The Battle of Stalingrad (1949 movie)
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Stalingrad is a 1949 two-part Soviet
epic film about the Battle of Stalingrad
, directed by Vladimir Petrov
. The script was written by Nikolai Virta
.
As the enemy approaches Stalingrad, the Red Army and the local population rally to defend it in a bitter house-to-house combat, stalling the German advance. In Moscow, Stalin plans the counter-offensive.
. The Germans and are encircled, and efforts to relieve the Stalingrad pocket fail. Paulus, ordered by Hitler to hold to the end, refuses to surrender while his soldiers starve. The Soviets close on the city, destroying the Sixth Army. After Red Army soldiers enter his command post, Paulus orders his remaining troops to surrender. The Soviets hold a victory rally in liberated Stalingrad; In Moscow, Stalin looks at a map, setting his eyes on Berlin.
in the 1949 Karlovy Vary Film Festival. Aleksei Dikiy
, who portrayed Stalin, received the 1949 Gottwaldov Film Festival's prize, and director Vladimir Petrov won the Czechoslovak Workers' Film Festival Best Director Award. Petrov, cinematographer Yuri Yekelchik and four actors - Aleksei Dikiy
, Nikolai Simonov
, Yuri Shumski and Vladimir Gaidarov - were awarded the Stalin Prize at 1950 for their role in the film.
French critic André Bazin
wrote that the film portrayed Stalin as a super-human leader, showing him planning the Soviet war effort almost on his own: "Even if we grant Stalin a hyper-Napoleonic military genius... It would be childish to think that events in the Kremlin unfolded as they are seen here." Richard Taylor listed The Battle of Stalingrad as "a personality cult
film".
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....
epic film about 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...
, directed by Vladimir Petrov
Vladimir Petrov (director)
Vladimir Petrov was a Soviet film director and screenwriter. He directed 24 films between 1928 and 1964. Vladimir Petrov was awarded Stalin Prize five times: in 1941 , 1946 and 1950.-Filmography:* The Russian Forest ; 1963...
. The script was written by Nikolai Virta
Nikolai Virta
Nikolai Yevgenyevich Virta was a Soviet writer who developed the theory of "conflictless" drama.-Biography:Nikolai Virta was born in the village of Bolshaya Lazovka near Tambov, into the family of a village priest who was shot in 1921 as a supporter of Aleksandr Antonov...
.
Film I
In the Kremlin, Stalin analyzes the Wehrmacht's movements and concludes that the Germans aim to capture Stalingrad. Hitler, who believes the city is the key to final victory, orders his Generals take it at all costs.As the enemy approaches Stalingrad, the Red Army and the local population rally to defend it in a bitter house-to-house combat, stalling the German advance. In Moscow, Stalin plans the counter-offensive.
Film II
The Wehrmacht launches a last, massive assault, intended to overwhelm the defenders of Stalingrad. As the Red Army is pushed back to the Volga, Stalin orders to commence Operation UranusOperation 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...
. The Germans and are encircled, and efforts to relieve the Stalingrad pocket fail. Paulus, ordered by Hitler to hold to the end, refuses to surrender while his soldiers starve. The Soviets close on the city, destroying the Sixth Army. After Red Army soldiers enter his command post, Paulus orders his remaining troops to surrender. The Soviets hold a victory rally in liberated Stalingrad; In Moscow, Stalin looks at a map, setting his eyes on Berlin.
Production
The film is the last of the 'Artistic Documentaries', a series of propaganda epics that recreated the history of the Second World War with a Stalinist interpretation of the events. Like all of the other films in the genre, The Battle of Stalingrad consists mainly of battle scenes and staff meetings, reconstructing the campaign from the point of view of the soldiers and the generals, in a heroic manner fitting communist ideology.Reception
The movie won the Crystal GlobeCrystal Globe
Crystal Globe is the main award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, first given in the city of Karlovy Vary of the Czech Republic, in 1948.In the international competition of films, IFFKV presents the following awards:...
in the 1949 Karlovy Vary Film Festival. Aleksei Dikiy
Aleksei Dikiy
-Ukraine:He was born Aleksei Denisovich Dikiy on February 24, 1889, inEkaterinoslav, Russian Empire, now Dnepropetrivsk, Ukraine. At youngage he moved to Kharkov, where his sister, named Maria Sukhodolska - Dikova, was a popular actress, and she helped...
, who portrayed Stalin, received the 1949 Gottwaldov Film Festival's prize, and director Vladimir Petrov won the Czechoslovak Workers' Film Festival Best Director Award. Petrov, cinematographer Yuri Yekelchik and four actors - Aleksei Dikiy
Aleksei Dikiy
-Ukraine:He was born Aleksei Denisovich Dikiy on February 24, 1889, inEkaterinoslav, Russian Empire, now Dnepropetrivsk, Ukraine. At youngage he moved to Kharkov, where his sister, named Maria Sukhodolska - Dikova, was a popular actress, and she helped...
, Nikolai Simonov
Nikolai Simonov
Nikolai Simonov was a Soviet film and stage actor.-Early life and education:Nikolai Konstantionovich Simonov was born on December 4, 1901, in Samara, Russia. From 1917–1919 he studied art at Samara School of Art and Design. From 1919–1923 he studied art at the Imperial Academy of Arts...
, Yuri Shumski and Vladimir Gaidarov - were awarded the Stalin Prize at 1950 for their role in the film.
French critic André Bazin
André Bazin
André Bazin was a renowned and influential French film critic and film theorist.-Life:Bazin was born in Angers, France, in 1918...
wrote that the film portrayed Stalin as a super-human leader, showing him planning the Soviet war effort almost on his own: "Even if we grant Stalin a hyper-Napoleonic military genius... It would be childish to think that events in the Kremlin unfolded as they are seen here." Richard Taylor listed The Battle of Stalingrad as "a personality cult
Cult of personality
A cult of personality arises when an individual uses mass media, propaganda, or other methods, to create an idealized and heroic public image, often through unquestioning flattery and praise. Cults of personality are usually associated with dictatorships...
film".
Select Cast
- Aleksei DikiyAleksei Dikiy-Ukraine:He was born Aleksei Denisovich Dikiy on February 24, 1889, inEkaterinoslav, Russian Empire, now Dnepropetrivsk, Ukraine. At youngage he moved to Kharkov, where his sister, named Maria Sukhodolska - Dikova, was a popular actress, and she helped...
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...
. - Nikolai Rzhov as Lazar KaganovichLazar KaganovichLazar Moiseyevich Kaganovich was a Soviet politician and administrator and one of the main associates of Joseph Stalin.-Early life:Kaganovich was born in 1893 to Jewish parents in the village of Kabany, Radomyshl uyezd, Kiev Governorate, Russian Empire...
- Maxim Schtrauch 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...
- Viktor Khokhryachov as Georgi Malenkov
- Yuri TolubeyevYuri TolubeyevYuri Vladimirovich Tolubeyev was a Soviet theatrical and cinema actor, a Hero of the Socialist LabourHis son, Andrei Tolubeyev, also became an actor.- Filmography :* The Return of Maxim * Professor Mamlock * The Vyborg Side...
as Andrei ZhdanovAndrei ZhdanovAndrei Alexandrovich Zhdanov was a Soviet politician.-Life:Zhdanov enlisted with the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1915 and was promoted through the party ranks, becoming the All-Union Communist Party manager in Leningrad after the assassination of Sergei Kirov in 1934... - Yuri Shumski as General Alexander Vasilevsky.
- Boris Livanov 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...
- Vladimir Golovin as General Nikolai Vatutin.
- Vasili MerkuryevVasili Merkuryev-Selected filmography:* The Return of Maxim * Professor Mamlock * The Vyborg Side * The Great Glinka * The Vow * The Battle of Stalingrad * True Friends * Twelfth Night...
as General Nikolay Voronov. - Nikolai SimonovNikolai SimonovNikolai Simonov was a Soviet film and stage actor.-Early life and education:Nikolai Konstantionovich Simonov was born on December 4, 1901, in Samara, Russia. From 1917–1919 he studied art at Samara School of Art and Design. From 1919–1923 he studied art at the Imperial Academy of Arts...
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...
. - 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 Colonel Ivanov. - Alexander Antonov as Colonel Popov.
- Leonid Kniazev 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:...
. - Viktor Stanzin 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...
/General Fedor Tolbukhin. - Nikolay Cherkasov as Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- Konstantin Mikhailov as Averell Harriman.
- Mikhail AstangovMikhail AstangovMikhail Fyodorovich Astangov , pseudonym of M.F. Ruzhnikov was a Soviet actor, and an acclaimed People's Artist of the USSR .-Selected filmography:* Minin and Pozharsky * Suvorov * The Murderers are Coming...
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...
. - Nikolai Komisarov 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...
. - Boris Svoboda as General Alfred JodlAlfred JodlAlfred Josef Ferdinand Jodl was a German military commander, attaining the position of Chief of the Operations Staff of the Armed Forces High Command during World War II, acting as deputy to Wilhelm Keitel...
. - Nikolai Ribnikov as Field Marshal Maximilian von WeichsMaximilian von WeichsMaximilian Maria Joseph Karl Gabriel Lamoral Reichsfreiherr von Weichs zu Glon was a German Generalfeldmarschall during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves...
. - Rostislav Plyat as General Hermann HothHermann HothHermann "Papa" Hoth was an officer in the German military from 1903 to 1945. He attained the rank of Generaloberst during World War II. He fought in France, but is most noted for his later exploits as a panzer commander on the Eastern Front...
. - Vladimir Gaidarov as Field Marshal Friedrich PaulusFriedrich PaulusFriedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus was an officer in the German military from 1910 to 1945. He attained the rank of Generalfeldmarschall during World War II, and is best known for having commanded the Sixth Army's assault on Stalingrad during Operation Blue in 1942...
. - Vladimir Vsevolodov as General Arthur SchmidtArthur Schmidt (soldier)Arthur Schmidt was an officer in the German military from 1914 to 1943. He attained the rank of Generalleutnant during World War II, and is best known for his role as the Sixth Army's chief of staff in the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942–43, during the final stages of which he became its de facto...
. - Evgeni Kaluzhski as General Wilhelm AdamWilhelm Adam (Politician)Wilhelm Adam was a career military officer who served in three German Armies and later became an East German politician .-Life:Adam's father was a farmer...
(film I). - Nikolai Nikolaievski as General Wilhelm AdamWilhelm Adam (Politician)Wilhelm Adam was a career military officer who served in three German Armies and later became an East German politician .-Life:Adam's father was a farmer...
(film II).
External links
- Part I and Part II on the IMDb.
- The Battle of Stalingrad on Kino-teatr.ru.
- The Battle of Stalingrad original East German posters on ostfilm.de.