After many major Hollywood epics about the war on the Western Front (THE LONGEST DAY, PATTON, A BRIDGE TOO FAR, BATTLE OF THE BULGE, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN), it is long overdue that ENEMY AT THE GATES, centered on the pivotal battle for Stalingrad, should play to audiences ... particularly American audiences.
The core of the plot is the personal duel between two expert snipers, the Red Army's Vasily Zaitsev (Jude Law) and the German Wehrmacht major, Koenig (Ed Harris), the latter brought into the Stalingrad cauldron to kill the former before he totally destroys the morale of the German troops trying to capture the city. It's a cat and mouse confrontation depicted with startling realism, though, in this case, the mouse is just as deadly as the cat. The rest of the film is just window dressing, especially the sappy love triangle between Zaitsev, political commissar Danilov (Joseph Fiennes), and a female Red Army sniper, Tania, played by Rachel Weisz.
The film, set among the rubble and destroyed factories of Stalin's city, is visually stunning. The performances of Law, Harris and Fiennes are excellent, as is that by Bob Hoskins, who plays Joe Stalin's political representative on the scene, Nikita Krushchev. My complaints center on the accents of the main characters, which don't sound Russian by any stretch of the imagination, the previously-mentioned and totally superfluous love story, and the fact that the Krushchev is given way too much screen time at the expense of the Russian general, Chuikov, who doesn't even appear, even though he was the Red Army's military commander whose gritty defense of the city ultimately prevailed.
This story of the duel between Zaitsev and his German nemesis is based in fact, though a better telling of the tale is the work of book fiction, WAR OF THE RATS, by David Robbins. If you're interested in this footnote to the Stalingrad struggle, the book is a "must", and the film will serve as excellent visual reinforcement.
It is so gratifying to finally see a major motion picture made about the WWII Russian Front. After all, it was the Red Army that inflicted 80% of Germany's total casualties in the war, a fact that many Americans remain sadly ignorant of. It is high time we get past Cold War attitudes and pay tribute to the heroism of the Soviet Union in its bitter but ultimately triumphant struggle against Nazism. _Enemy at the Gates_ is a movie of epic proportions, featuring good overall performances by a solid cast as well as a spectacular cinematic recreation of the bombed-out city of Stalingrad.
Still, the movie tends to drag at times, and could have been much better. The love triangle subplot was more of a distraction than anything else, taking up time that could have been better used to tell more of the awesome story of the battle of Stalingrad as a whole. Rather than simply having the German commander state, "These snipers are demoralizing my people," it would have been nice to have actually "seen" a little bit more of how the actions of Zaitsev and the Soviet snipers wore down the vaunted German infantry. Regrettably, the duel between Zaitsev and Koenig seemed to be taking place in a separate reality than the war itself, almost giving the impression that both sides had an unwritten agreement to let the two rivals shoot it out without interference. Also, the abrupt ending gave no explanation as to how the Red Army, seemingly on the ropes throughout the movie, suddenly emerged victorious. It would not have taken much film time to explain how this came about: the tenacity of Stalingrad�s defenders drew the mechanized German forces into costly city fighting, allowing the Red Army�s powerful reserves massed to the north and south to punch through the weak Axis flanks and encircle the Germans. Saving Private Ryan succeeded in telling much of the story of the Normandy invasion in a way that neatly complimented the movie�s plot. I wish that Enemy at the Gates had made more of a similar effort.
I know that �dramatic license� is a fact of life with historical movies, but it is way overdone in this one. The opening sequence of the Volga crossing is powerful filmmaking and is mostly accurate up until Zaitsev and his fellow soldiers enter the city. The following part about only every other man receiving a weapon and being sent of in a suicide charge is purely the stuff of legend, though, more fitting of the WWI Russian Army or a Soviet punishment battalion. The reality was that the Red Army in Stalingrad fought mostly in small detachments armed with submachine guns rather than rifles, moving stealthily amongst the rubble and ambushing the Germans in brutal house-to-house fighting. This sort of close-quarter combat, where the front lines were often separated by less than 20 yards (or even a mere hallway or staircase), would have played out on screen just as well (better, in fact) as the �charge of the Red horde� that is the stuff of popular imagination rather than true history. The conclusion of this scene is misleading, as well. The Soviets did shoot many deserters who attempted to flee the front lines, but this degree of harshness did not apply to survivors of a failed attack as shown in the film. The commanders of the Red Army were often brutal towards their men, but not quite that brutal. As for the way the sniper duel is finally brought to a close, with Koenig walking upright in plain view towards what he suspects is the spot where he has just shot Zaitsev dead, it is just ridiculous. Not even a rookie sniper would have made such a fatal error, much less an instructor.
The Soviet characters all share the names of actual people, but none are true to their real-world counterparts. Vassili Zaitsev was more of a natural leader than the movie gives him credit for, not just a shy boy from the Urals reluctantly pushed into the limelight. Danilov, the political officer, appears to have been crafted by the screenwriters almost solely in order to make a faddish intellectual statement about the pitfalls of Communist idealism. The real Danilov was shot (though not fatally) when he foolishly stood up to point out Major Koenig�s location to Zaitsev, not in an act of suicide. Tania Chernova�s on-screen character was the furthest from reality, though. She was actually a short, temperamental blonde who had previously fought as a partisan in Byelorussia and the Ukraine. A veteran killer by the time she arrived in Stalingrad and possessing a single-minded hatred of the Germans, the real-life Tania could hardly have been more different from the sensitive student/soldier who never actually fires her rifle once throughout the whole film. Also, Chernova was likely Ukrainian, not Jewish (only worth noting because of the widespread myth that most Ukrainians welcomed the Nazis as liberators from Soviet rule). Ironically, the character that seemed truest to reality was Major Koenig, a shadowy figure who some historians claim might never have existed.
Though I used most of the space here to criticize this movie, I guess the fact that I bought the DVD means that I nonetheless enjoyed it. I probably would have rated it better were I not such a Russian history buff. Do yourself a favor and take the time to read both _Enemy at the Gates_, by William Craig (a very readable non-fiction account of the whole Stalingrad campaign) and _War of the Rats_, by David Robbins (a novelized version of the sniper duel that is both a better story and closer to historical fact than this movie was). My main regret is that the film�s potential was largely squandered to make room for unneeded political rhetoric and melodrama. I only hope that its mediocre performance will not discourage film producers from backing other Russian Front projects in the future.
Buy Enemy at the Gates (2001) Now
I have studied the Eastern Front for many years, and finally there is a movie I can see about it.
The opening scenes, especially on the young Red Army soldiers cross the Volga river into the battlefield, were both realistic and visually stunning; which painted a gruesome and grandiose picture of all the books I have read regarding the battle of Stalingrad. Another strength about the movie is that it showed the tremendous sacrifice and suffering of Russian soldiers who fought on despite tremendous casualty from German fire and NKVD (Soviet State Security forces) executions.
I think this film has brilliantly captured the fact that however much the Soviet press in WWII played up the propaganda about personal heroism during the war, the authorities had a total lack of respect for individual lives. According to Antony Beevor's book on Stalingrad, Chuikov, the commander of the Red Army in Stalingrad that disappointingly did not show up in this film, was quoted as saying "Every man must become one of the stones defending Stalingrad." Perhaps the real horror of the battle of Stalingrad was that Russian soldiers were used as discardable weapons in order to defeat the enemy, which utimately saved the world from Nazi domination.
The cinematography of the duel between two snipers (Ed Harris and Jude Law) was very good, but I believe too much time was spent on this theme. I did not care for the love story that kind of got stuffed into the movie perhaps to soften up the hard edges of battle. As a war movie, "Eenmy at the Gates" have some obvious weak spots. However, overall I am just very happy to see a well-produced movie on one of the most decisive battles of the Eastern Front, and hope that more films will be made regarding this subject in the future.
Read Best Reviews of Enemy at the Gates (2001) Here
In March 2001, a World War II film adapted from a 1973 nonfiction book "Enemy at the Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad" by William Craig was released in theaters.
Featuring a screenplay written and directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud ("Wings of Courage", "L'Amant", "Seven Years in Tibet", etc.) along with co-writer Alain Godard ("Wings of Courage", "Der Name Der Rose", "Palace", etc.), the film which had a budget of $68 million, went on to make over $96 million worldwide.
"ENEMY OF THE GATES" is a fictionalized story about the Russian sniper hero Vassili Zaitsev. Known for killing hundreds of Axis soldiers using a Mosin-Nagant rifle but also a symbol of success for the Russians in their use of training of snipers.
The film begins with a young Vassili being taught by his grandfather how to shoot a fox that is about to hunt down a horse. We are then taken to World War II where Vassili (Jude Law) is a Red Army soldier and is traveling in a cattle truck with soldiers and civilians. He immediately takes notice of a beautiful woman (Rachel Weisz).
The cattle truck is then turned to a military convoy headed to Stalingrad, which is being under attack from the Germans. We see soldiers trying to cross the Volga getting gunned down and slaughtered as the Germans have airplanes to take down the ships in the sea.
The Russian military issues the warning that if anyone from the Red Army attempts to run or retreat, they will be killed. The groups are split into two groups. One that is assigned with a Mosin-Nagant rifle, while the other carries ammunition. Vassili is given the ammunition.
Because of misinformation of how far the control the Germans have of the city, members of the Red Army end up being slaughtered by their own military for violating the rule.
We then see a car driving through the streets and becomes under fire from the German, eventually knocking the car over. The driver, Commissar Danilov (Joseph Fiennes) hides amongst the bodies of other Russians. As the Germans come and make sure all Russians are dead, a few of the Nazi military leaders start to relax while one takes a shower outside of a destroyed building.
Commissar Danilov gets one of the rifles but he is not a real soldier that knows how to fire guns but one of the Russian survivors, Vassili tells him that he will take all five of the Germans out and he does so by using a rifle with one shot each. Danilov is grateful that Vassili was there to take them down and is amazed of what courage this young man had in taking on the Nazi's literally by himself.
Meanwhile, Nikita Khrushchev (Bob Hoskins) arrives in Stalingrad to coordinate defense strategies. Because of the constant lead changes between the Russians the Germans, morale is down. To improve morale, Commissar Danilov offers Khrushchev a suggestion that the Russians need to have a hero. When asked if he knows of one, Danilov suggests Vassili.
Commissar Danilov who has the job of boosting morale through media like newspapers and propaganda fliers has took his new friend Vassili and made him the major hero throughout Russia. Wherever Vassili shows up, the Russian soldiers are inspired to have him around. Vassili is now transferred to the Russian sniper division.
As the film progresses, Vassili ends up at the home of Mother Filipov (Eva Mattes) who lives with her son Sacha (Gabriel Thomson). That is where Vassili is reunited with the beautiful woman he saw when he first became a soldier. The woman is a soldier named Tania Chernova (Rachel Weisz) who learned German.
Vassili is happy to see Tania but so is Commissar Danilov who seems to have fallen for the soldier as well. He immediately tries to convince her that her knowledge of German can help the Russians intelligence decode German communication.
Meanwhile, Vassili's fame continues to grow as he and the other snipers are killing off German soldiers and officers. The Germans who are aware of the Russian hero, Vassili decide to bring their top sniper to go after him. His name is Major Erwin Konig (Ed Harris), an excellent sniper and the head of the German Army Sniper School.
While Vassili and other snipers are out on a mission, Major Konig takes out two of the snipers that accompanied Vassili. Immediately, Vassili knows that Kong's precision and his way of hunting is excellent and feels that he may not be up to the job to take him on.
Danilov knowing that his friend is feeling a bit down about the situation, brings in Koulikov (Ron Perlman), a sniper who trained under Konig before the war. Koulikov then trains Vassili on the ways Major Konig thinks and behaves.
Thus begins the cat-and-mouse game between Vassili and Major Konig and who has the skills and experience to take each other out. Meanwhile, the relationship intensifies for Tania and Vassili but what will happen when Commissar Danilov who also has fallen for Tania finds out his friend Vassili (who knows that Danilov is smitten with her) is also going for her behind his back?
VIDEO & AUDIO:
"ENEMY AT THE GATES" receives its 1080p High Definition transfer (2:35:1 aspect ratio) which looks absolutely wonderful when watching the war unfold. Just watching the war in the first half hour as chaos erupts during a cold, cloudy day with this bluish tinge showing bleakness was well captured by Director of Photography (Robert Fraisse).
With that being said, the majority of the shots during days of overcast and conditions were not colorful and vibrant. Indoor scenes showcase a yellowness as natural lighting and places where there are no electricity shows the amber effects with blacks all around the characters.
"ENEMY AT THE GATES" is not a film to expect color vibrancy, its a film depicting war with many lives lost, times when the Russian forces feel they don't know themselves if they will live another day. I didn't notice any compression artifacts and even in times of darkness, I think I saw may a little speckle but overall, the transfer to HD was well done.
As for audio, the 5.1 Dolby TrueHD transfer (also featured are French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital tracks) was great but not excellent. There is very good use of direction of sound from the ongoing bombings throughout the city which utilizes the low frequency of the subwoofer, then during scenes where there are many Russians around, you can hear those people talk in the fronts while dialogue is coming straight from the center speaker. Sniper shots and rifle shots are also done well as you can hear the bullets zipping and hitting its target on impact. But if there was one weakness that I found, I did not notice any usage of the rear surrounds.
This was surprising because you hear the front channel and subwoofer being utilized but I was putting my ear right next to my rear surrounds during several scenes and I didn't hear anything. Made sure to switch to another film to make sure that things were working correctly and surround utilization was fine, switched back to "ENEMY AT THE GATES" and no rear surround usage. Overall, audio use was very good but it would have been even better if the rears were utilized effectively.
Subtitles are featured in English, English SDH, French and Spanish.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
"ENEMY AT THE GATES" features several informative special features which include:
* Through the Crosshairs (19:35) Interviews with Director Jean-Jacques Annaud, producers and talent. How they wanted the right people to accomplish their goal for this film. How they looked at different spots in Europe to film the battle sequences and settled in Germany and for the river scenes right near the Polish border. And then dissecting several scenes such as the many lead changes between the Russians and Germans during the Battle of Stalingrad. How the talents had to train with a rifle and how 600 extras were used, 250,000 pounds of smoke oil and the challenges they had since the extras spoke different languages and they had to time the explosions and the extras correctly. A very informative special feature.
* Inside Enemy at the Gates (15:01) Interviews with Director Jean-Jacques Annaud and the four major talent. How the cast studied a little about World War II and the involvement of the Russians, being trained with a rifle and their impression of their characters and working witch each other. Then each discussing their favorite scenes from the film and also how difficult it was for Jude Law to have the love scene with Rachel Weisz knowing that many people were around them.
* Deleted Scenes (10:13) A total of nine deleted scenes. Two key deleted scenes showing the closeness of Tania Chernova and Mother Filipov when discussing her parent's death and also Vassili talking about sleep deprivation and Koulikov telling him that its the worst thing for a sniper. But also a key scene which shows what happens with Danilov's final report about Vassili.
* Theatrical Trailer HD (2:27) The original theatrical trailer in High Definition.
JUDGMENT CALL:
"ENEMY AT THE GATES" is a very impressive war film. Around the time this film came out, I was impressed by the amount of extras utilized for the film but to see body parts and blood spatters (in one scene it gets on the camera). This was filmed wonderfully!
I was also impressed with the performances with all four major talents. Jude Law did a great job as Vassili, and on one side we know he is the great sniper of Russia but when not on the battlefield, he was a man in love. Ed Harris who plays the antagonist is just a wonderful actor and did a great job playing Major Konig. And the performances by Rachel Weisz and Joseph Fiennes are absolutely fabulous.
If you take the film on its own as a fictionalized story, then you can probably enjoy the screenplay as it shows the bleakness of war but how, during war, love is found and how love was lost. It's a powerful film... But its a powerful film that can be marred by the fact that certain scenes are embellished for the sake of the story. This is not a factual story.
There were protests in Russia of how Russian soldiers and officers were being depicted. For example, soldiers who were forced by their officers to attack Nazi machine guns in a suicide attempt and if they retreated, the officers shot and killed their own. For Russians who honor their war heroes and those who lost their lives at "The Battle of Stalingrad", they have every right to have been upset with how the soldiers were depicted.
But this is a fictional film inspired from three pages of the original book by William Craig. It's indeed a powerful film with strong images of war and a film featuring wonderful performances from the talent. The Blu-ray HD transfer is well-done and fans of the film may want to double dip if they have own the original DVD release solely for picture quality and lossless audio.
I enjoyed "ENEMY AT THE GATES" and I definitely recommend it on Blu-ray!
Want Enemy at the Gates (2001) Discount?
I had high hopes for this film, and perhaps that's why I was so let down by it. A movie based on a very dramatic true life showdown between snipers during World War II featuring the amazingly talented actors Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in Love) and Ed Harris (Pollock) can't miss, right? Unlike the sharpshooters in the story, this flick misses badly. Mostly I blame the director, although the writer gets a big chunk of blame as well. The director, Jean-Jacques Annaud, seems concerned only with the visual effectiveness of the backdrops of this film and with nothing else. Joseph Fiennes is a terrific actor but the director allows his British mannerisms to show even though he's playing a Russian. Every time Fiennes pronounced Tonya as "Tonyer" it made the movie a little less real, which is the last thing a viewer wants from a historical drama.
What I'll never understand is why the writer didn't stay true to history. The historical facts are much more dramatic than the story told here. Gone is the three day standoff between the Russian and German. Remember in Saving Private Ryan when the German sniper was killed by the bullet passing through his scope and hitting him in the head? That's how the real story in Stalingrad ended, but not in this film. The reason for this change is one of the snipers wants to go back to being a regular soldier. No reason is really given for his wishes. This is especially bad since he was pretty keen on becoming a sniper in the first place. The ending is anticlimactic, mainly because for most of the film we see the two snipers playing a game of cat and mouse. When one finally kills the other, it has nothing to do with sniping, and is only marginally connected to the game they were previously playing.
The German sniper (Ed Harris) is woefully two dimensional, though Ed Harris manages to make him interesting even if we are never presented with the character's motivation beyond a single mention that his son was killed at Stalingrad when the Germans first attacked. The Russian's motivation is based in Hollywood clichés. This introduces a love interest and a spunky kid spy, as though simply staying alive isn't motivation enough. Despite some good acting (Bob Hoskins is wonderful as Kruschev), the movie descends into nothing more than a bland Hollywood war story.
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This is a really fun, fun movie. It's not the beat all of science fiction as it was hyped when it was released, but it certainly is a good combination high adventure, situation comedy, cyberpunk, and Bruce Willis gun fighting action. Doesn't make sense? Don't worry. I'll explain.
