This article was published on 05.10.01.

War is hell, love is a bitch and a hero is both born and perpetuated by a tenacious Soviet propaganda machine in this visually staggering World War II saga. Media-savvy Russian political officer (Joseph Fiennes) transforms a young peasant-turned-sharpshooter, Vassili (Jude Law), into a legend during the apocalyptic winter siege of Stalingrad. They both fall in love with the same female soldier (The Mummy‘s Rachel Weisz) in a dramatic subplot that stumbles a bit as the battle rages and becomes a personal hot button for both Stalin and Hitler, and an elite Nazi marksman (Ed Harris) stalks his self-doubting superstar counterpart. With Bob Hoskins as Nikita Khrushchev. Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud (Quest for Fire, Seven Years in Tibet)