A
turning point in 20th century war history is the focus of this fact-based
account of the 1942-1943 battle of Stalingrad, in which the Germans were
finally defeated by Russian influence — one of the bloodiest battles in
World War II history. The film stars Jude Law as Vassili, a marksman from
the Urals who is transported to Stalingrad in 1942, and a master German
sniper, Major Koenig (Ed Harris). Koenig, an expert German sniper, is
determined to eliminate his formidable opponent by any means necessary;
meanwhile, Vassili has joined forces with Danilov (Joseph Fiennes), a young
Russian political adversary, who is impressed by Vassili's skills and raises
his profile in the Soviet Union. Both Vassili and Danilov become involved
with Tanya (Rachel Weisz), whose Jewish parents have been captured by the
Germans and have forced her to take up with the men on a sniper expedition.
Koenig and Vassili begin to develop traps for each other, until fate
inevitably must bring the two sharpshooters together. This large-scale
production, financed mostly by Teuton companies, also features Bob Hoskins
as Nikita Krushchev and Ron Perlman as an aging Russian sniper.| Joseph Fiennes | Danilov |
| Jude Law | Vassili |
| Rachel Weisz | Tania |
| Bob Hoskins | Khrushchev |
| Ed Harris | Konig |
| Ron Perlman | Koulikov |
| Eva Mattes | Mother Filipov |
| Matthais Habich | General von Paulus |
| Sophie Rois | Ludmilla |
| Mikhail Matveev | Vassili's grandfather |
| Gabriel Marshall-Thompson | Sacha |
Genre/Type - War, War Epic, Combat Films, War Romance
Produced by - KC Medien / Mandalay Entertainment / MP Film Management / Paramount / Repérage
Release - Mar 16, 2001 (USA)
Premiere - 2001 02 07 (Berlin International Film Festival)
Released by - Constantin Film
Running time - 131 min.
Napravleniye Glavnogo Udara (1970, Yuri Ozerov)
Stalingrad (1989, Yuri Ozerov)
Enigma (2001, Michael Apted)
Saving Private Ryan (1998, Steven Spielberg)
Osvobozhdeniye (1968, Yuri Ozerov)
Stalingradskaya Bitva (1949, Vladimir Petrov)
Windtalkers (2002, John Woo)
Beyond Borders (2003, Martin Campbell)