7.5 | / 10 |
Users | 5.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
German soldiers see a summer mission of 1942 turn hellish when the ferocious Russian winter sets in.
Starring: Dominique Horwitz, Thomas Kretschmann, Jochen Nickel, Sebastian Rudolph, Dana VávrováWar | 100% |
Drama | 58% |
Foreign | 34% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
German: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
There's an inherent risk in making an antiwar film that's genuinely entertaining. The more effectively a filmmaker draws viewers into what is supposed to be the hell of battle, the more he (or she) risks reproducing some version of the adrenaline rush that, as depicted in The Hurt Locker, can become its own form of addiction. Francis Ford Coppola wanted to show the madness of the Vietnam war in Apocalypse Now, but he couldn't avoid lionizing the two warrior-princes, Willard and Kurtz, who, at the end of the film, confront each other in a sort of mad battle of honor. And he couldn't resist delivering the thrilling imagery and memorable sound design that has home theater enthusiasts firing up their systems whenever the newest iteration of the film arrives in the latest format. In the same vein, Steven Spielberg wanted modern audiences to experience the infernal slaughterhouse of the Normandy invasion, but the opening of Saving Private Ryan is just as frequently played as "demo material" detached from its content. Viewers marvel at how the subwoofer shakes the room and the bullets fly across the surrounds, while hundreds of soldiers perish on the screen like so many toy figures. War may be hell, but it goes great with popcorn. Joseph Vilsmaier's Stalingrad provides an antidote, because, despite exceptional craftsmanship, it offers nothing seductive, sensual or glorious. It's depiction of battle is as downbeat and cynical as anything you're likely to find in movies, including Full Metal Jacket. Start with the bare facts of the underlying battle, which was fought from August 23, 1942 through February 2, 1943, between the armies of Germany and Russia and which did as much as any Allied effort in the west to turn the tide of World War II. The statistics, recited on title cards at the beginning and end of the film, are almost as numbing as the subzero temperatures faced by the combatants: over 1 million dead (killed in action, starved or frozen to death); of the 260,000 men in the German Sixth Army, 91,000 surrendered to the Russians, and most of the rest did not survive. Of those who surrendered, only 6,000 returned home many years later. Of course, no viewer is expected to sympathize with the Germans, but how many are likely to side with their opposition? If you're looking for someone to root for, Stalingrad offers you an unpalatable choice between Hitler's Nazis and Stalin's Bolsheviks. If there's a true hero of the story, it's Mother Nature, whose inhuman cold and relentless snows overwhelmed the unprepared German army and slowly froze them into submission. Under Vilsmaier's direction, Stalingrad observes the battles with the same indifferent gusto that Homer applied to the Greeks and the Trojans. The difference is that Homer was describing a conflict of heroes; Stalingrad depicts the fate of random pieces of cannon fodder that Hitler threw toward the east by the trainload, just because he wanted to make a statement (which he does, by radio, midway through the film).
Hen's Tooth Video does not do its own transfers, but the master that has been supplied for Stalingrad is excellent. Hen's Tooth's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray reflects a clean source, impressive detail, and a superior balance of black levels and contrast that you very much appreciate when the weather turns wintry and many scenes are dominated by snow all around. (The production filmed in Finland to simulate the Russian winter.) Fine features of faces, uniforms and rubble are equally good in both dark areas (more common in the early parts of the film) and bright ones (more common after winter arrives). The film's palette switches from a dull, dingy earth-toned mix, dominated by military green, prior to the onset of winter, to a chilly mix of whites, grays and blues after the cold takes over. Strong, saturated colors are almost non-existent, because they would suggest too much vitality. The film has three credited cinematographers, which is probably due to the multiple locations. The film has been mastered on a BD-50. Compression and other artifacts were not in evidence. The only point to give one pause is that there's little visible evidence of a grain structure. Now, since there's also no indication that any fine detail has been scrubbed away—no waxy faces no loss of detail or other telltale signs of high-frequency filtering—this may be the film's authentic look, but that would certainly be unusual. If any degree of grain reduction has been applied, it has been done expertly, with the kind of high-end tools typically used in today's DI suites.
The Blu-ray for Stalingrad offers two soundtrack options, the original German language track and a dubbed English version. Both are provided as DTS-HD MA 2.0. While IMDb claims that Stalingrad was released in Dolby Digital, the claim is suspect given the fact that the film appeared just six months after the launch of DD in theaters. The film itself bears the Dolby Surround logo, and it's far more likely that this was the release format, in which case the lossless 2.0 version is correct. In any case, when the 2.0 soundtrack is played through a good surround decoder, it provides substantial environmental presence and even noticeable surround activity, especially in a sequence like that at the Pitomnik airport, where planes are taking off and banking. The artillery and tank fire of the battle scenes conveys an impressive sense of havoc. Although the bass extension isn't as deep as it would be with a dedicated LFE channel, it still makes enough of a statement that, combined with other registers, you experience the bombardment as an assault on the senses. My German is good enough to vouch for the clarity of the German dialogue; I did not sample the English track. The alternately military and tragic score by German composer Enjott Schneider is muddier than it would be with a discrete 5.1 mix, probably as a result of having to share two channels with all the sound effects, but it's still effective.
Death comes in many forms in Stalingrad: the enemy, the elements, friendly fire, accident, misadventure, even suicide. Above all, it comes from the hubris that led to the misconceived and poorly planned siege in the first place. In a properly run military campaign, none of these men should have been there at all. "Otto, I'm not a Nazi!" protests the respected Captain Musk at one point. He means that he's really just a soldier, but Otto won't let him off the hook. "No", he replies, "you're worse, lousy officers. You went along, even though you knew who was in charge." Tough viewing, but a fine disc. Recommended.
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