History Film / Stalingrad1993

* CorruptQuartermaster: While the regular troops are half-starved, one of the German quartermasters is assembling a ''huge'' stockpile of food and basic supplies, [[MundaneLuxury trading those for favours]]. [[BribeBackfire It doesn't end well for him when he tries to bribe]] regular troops to help him escape the city when it's clear the battle is truly lost.

* GreyAndGrayMorality: Nazi German Wehrmacht vs Soviet Red Army. Although both sides are led by brutal, totalitarian governments which resulted in millions of casualties, and by this point in the conflict both sides were resorting to drastic measures such as resorting to armies of conscripts, the movie manages to humanize the individual soldiers on both sides and the horrors they face. At some point in the movie, due to the sheer chaos and horror going on in the battle, the front lines and factions disappear entirely and the characters focus on merely surviving, [[spoiler:an endeavor they all fail in]].

The film follows a platoon of [[UsefulNotes/NazisWithGnarlyWeapons Heer]] soldiers through their service on the Eastern Front fighting [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet]] [[UsefulNotes/RedsWithRockets forces]], centred around, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin naturally]], the Battle of Stalingrad. Along the way, the brutality of the conflict they find themselves in leaves them demoralized, as they try to find a way to cope with the war. Creator/ThomasKretschmann stars as Lieutenant von Witzland, the leader of the platoon.

* ArtisticLicenseMilitary: The penal unit is somehow able to one-hit-kill multiple T-34s with a small cannon and ''Molotov cocktails.'' (Neither of which would've been capable of penetrating the armor or hatches of a T-34.)* AssholeVictim: Given all atrocities committed by [[spoiler:Captain Haller]] throughout the movie, there is little doubt that nobody cried after him when [[spoiler:he was fragged by his own soldiers]].

* EverybodyDiesEnding: [[spoiler:By the end of the film, pretty much all of the named characters are either dead or will inevitably die.]]

* EverybodyDiesEnding: All the German soldiers in the story die. [[spoiler:Except Rollo and Captain Musk, maybe. They're last seen near a procession of Germans who are going to surrender. But even if they did surrender themselves to the Soviets, only 6% of the German prisoners survived their imprisonment and returned home.]]

* AssholeVictim: Given all atrocities committed by [[spoiler:Captain Haller]] throughout the movie, there is little doubt that nobody cried after him when [[spoiler:he was fragged by his own soldiers]].

* HollywoodTactics: The penal unit is somehow able to one-hit-kill multiple T-34s with a small cannon and ''Molotov cocktails.'' (Neither of which would've been capable of penetrating the armor or hatches of a T-34.)

** During another lull in battle, German soldiers -- mainly Reiser and Rohleder -- try to befriend captured Russian boy named Kola. While it doesn't go smoothly, mostly due to Kola's resentment over the fact that he was taken by ThoseWackyNazis, is does feature some heartwarming moments like Rollo offering the boy his food ration or Kola briefly speaking in German and offering to repair Reiser's shoes (which makes Fritz laugh heartily).

* MoodWhiplash: Von Witzland, in his conversation with Rohleder, jokingly recalls a "bet" they previously made. THe moment he finishes the sentence, all hell breaks loose as Russians suddenly unleash an entire barrage on German positions.

** When soldiers of penal battalion are being drived towards the frontlines in a truck for upcoming battle with Russian tank company, Otto recalls a story of what happened the last time he was granted a leave and visited his family. Then he starts singing "O Tannenbaum" ("O Christmas Tree") Christmas carol and is soon joined by other soldiers present.

* ArtocityMontage: Lots of them. At the very beginning of the movie, one Russian [=POW=] is beaten to death by German soldier for no reason, and it only gets worse from there. Other examples include executing Russian civilians falsely accused of sabotage via firing squad (the real reason being that there's just too many mouths to feed), burning villages surrounding Stalingrad and either rounding up their inhabitants or driving them into snowy plains to die of cold and starvation or tying a captured Russian woman to a bed and using her as a comfort woman.

* DownerEnding: The battle of eponymous city ends [[ForegoneConclusion just as well for the Germans]] as you may guess from your history lessons, and in the meantime, [[spoiler:[[KillEmAll all characters we got to know end up dead]]. Kola is murdered by a firing squad, [=GeGe=] is accidentally shot by Captain Haller before the latter gets offed himself, Otto [[DrivenToSuicide commits]] [[AteHisGun suicide]], Captain Musk succumbs to his wounds, Irina is apparently shot by her own people when trying to lead von Witzland and Reiser out of Stalingrad, and the latter two freeze to death in the middle of snowy plain. The only one who might have survived is Rohleder, but given his situation, there is little chance that he lived through it either]].

* KillEmAll: All the German soldiers in the story die. [[spoiler:Except Rollo and Captain Musk, maybe. They're last seen near a procession of Germans who are going to surrender. But even if they did surrender themselves to the Soviets, only 6% of the German prisoners survived their imprisonment and returned home.]]

See also the [[Film/Stalingrad2013 2013 Russian film with the same title]] (that also happens to star Creator/ThomasKretschmann) and ''Film/EnemyAtTheGates'' for other points of view on the battle.

* ObligatoryWarCrimeScene: Lots of them. At the very beginning of the movie, one Russian [=POW=] is beaten to death by German soldier for no reason, and it only gets worse from there. Other examples include executing Russian civilians falsely accused of sabotage via firing squad (the real reason being that there's just too many mouths to feed), burning villages surrounding Stalingrad and either rounding up their inhabitants or driving them into snowy plains to die of cold and starvation or tying a captured Russian woman to a bed and using her as a comfort woman.

''Stalingrad'' is a 1993 German war film directed by Joseph Vilsmaier, following a platoon of [[UsefulNotes/NazisWithGnarlyWeapons Heer]] soldiers through their service on the Eastern Front fighting [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet]] [[UsefulNotes/RedsWithRockets forces]], centred around, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin naturally]], the Battle of Stalingrad. Along the way, the brutality of the conflict they find themselves in leaves them demoralized, as they try to find a way to cope with the war.

->'''Rollo:''' Is this your first time at the front?
->'''Lieutenant von Witzland:''' ''(shrugs)'' Everyone must start somewhere.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: After the protagonists' failed attempt at escaping the Stalingrad via an airplane, the narration informs the viewer that the last German airplane left the eponymous city on January 23rd, 1943. That is not possible -- the Pitomnik Airfield (where the action takes place) had been already taken by Soviets on January 17th, and the Gumrak Airfield on January 22nd. On January 23rd, there was only one airfield remaining in German hands (Stalingradski Airfield) and it was unsuitable for landing nor taking off at that time (especially not for heavy Junkers Ju 52 transport airplanes) due to short runway, snowfall and lack of lighting. The correct date would be January 13th, since that was the day when last German airplane actually took off from Pitomnik Airfield.

* KillEmAll: All the German soldiers in the story die. [[spoiler:Except Rollo and Captain Musk, maybe. They're last seen near a procession of Germans who are going to surrender. But if they did surrender themselves to the Soviets, only 6% of the German prisoners survived their imprisonment and returned home.]]