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Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: May 13, 2014

Price: DVD $30.99, Blu-ray/Blu-ray 3D $35.99

Studio: Sony

An epic look at the battle that turned the tide of World War II, the foreign war drama Stalingrad ranks as the highest-grossing Russian film of all time and Russia’s official submission for Best Foreign Language Film to the 86th Academy Awards.

In the film, a band of determined Russian soldiers fight to hold a strategic building in their devastated city of Stalingrad against a ruthless German army, and in the process become deeply connected with two Russian women who have been living there.

Stalingrad is directed by acclaimed Russian hitmaker Fedor Bondarchuk (9th Company), who was introduced to the world of cinema at an early age, as the son of the Academy Award-winning director Sergei Bondarchuk.

The film stars Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong), Petr Fedorov, Mariya Smolnikova and Yanina Studilina.

The R-rated movie opened in U.

Chicago – It does not take even a high school history class to understand the liberty used in “Stalingrad’s” presentation of its title siege. Boasted as the highest-grossing Russian movie ever, this IMAX 3D event is the country’s own adaptation of the hero glorification seen in “300”.

..complete with copious slow motion and overflowing testosterone. Made with great pride but also a somewhat goofy sense of war, “Stalingrad” is as irreverent with its filmmaking style as it is reverent to the country’s glory.

Rating: 2.5/5.0

Framed as a bedtime story passed on from a Russian humanitarian worker to a German woman trapped after a Japanese tsunami, “Stalingrad” focuses its title event around the lives of a few World War II Russian soldiers, and the woman whose crumbling apartment building they are living in. The year is 1942, and the Germans are ready to take over the city of Stalingrad to begin...

Stalingrad   Columbia Pictures Reviewed for Shockya by Harvey Karten. Data-based on Rotten Tomatoes Grade:  B Director:  Fedor Boncarchuk Screenplay:  Sergey Snezhkin, Ilya Tilkin Cast:  Thomas Kretschmann, Yanina Studilina, Philippe Reinhardt, Mariya Smoknikova, Heiner Lauterbach Screened at:   Review 1, NYC, 2/12/14 Opens:  February 28, 2014   Since the movie begins around the current year, which serves as a framing device, the narrator might have noted one of the great ironies of the Battle of Stalingrad 1942-1943.  Some decades after the brave Russian soldiers fought to defend their motherland as represented by Stalin against German occupation, the Soviet regime itself dismantled statues of Stalin and renamed the site of one  [ Read More ]

The post Stalingrad Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

In Soviet Russia, movie review You – but since we’re here in the good ol’ Us of A, I’ll be the one determining if Stalingrad is Russia’s spiritual equivalent to Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan. Credit director Fedor Bondarchuk with creating the first Russian film to be shot in 3D and IMAX 3D, as his efforts translated into the highest grossing box-office numbers in Russian history, but leave it to an American film critic to determine if Fedor actually did right by the Motherland. Come comrades, grab your sickle and your finest bottle of Popov – we’ve got a two hour Russian war epic to discuss that’s full of explosions, emotions, gunfire and heartbreak. Love and war are synonymous, no?

The battle of Stalingrad – a bloody, sacrificial battle during World War II that pitted a stubborn Adolf Hilter against a heroic Russian army refusing to budge.

Back in the U.S.S.R.: Bondarchuk’s Latest a Visual Feast and Narrative Folly

Arriving with a small coterie of distinctive firsts, actor/director Fedor Bondarchuk’s latest directorial effort happens to be the first Russian film to be presented in 3D (one would have assumed Timur Bekmambetov would have nabbed that distinction had he stayed in the motherland), as well as laying claim to number one at the Russian box office and nabbing the honor of being the Foreign Language submission for this year’s Academy Awards.

Digging deeper, Russian cineastes will recognize the famed Bondarchuk name—while Fedor has gone on to make a prolific name for himself as an actor turned director, he is the son of director Sergei Bondarchuk (War & Peace, 1966) and brother to actress Natalya Bondarchuk (star of Tarkovsky’s Solaris, 1972).

With such a rich history behind him, the decision to make...

Now, with the Olympics over and the world's eyes turned from Sochi, Russia's biggest film is coming to America and bringing with it questions about how the country's controversial anti-lgbt propaganda regulation laws and policies affect the Russian film industry. "Stalingrad" is Russia's first film ever presented in IMAX 3D and is the country's highest grossing film of all time, having earned the equivalent of over $65 million at the box office during its six week run in Russian theaters. The film examines the extended battle between Soviet and German forces that helped turn the tide of World War II. "Stalingrad" is indeed an over-the-top, epic war drama no doubt inspired by many an American blockbuster.Actress Yanina Studilina plays Masha, a Russian woman trapped in Stalingrad who catches the eye of a conflicted German soldier with whom she begins a relationship. When asked about how Putin's law may affect Russian cinema,...

War battles can become increasingly violent and brutal when both sides are commanded by intelligent, determined leaders. But their initially steadfast defenses against their opposition can dramatically waver if they engage in relationships, and begin to sympathize with civilians of their enemy governments. This is certainly the case with the characters in the new action war film, ‘Stalingrad,’ the top grossing Russian movie of 2013, and the first Russian film to be presented in IMAX 3D. Directed by Fedor Bondarchuk, the movie shows how soldiers are willing to risk everything to stand up for what they believe in, which can lead to a triumphant struggle that changes the course of [ Read More ]

The post Interview: Yanina Studilina Talks Stalingrad appeared first on Shockya.com.

Director: Fyodor Bondarchuk; Screenwriters Sergey Snezhkin, Ilya Tilkin; Starring: Pyotr Fyodorov, Thomas Kretschmann, Mariya Smolnikova, Yanina Studilina; Running time: 131 mins; Certificate: 15

War. What is it good for? IMAX 3D movies that wallow in the spectacle of horrific real-life battles, judging by Stalingrad. A lavish Russian production based on the devastating World War II battle in 1942, Fyodor Bondarchuk's effort is watchable and sporadically gripping, but fails to convincingly depict the human drama lurking amidst the twisted metal and ruins.

Stalingrad follows a small group of Soviet reconnaissance soldiers who manage to take control of a building in a German occupied square in the derelict Russian city. The narrative seamlessly shifts between the opposing forces, seeking to focus on the humanising effects of women on Nazi officer Khan (Thomas Kretschmann) and rival Russian commander Gromov (Pyotr Fyodorov) as their men struggle for territorial superiority. Alas, the movie fails to resist the...

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Colombia Pictures is bringing Fedor Bondarchuk’s Russian smash to the Us and has struck a deal with IMAX for a one-week nationwide engagement starting on February 28.

The 3D WWII drama is Russia’s foreign-language Oscar submission and became the highest grossing Russian film ever on $66.1m in six weeks.

The producers also claim it is the first Russian film made completely in 3D and the first Russian film to be released in the IMAX format.

Ilya Tilkin and Sergey Snezhkin wrote the screenplay from the novel Life And Fate by Vasiliy Grossman. Thomas Kretschmann, Petr Fedorov, Sergey Bondarchuk, Mariya Smolnikova and Yanina Studilina star.

Alexander Rodnyansky, Sergey Melkumov, Dmitriy Rudovskiy and Anton Zlatopolskiy produced. The executive producer is Nataliya Gorina.

Columbia Pictures will be bringing the highest grossing Russian film of all time to U.S. audiences next month. The studio announced today that it will be releasing the World War II drama Stalingrad exclusively in IMAX 3D theaters nationwide in the U.S. starting February 28th. Directed by Fedor Bondarchuk, the film takes place during the titular WWII battle and revolves around a determined band of Russian soldiers who fight to hold a strategic building in the devastated city against a ruthless German army, all the while becoming deeply connected to a Russian woman who has been living there. The pic is Russia’s first completely shot in 3D, as well as its first IMAX release, and earned $66.1 million during its six-week theatrical run. The film stars Thomas Kretschmann (King Kong, The Pianist), Petr Fedorov, Sergey Bondarchuk, Mariya Smolnikova and Yanina Studilina. Watch the Russian trailer after the jump.

Opening in the U.S. in February, Stalingrad is Russia’s official entry for the 86th Academy Awards and the first Russian motion picture to be presented in IMAX 3D. The film tells the epic story of the 1942 battle on the bank of the Volga River that changed the course of World War II and the people who managed to preserve their humanity under inhuman conditions. Directed by Fyodor Bondarchuk, the drama stars Thomas Kretschmann, Yanina Studilina, Philippe Reinhardt, Heiner Lauterbach, Pyotr Fyodorov, Mariya Smolnikova, Aleksey Barabash, Andrey Smolyakov, Sergey Bondarchuk, Dmitriy Lysenkov, Oleg Volku, and Yuriy Vladimirovich Nazarov. In an exclusive interview, Bondarchuk and producer Alexander Rodnyansky talked about what inspired them to tell a traditional World War II story in a new and visually powerful way with IMAX 3D, how they worked with a talented ensemble of actors to bring the story to life, the unique production challenges they encountered,...

A pair of trailers for two World War II films have arrived, the first is actually a three-part miniseries titled Generation War, which has been described as "Germany's 'Band of Brothers'" and will be released theatrically by Music Box Films on January 15, though only at New York's IFC Center and I doubt it will be expanding much further. Set in Berlin 1941, the miniseries centers on five friends eager to become heroes in the German army only to later find their lives irrevocably damaged after years of bloodshed. Directed by Philipp Kadelbach, the film stars Volker Bruch, Tom Schilling, Katharina Schuttler, Ludwig Trepte and Miriam Stein. Here's the trailer. yt id ="XwH35_w1oZY" width="610" Next we have Stalingrad from director Fedor Bondarchuk. The film is a 3D action film that recently stormed the Chinese box office to the tune of $8.3 million during its opening weekend and has been submitted by...

Witness the story of six brothers in arms. Damn. Russia has gone seriously epic with this movie, and I can't wait to see it. While this has been set for international release soon, we haven't posted a trailer for it before. Sony has unveiled a full trailer for Stalingrad, directed by Fedor Bondarchuk, starring Thomas Kretschmann, Yanina Studilina and Philippe Reinhardt, telling the story of the 1942 WWII Battle of Stalingrad. "While the whole might of the German army descended upon them, the heroes of Stalingrad would experience love, loss, joy and the sense of ultimate freedom that can only be felt by those about to die." They went all out and built a massive set, shooting this in 3D and IMAX at the same time. Take a look. Here's the full trailer for Fedor Bondarchuk's Stalingrad, found right on YouTube (via TheMovieBox): Bondarchuk's Stalingrad is set during one...

Stalingrad Trailer. Fedor Bondarchuk‘s Stalingrad (2013) movie trailer stars Thomas Kretschmann, Yanina Studilina, Philippe Reinhardt, Heiner Lauterbach, and Pyotr Fyodorov. Stalingrad‘s plot synopsis: “an epic love story set during the devastating battle for Stalingrad that lasted more than six months and ended with the German army surrendering in 1943.” On the [...]

Continue reading: Stalingrad (2013) Movie Trailer: Fedor Bondarchuk’s WWII Battle Film...