Directed by: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Starring: Ed Harris, Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, Joseph Fiennes
Visible crew/equipment: When the Russian army rushes through to the Germans, you can see a camera crew briefly on the right. (00:13:30)
Visible crew/equipment: After it has been discovered Sacha is dead, Tania is arguing with Vassilli. He is trying to prevent her from running to him. The camera gets close to the action and the shadow of its operator is blatantly visible on the actors.
Factual error: When the map of the German advance is shown, Switzerland is shown to be taken over. Switzerland was never invaded by the Germans. (00:05:10)
Vassili Zaitsev: He doesn't know you exist, but at that moment you're closer to him than anyone else on earth. You see his face through the sign. You see whether he shaved or not. You can see whether he's married if he's got a wedding ring. It's not like firing at a distant shape. It's not just a uniform. It's a man's face. Those faces don't go away. They come back and they get replaced by more faces.
Question: If Jude Law as Vasily Zaytsev is the protagonist, then why is Joseph Fiennes the first-billed actor of the movie?
Answer: For the same reason Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman were top billed in Superman. He was a bigger name and his agent was able to negotiate a better deal.
Answer: They almost share the same amount of screen time, but Jude Law is a tad younger and Joseph was coming off a very successful 'Shakespeare in Love' as well as 'Elizabeth'. He was a more marketable actor at the time.
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Suggested correction: It doesn't show German advances. It shows the German influence over Europe, symbolizing it covers all of Europe and then expanded towards the East. Italy was never conquered by the Germans either yet it was part of the axis and is shown being covered by black. Switzerland, though neutral, was fully surrounded by the Axis and their influence played heavily upon the country. Its a very crude simulation.
lionhead
Suggested correction: It does not show the German advancement in true historical order, but more like a red shadow that expands across Europe in a steady pace. And just as the camera starts zooming in on Stalingrad, you can see a small sliver of red starting to spread on the south-eastern coast of Norway.
dizzyd