The battle for the Soviet city Stalingrad, which took place between August 1942 and February 1943, was perhaps the most important battle in the Second World War for the victory of the Allies; the German army took significant losses and had to move large numbers of troops from the West to the East as reinforcements. The death toll of the battle also ranks it near the top of the list of the bloodiest battles of all time, with an estimated 1,250,000 – 1,798,619 killed.
It is this horrific battle that is the basis for dirctor Fedor Bondarchuk’s STALINGRAD, Russia’s entry for the 86th Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It is a spectacular film of three impressive firsts: it is the first Russian film made from the start in 3D and both the first Russian and non-American IMAX film.
STALINGRAD did very well in Russia and now it has arrived in China, where it is showing on 7,136 screens (123 of which are IMAX) and is going down a storm. As if it wasn’t already successful enough, it has now broken the records for the highest-grossing Russian film in China and the best start in the country for a non-Chinese, non-American film, making $8.3 million over just four days. I think the director needs a good pat on the back, because what his film has achieved is seriously amazing. Will all this help STALINGRAD at the Oscars? We’ll have to wait and see.
Source: Deadline
