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STALINGRAD

"Spectacular But Flawed"

What You Need To Know:

STALINGRAD is a spectacular, well-acted Russian movie about the famous World War II battle against Hitler’s armies. The movie begins with the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan. A middle-aged Russian man leads a rescue of some German exchange students. To calm their fears while they wait to be dug out, he tells the story of how the Battle of Stalingrad led to his birth. In that story, five Russian soldiers establish a command post in a devastated building. There, they discover a small band of Russian civilian militia and an 18-year-old orphaned girl, who’s survived the German onslaught.

STALINGRAD does a great job in depicting the ravages, courage, and cowardice of war. It also does a great job delineating the characters and contains some brief Christian content. That said, there are still too many characters, so the movie wanders at times. Also, it avoids talking about the communist tyranny that was Stalinist Russia at the time. It also contains a fair amount of foul language, very strong war violence, brief nudity, and sexual situations. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution for STALINGRAD.

Content:

(B, C, P, AC, RHRH, Ab, LLL, VVV, SS, NN, AA, D, MM) Light moral worldview of the Battle of Stalingrad during World War II, with some light Christian references, patriotism and freedom are extolled, some anti-fascist content, but with some revisionist history that mutes the political ideologies involved and some Germans display Anti-Semitism, but it’s rebuked; 22 or 23 obscenities (including one possible “f” word), two strong profanities, and two light profanities; very strong war violence includes many soldiers catch fire when German officer blows up fuel dump, explosions, bombings, shootings, point blank shootings, machine gun fire, German commandant orders bus with woman and child set on fire because he thinks they’re Jewish; depicted adultery in one scene, married German officer forces himself on Russian woman but the rape isn’t shown, implied adultery, implied fornication, and Russian officer warns men to leave 18-year-old girl alone; brief upper female nudity in one scene and rear male nudity; alcohol use and drunkenness; smoking; and, betrayal, cowardice, brutality, tragedy.

More Detail:

STALINGRAD is a spectacular Russian movie about the famous World War II battle that allegedly helped turn the tide against Hitler’s armies. Shot in 3D, the movie is an extraordinary experience that captures the feeling of that brutal battle, but there are too many characters and some revisionist history about the Soviet Union and Russia.

The movie begins with the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan. A middle-aged Russian man leads a rescue of some German exchange students. To calm their fears while they wait to be dug out, he tells the story of how the Battle of Stalingrad led to his birth.

The movie begins in the fall of 1942 when Russian troops are about to launch an offensive on German positions in the city. The Russians are decimated with fire when a German lieutenant named Peter manages to blow up a massive fuel depot on a hill along the Volga River. However, five Russian soldiers, led by a brave veteran sergeant named Gromov, establish a command post in a devastated building. There, they discover a small band of Russian civilian militia and, amazingly, an 18-year-old orphaned girl, Katya, who’s survived the German onslaught.

The Russian soldiers all fall in love with this young courageous woman who refuses to leave her home. She becomes a mascot and a symbol of all that they are fighting for in Stalingrad. Meanwhile, the German lieutenant, though married, has become infatuated with Masha, a beautiful Russian woman living in the German sector next to the building controlled by the Russians.

The rest of the movie traces the bitter struggle between the Russians and the Germans in this one sector of the city. It becomes a microcosm of the whole battle, and indeed the whole war.

STALINGRAD does a great job in depicting the ravages, courage, and cowardice of war. It also does a great job in delineating the characters, who are wonderfully portrayed. The worldview is moral, with some surprisingly positive Christian references. That said, there are still a few too many characters, so the movie wanders at times. Finally, the movie avoids talking about the communist tyranny that was Stalinist Russia at the time. The most perplexing moment comes at the end, when a title card says all the Russian soldiers fought for freedom. In reality, the Russians fought for their homes, but not necessarily for freedom. That’s because, after the war, Stalin and the communist party resumed their tyranny that was responsible for murdering more than 80 million people, and enslaving millions more, not only in Russia proper, but also in Eastern Europe where Stalin controlled several nations.

STALINGRAD also contains a fair amount of foul language, very strong war violence, brief nudity, and sexual situations. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.