Enemy At The Gates DVD

Advantages: stunning visuals,
Disadvantages: grim, gritty and a bit gory

Whilst masses of films have been churned out about the European campaigns of the Second World War, there have been few films set on the Russian front. We all know why this is. The Americans are soley responsible for winning the war and any part of the fighting that they were not involved in is not worth learning about. There has been a move recently to make more realistic historical movies and this , I think re-dresses the balance and reminds us ...
...site of some of the most horrific and desperate struggles. The action takes place in Stalingrad, a city that became a personal battle between, Hitler and Stalin, a city in ruins and a city still heavily populated with Russian civilians. The main protaganists are a young hunter turned sniper, Vassili Zaitsev (Jude Law) and a German marksman called Major Koning (Ed Harris). Due to the nature of the battlefield they are on, conventional war is difficult ... Read review

Advantages: Superb extras and a very well presented disc.
Disadvantages: Dull movie after a great start and potential sound problems on some players.

...time. So, is Enemy At The Gates worth your viewing time? Umm, the battle scenes are excellent, the special effects are good and the opening 20-30 minutes bring the brutality of Communist Russia during wartime into really sharp focus but aside from that it's all rather mediocre. The casting I had something of a hard time with for starters. It was difficult to take it all that seriously when all the actors speak in rather plumby English accents(arguably ...
...over! Safe in that knowledge Enemy At The Gates becomes little more than watching two men stumbling around amongst the rubble with a silly love triangle thrown it to add something else to it all. Not my idea of fun and I was bored by the 60 minute mark with another 65 to go... Sadly, this could have been a far more interesting movie if it had had the intelligence to explore some of its more interesting themes. We are given a taste of the importance ... Read review

Advantages: A very complex, thought provoking film
Disadvantages: Not ideal for an easy nights viewing

...along a similar lines comes Enemy At The Gate a superb film made back in 2001. Based on a true story this film tells the story of an events that prevented the fall of Stalingrad. It's 1942 and the Russian city of Stalingrad is under siege from German troops and the Russian army is reeling. The Russians are shipping men in by train and then boat. After a vicious battle in the town square a lot of soldiers are left dead, however in amongst them one ...
...later he is joined by Danilov (Joseph Fiennes),a political officer, who crashes his car trying to escape the German's and hides in amongst s group of dead soldiers till the Germans pass. Danilov spots a group of Germans and proceeds to grab a rifle to take them out. Being a high ranking officer he has no idea how to shot. This is where Zaitsev steps up and takes out all 5 Germans with just 5 shots. He's just a farm boy from the Urrals but a crack ... Read review

Advantages: Great battle scenes, tense action
Disadvantages: Some average acting

Enemy at the Gates is a film directed and produced by Jean-Jacques Annaud (Seven years in Tibet) and was released in 2001. The film is loosely based around the real life exploits of Vassili Zaitsev (Jude Law), a Russian sniper who fought in the battle for the ruined city of Stalingrad during the Second World War. The film starts in a snowy field with boy lying next to a bush holding a rifle. About fifty metres away a wolf is prowling in the snow ...
...The boy watches the wolf plodding through the snow and aims his rifle as these words are uttered in a barely perceptible whisper, “I am a stone, I do not move. I put snow in my mouth so he won’t see my breath. I take my time, I let him come closer. I have only one bullet, I aim at his eye; very gently my finger presses on the trigger. I have no fear, I‘m a big boy now” As the scene pans out we see that next to him is his Grandfather and it is him ... Read review

Advantages: So bad it's good.
Disadvantages: So bad.

...during the Battle of Stalingrad. Enemy At The Gates is yet another one of those historically-accurate-well-not-quite,-maybe-a-little-ok-it-never-happened-at-all movies, that Hollywood is currently spewing along with the likes of Black Hawk Down, U571 and Behind Enemy Lines. U571 is probably the biggest offender of not being accurate with its gasping snub to the English and the changing of an English Sub to an American one just so that in years to ...
...to think. Enemy At The Gates then, is another glorification of battle with lots of ‘Private Ryan’ gore, ‘Matrix’ effects and ridiculous Dick Van Dyck style accents (no they’re not all cockney, but if they’re cockneys as bad as their Russian I don’t want to hear it, E’llo Mary!) The only problem with stealing styles from other movies is that you’d better make sure you do it better than they did. Unfortunately Director Jean Jacques Annaud didn’t think ... Read review

Advantages: continuation of the hit film 'Stargate'
Disadvantages: occasional dissapointing episodes

...a hit new series continuing the journey of jack o'neill through the stargate col. o'neill (played by richard dean anderson) leads his team into a network of new worlds, discovering new races, enemies and allies. we return to daniel jackson (played by michael shanks) as he helps unravel the secrets of the gate system. As those in the uk are unable to obtain the complete series one, this dvd pack is ideal. the episodes are generally very good, with humor science historical information aswell as action. the characters are loveable and this is only the first part in the series' seventh season. i found the dvd to be quite good, and the episodes just as. an essential buy for any stargate sg1 fans... Read review

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