Stalingrad: Dogs, Do You Want to Live Forever?

This unfairly obscure early German World War II movie has a lot going for it. For one, it has a solid cast with a lot of recognizable German actors who went on to be in a lot of international productions (namely Preiss and Frank) and put in some solid performances here as soldiers trapped in a hopeless battle.

There's a solid share of action with everything on display from the Romanian units crumbling under tank assault to General von Manstein's attempt at relieving the pocket to the bitter street fighting up to the end. Actually the street fighting comes off even better than in STALINGRAD and ENEMY AT THE GATES and feels quite authentic and realistic despite the low budget. Maybe it's because a good share of the actors in the film actually served in the war? I assume the producers were able to find a section of a German city still devastated from the war some 14 years later or else it's some very good set design. Either way I'm impressed. Amazingly, they even managed to round up some real hardware with at least two real T-34's and a PAK anti tank gun for the battle scenes.

The film takes the ingenious step of using authentic stock footage to supplement the battle scenes as was possible only back when films were black and white. This trick also worked well in ITALIANI BRAVA GENTE which also managed to often call into doubt whether the combat footage was original or stock.

The only main detractor is a lot of mismatched stock footage often from entirely different battles (including some now-famous shots of the retreat from Moscow) and during different times of the year (winter to summer and back again). The film tries to play it off by making it look like snow doesn't hit until after the Russians cut off Stalingrad, but anyone with a basic knowledge of WW2 history should know better. Also the tanks are off, with T34/85's appearing too early in the war as usual and a rare case where an IS2 briefly subs in for a German tank of some sort. Mostly minor nitpicks considering that the film's budget was so low. It's amazing what they were able to pull off with such scant resources.

This refers to the English subtitled release of this film.

This film deals with a tragic defeat and the destruction of the 6th Army at Stalingrad. It was produced shortly after the German POWs taken at Stalingrad had returned home, so had to deal with a critical and knowledgeable audience. It also walked a tightrope, delivering an anti-war message and condemning German leadership in a country which was sick unto death of finger pointing and criticism.

The events in the film take place over more than four months. In order to tell the story coherently, the film shifts focus from narrative to vignette. As the story nears its end, the focus narrows and remains with the troops trapped in Stalingrad, starving and written off by Hitler. All in all, it is well told and the acting is quite good.

On the downside, whoever did the subtitles could have done a better job. I speak German and seeing the subtitles while hearing the dialog and knowing a bit of the history created a bit of a dissonance. General Hoth's name is repeatedly written "Hooth", breakout (as in a breakout from the encirclement) is translated as "Breaking ranks," OberLeutnant (1st Lieutenant) is written as "Lieut. Col.", and when von Paulus uses the word Meuterie (Mutiny), it is translated as disobedience. I suspect that those who are familiar with the history of the battle for Stalingrad and military ranks, but who don't speak German, may have a bit of a problem. these problems with the subtitles led me to give this movie 4 instead of 5 stars.

Still, the story is well told and survives the translator's bludgeon. I was left wanting a bit more. Few films these days manage that.

Wolfgang Preiss, a 2nd reason why i got this plays solitaire while his men die for nothing. I love this movie and watch it every winter on our coldest blustery blizzard day. Unless we have an ugly winter it does not get watched at all. It shows how human the Germans were, how they were not all Nazis. Hitler & the uppers all deserved to die. They had banquets while these men starved & froze. I can't watch it for long usually because it breaks my heart to see them suffer. However i got this for Horst Frank, Wolfgang Preiss, Wilhelm Borchet, Joachim Hansen and Rev. Busch later became a goon after i saw this. He's so sweeet. Somehow garnished the nickname Busch-Busch but one of my sweetest German actors.

This black&white picture deals mainly with the german armies on the eastern front- starting with all the glamour of third reich parades and the comradeship even in russia´s tough winters - then finally collapsing into Stalingrad, the major breakdown of all hopes for a german victory...

Some of the acting from todays point of view seems melodramatic and the perspective towards General Paulus and other officers in high ranks is a lot different from how historians of the nineties would describe them. The movie gives an impression of a group of men, who keep fighting though they have already lost. I like the movie, still thirteen years was probably too short to get the point really...

The truth scene between Germans and Russians is alone a masterpiece, because authentic and of course never showed in JJ Annaud's crap, made in 2001, ENEMY AT THE GATES, a Hollywood garbage junk supposed to show the real face of war, but only a warmonger feature, not an anti war one. I HATE most of American movies about WW2, not every one, but at least 90 percent. This one deserves to be discovered again. It is available on you tube. A real masterpiece. Both sides provided real heroes. BOTH SIDES. And the thing I admire the most is that the Russian soldiers, the enemies of the lead German characters, are not shown as bad guys, as German soldiers are shown in Russian war features. See? THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT A F...PROPAGANDA CRAP. That's why I love it. Truly, definitely. Absolutely.