This German movie is from the "war is Hell" school of war movies. But then it's hard to imagine how Germans could make a movie about the battle of Stalingrad that isn't, in the end, rather depressing. The film follows a platoon of Afrika Korps veterans as they join in the legendary struggle for the city. The platoon soon learns that the German officers are just as deadly enemies as the Russians, and that in Stalingrad no act of mercy goes unpunished. The men eventually have to pick their poison: fight on, even after all hope is gone, or desert knowing that there is no hope of escape. This above average movie is a bit too long, and includes quite a few war movie cliches, but it is exciting in stretches. Wargamers will be most interested in the two good battle scenes. The first is a German assault on a factory. In the second the Germans are overrun by tanks and tank riders and have to fight back in a series of harrowing close assaults. (150 minutes, Color, German with English Subtitles, Letterbox, Stereo, Not Rated, 1993)