942 and 2 February 1943...
.
Film I
In January 1942, Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
appoints Fedor von Bock
Fedor von Bock
Fedor von Bock was a German Generalfeldmarshall who served in the Wehrmacht during the Second World War. As a leader who lectured his soldiers about the honor of dying for the German Fatherland, he was nicknamed "Der Sterber"...
to command Army Group South
Army Group South
Army Group South was the name of a number of German Army Groups during World War II.- Poland campaign :Germany used two army groups to invade Poland in 1939: Army Group North and Army Group South...
and supervise Operation Blau. The German forces advance in the south of Russia, scattering the Soviets and approaching Stalingrad, that seems on the verge of falling to the enemy's hands. The movie ends with Vasily Chuikov
Vasily Chuikov
Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov was a Russian lieutenant general in the Red Army during World War II, twice Hero of the Soviet Union , who after the war became a Marshal of the Soviet Union.-Early life and career:Born into a peasant family in the village of Serebryanye Prudy, he joined the Red Army during...
assuming command of the 62nd Army
62nd Army (Soviet Union)
The 62nd Order of Lenin Army was a field army established by the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War. Formed as the 7th Reserve Army as part of the Stavka Reserve in May 1942, the formation was designated as the 62nd Rifle Army the following month...
at September.
Film II
The Germans attack Stalingrad, and are engaged in close-quartered combat within the city. Chuikov's soldiers manage to hold on to their positions; On 19 November 1942, the Red Army launches a successful counter-offensiveOperation Uranus
Operation Uranus was the codename of the Soviet strategic operation in World War II which led to the encirclement of the German Sixth Army, the Third and Fourth Romanian armies, and portions of the German Fourth Panzer Army. The operation formed part of the ongoing Battle of Stalingrad, and was...
and encircles the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
formations. At February 1943, the German 6th Army surrenders to the Soviets.
Production
The film was a sequel to Ozerov's 1985 Battle of MoscowBattle of Moscow (film)
The Battle of Moscow is a 1985 Soviet two-part film, presenting a dramatized account of the 1941 Battle of Moscow and the events preceding it. The films were a Soviet-East German-Czechoslovak-Vietnamese co-production directed by Yuri Ozerov who also wrote the script...
, with its plot starting directly in the beginning of the former, after von Bock failed to capture Moscow. In general, Stalingrad was Ozerov's fourth work dealing with the Soviet-German War, after the 1970-1 series Liberation
Liberation (film series)
Liberation is an epic five-part film series considered the most large-scale World War II film ever made in the Soviet Union. Filmed from 1967 to 1971, the first part was released during 1970 for the 25th anniversary of Victory Day...
, the 1977 TV mini-series Soldiers of Freedom
Soldiers of Freedom
Soldiers of Freedom is a 1977 film directed by Yuri Ozerov and starring Mikhail Ulyanov, Yevgeny Matveyev, Vasily Lanovoy. Soldiers of Freedom is the World War II historical drama.-Plot:...
and Battle of Moscow.
Due to the harsh economic conditions in the late 1980s Soviet Union, Ozerov was unable to secure funding for his film inside the USSR. After deliberations, he approached the American Warner Brothers for assistance. The company agreed to provide financial support, but demanded that American actors would be given representation. The reluctant director had to cast Powers Boothe
Powers Boothe
Powers Allen Boothe is an American television and film actor. Some of his most notable roles include his Emmy-winning 1980 portrayal of Jim Jones and his turn as Cy Tolliver on Deadwood, as well as Vice-President Noah Daniels on 24....
for the title role of General Vasily Chuikov
Vasily Chuikov
Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov was a Russian lieutenant general in the Red Army during World War II, twice Hero of the Soviet Union , who after the war became a Marshal of the Soviet Union.-Early life and career:Born into a peasant family in the village of Serebryanye Prudy, he joined the Red Army during...
. The film was the first Soviet-American co-production in the Perestroika
Perestroika
Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...
era.
Reception
The film was poorly received, and it was Ozerov's first work which failed to secure any nominations since 1958. At 1993, the director used footage from Stalingrad for the frame story of his last film, Angels of Death, about a sniper dual taking place during the battle for the city. Montage from Stalingrad was also included in two TV anthologies of select material from Ozerov's films', The Tragedy of the Twentieth Century and The Great Captain Georgy Zhukov.Cast
- Powers BoothePowers BoothePowers Allen Boothe is an American television and film actor. Some of his most notable roles include his Emmy-winning 1980 portrayal of Jim Jones and his turn as Cy Tolliver on Deadwood, as well as Vice-President Noah Daniels on 24....
as General Vasily ChuikovVasily ChuikovVasily Ivanovich Chuikov was a Russian lieutenant general in the Red Army during World War II, twice Hero of the Soviet Union , who after the war became a Marshal of the Soviet Union.-Early life and career:Born into a peasant family in the village of Serebryanye Prudy, he joined the Red Army during...
. - Mikhail UlyanovMikhail UlyanovMikhail Alexandrovich Ulyanov was a Soviet and Russian actor who was one of the most recognizable persons of the post-World War II Soviet theatre and cinema. He was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1969 and received a special prize from the Venice Film Festival in 1982.Mikhail Alexandrovich...
as Marshal Georgy ZhukovGeorgy ZhukovMarshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov , was a Russian career officer in the Red Army who, in the course of World War II, played a pivotal role in leading the Red Army through much of Eastern Europe to liberate the Soviet Union and other nations from the Axis Powers' occupation...
. - Bruno FreindlichBruno FreindlichBruno Arturovich Freindlich was a Soviet/Russian actor of German ancestry who became People's Artist of the USSR in 1974. His daughter Alisa Freindlich is also a notable actress.-Biography:...
as Marshal Boris ShaposhnikovBoris ShaposhnikovBoris Mikhailovitch Shaposhnikov was a Soviet military commander.-Biography:Shaposhnikov was born at Zlatoust, near Chelyabinsk in the Urals. He joined the army of the Russian Empire in 1901 and graduated from the Nicholas General Staff Academy in 1910, reaching the rank of colonel in the...
. - Fernando AllendeFernando AllendeFernando Allende is a Mexican singer, actor, painter, film producer, and film director. Allende began singing in 1959, at the age of seven.-Private life:...
as Lieutenant Rubén Ruiz IbárruriRubén Ruiz IbárruriRubén Ruíz Ibárruri was the son of Spanish communist leader Dolores Ibárruri and a posthumous Hero of the Soviet Union.-Early life:...
. - Sergei GarmashSergei GarmashSergei Leonidovich Garmash is a Soviet and Russian film and stage actor of Ukrainian origin. He is a People's Artist of Russia.-Filmography:* Stalingrad, 1989* 12, 2007* Katyń, 2007...
as Sergeant Yakov PavlovYakov PavlovYakov Fedotovich Pavlov was a Soviet Red Army soldier awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union for his role in defending "Pavlov's House" during the Battle of Stalingrad.-Biography:...
. - Nikolai KryuchkovNikolai KryuchkovNikolai Kryuchkov was a Soviet film actor. He appeared in 94 films between 1932 and 1993.-Selected filmography:* Okraina * By the Bluest of Seas * The Return of Maxim * The Vyborg Side * Salavat Yulayev...
as old captain. - Horst SchulzeHorst SchulzeHorst Schulze is a German actor and opera singer, born April 26, 1921, in Dresden.-Selected filmographgy:* KLK Calling PTZ - The Red Orchestra * Woman Doctors * Stalingrad -External links:...
as Erich Edgar Schulze. - Fyodor BondarchukFyodor BondarchukFyodor Sergeyevich Bondarchuk is a Russian film director and actor. He is the director of the acclaimed film The 9th Company, and producer of the 2006 film Heat, where he starred as himself with his mother Irina Skobtseva....
as sniper Ivan. - Gerd Michael HennebergGerd Michael HennebergGerd Michael Henneberg was a German actor and theater director.-Biography:Gerd Henneberg's father, Richard, was a theater director. After the young Heeneberg took private acting classes, he made his debut on stage at the age of sixteen, in the Leipzig Theater...
as Field Marshal Wilhelm KeitelWilhelm KeitelWilhelm Bodewin Gustav Keitel was a German field marshal . As head of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht and de facto war minister, he was one of Germany's most senior military leaders during World War II...
. - Ronald LaceyRonald LaceyRonald Lacey was an English actor. He made numerous television and film appearances over a 30 year period and is perhaps best remembered for his villainous roles in Hollywood films, most famously Major Arnold Toht in Raiders of the Lost Ark.-Career:Lacey attended Harrow Weald Grammar School and...
as Winston ChurchillWinston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
. - Liubomiras Lauciavicius as General Kuzma Gurov.
- Boris Nevzorov as General Nikolai KrylovNikolay Ivanovich KrylovNikolai Ivanovich Krylov was a Marshal of the Soviet Union . He was commander of the Strategic Rocket Forces from 1963 to 1972....
. - Vadim Lobanov as Nikita KhrushchevNikita KhrushchevNikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
. - Andrei Smoliakov as Lieutenant Leonid Khrushchev.
- Archil Gomiashvili as Joseph StalinJoseph StalinJoseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
. - Vladimir Troshin as Kliment VoroshilovKliment VoroshilovKliment Yefremovich Voroshilov , popularly known as Klim Voroshilov was a Soviet military officer, politician, and statesman...
. - Nikolai Zasukhin as Vyacheslav MolotovVyacheslav MolotovVyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov was a Soviet politician and diplomat, an Old Bolshevik and a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s, when he rose to power as a protégé of Joseph Stalin, to 1957, when he was dismissed from the Presidium of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev...
. - Stepan Mikoyan as Anastas MikoyanAnastas MikoyanAnastas Ivanovich Mikoyan was an Armenian Old Bolshevik and Soviet statesman during the rules of Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev, and Leonid Brezhnev....
. - Victor Ural as Mikhail KalininMikhail KalininMikhail Ivanovich Kalinin , known familiarly by Soviet citizens as "Kalinych," was a Bolshevik revolutionary and the nominal head of state of Russia and later of the Soviet Union, from 1919 to 1946...
. - Nikolai Simkin as Alexander PoskrebyshevAlexander PoskrebyshevAlexander Nikolaevich Poskrebyshev was a Soviet Major-General. USSR political, state and communist party functionary. Member of Soviet Communist Party since march 1917...
. - Vyacheslav Ezepov as Alexander Shcherbakov.
- Valeri Tzvetkov as General Andrey Yeryomenko.
- Vitali Rastalnoi as Marshal Semyon TimoshenkoSemyon TimoshenkoSemyon Konstantinovich Timoshenko was a Soviet military commander and senior professional officer of the Red Army at the beginning of the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.-Early life:...
. - Evgeni Burenkov as General Aleksandr VasilevskyAleksandr VasilevskyAleksandr Mikhaylovich Vasilevsky was a Russian career officer in the Red Army, promoted to Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1943. He was the Chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces and Deputy Minister of Defense during World War II, as well as Minister of Defense from 1949 to 1953...
. - Aleksandr Goloborodko as General Konstantin RokossovskyKonstantin RokossovskyKonstantin Rokossovskiy was a Polish-origin Soviet career officer who was a Marshal of the Soviet Union, as well as Marshal of Poland and Polish Defence Minister, who was famously known for his service in the Eastern Front, where he received high esteem for his outstanding military skill...
. - Sergei Nikonenko as General Alexander RodimtsevAlexander RodimtsevAleksandr Ilich Rodimtsev was a Colonel-General in the Soviet Red Army during World War II and twice won the Hero of the Soviet Union award .Rodimtsev joined the Red Army in the 1920s...
. - Günter Junghans as Harro Schulze-BoysenHarro Schulze-BoysenHeinz Harro Max Wilhelm Georg Schulze-Boysen was a German officer, commentator, and German Resistance fighter against German dictator Adolf Hitler's Nazi régime.- Early life :...
. - Achim Petri as Adolf HitlerAdolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
. - Erich Thiede as Heinrich HimmlerHeinrich HimmlerHeinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the SS, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. As Chief of the German Police and the Minister of the Interior from 1943, Himmler oversaw all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo...
. - Ernst Heise as Field Marshal Fedor von BockFedor von BockFedor von Bock was a German Generalfeldmarshall who served in the Wehrmacht during the Second World War. As a leader who lectured his soldiers about the honor of dying for the German Fatherland, he was nicknamed "Der Sterber"...
.
External links
- Stalingrad on the IMDb.