Enemy At The Gates (DVD)

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 ...

steerpyke 22.07.2004 (25.06.2005) · Read full review
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Review of Enemy At The Gates (DVD)

...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 ...

wampyrii 24.06.2003 (29.06.2003) · Read full review
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Review of Enemy At The Gates (DVD)

...war then the British funded Enemy of the Gates sounded like a break from the norm. The setting in the Russian city gives it a slightly different spin on the typical war film with all of the action taking place in the city of Stalingrad. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this movie and it certainly stands up amongst the best war films in the genre. With the backing of the British studios the direction comes from French director Jean-Jacques ...
...His direction is superb and he has all the scene’s set up perfectly throughout the war ravaged City centre. He has somehow captured exactly what you would expect the city to have looked like with mud and dirt everywhere. He’s made the film look visually superb with the right lighting and scene setting and that adds a real sense of realism to his direction and in turn to the fell of the film as a whole. It also helps that the plot doesn’t seem to ...

Andy.mack 03.08.2003 · Read full review
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Review of Enemy At The Gates (DVD)

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 ...

kepler3001 05.03.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Enemy At The Gates (DVD)

...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 ...

willgould 25.04.2002 (12.06.2002) · Read full review
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Review of Enemy At The Gates (DVD)

“Ooh, they don’t make ‘em like they used to” screams your Aunt Ethel, her dentures making a sickening squelch as she sucks them back onto the roof of her mouth. As her fingers roam around the Quality Street tin for a brazil nut in caramel, you stare at the TV. It’s Xmas. Once more you have to go “oooh!” when the German says “good luck” as the English make bad their escape in ITV’s surprise ...
...your Matrixes (“they make me head hurt!”), your Pulp Fictions (“too much bloody swearing!”) and your Basic Instincts (“here, she’ll catch her death going out like that!”). Rightly so. Fortunately for the shrivelled old hag – and for all you lovely ciaoers out there, it’s taken a Frenchman to direct a great war film with British and American actors playing Russians and Germans, mostly in their ...

peppersinclaire 18.12.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Enemy At The Gates (DVD)

Well I must be one of the few people who haven’t seen either Saving Private Ryan or the TV spin off Band of Brothers, so I’ve come to this film fresh without any preconceptions of how the film should look. The only thing I did expect was that it would be vastly different from the 60’s films that regularly appear on daytime TV to fill the hours up before children’s TV start – and thankfully I was right. The 1st thing ...
...Americans in the plot. The film is based on the true-life story of the siege of Stalingrad by the Germans, which means that the Russians are the heroes. And the Russians are played by Brits whilst Americans play the Germans – how this idea was ever sold to Hollywood I don’t know but thankfully Paramount threw $70m at this movie to make it truly realistic and gripping. The film follows a young Russian soldier Vassili Zaitsev (Jude Law) ...

brownp1 22.11.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Enemy At The Gates (DVD)

"Enemy At The Gates" was nothing like I expected, but then again, I'm not sure what I expected. Another World War 2 movie, good guys and bad guys. Although totally different, this movie was equally as excellent as "Saving Private Ryan". It shows the 'recruiting' of soldiers for the Russian Army, the lack of weapons and ammunition, the lack of training before these young men were expected to fight in battle. It shows the mentality of the Russian ...
...withdraw when they were being wiped out by superior manpower and ordinance. Finally, it introduces us to a select group of fighters, snipers, and the man they idolize. Their hero. Vassili Zaitsev. A sure shot, who is feted by the media in order to fuel the patriotism that will provide live bodies to replace those killed in battle. And the German sharpshooter brought in to track and destroy this thorn in the Germans side. In amongst the backdrop ...

poet831 30.04.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Enemy At The Gates (DVD)

...that you will probably enjoy Enemy At The Gates. Told from a slightly different perspective, the plot focuses on the battle that raged over the possession of the city of Stalingrad during World War II. The opening of the film is particularly reminiscent of Spielberg’s Oscar-winning epic as we see thousands of soldiers being shot and killed by fighter planes as they approach the city’s docks, ready to fight off the German advances. The ...
...helpless the troops really were in resisting their destiny, as we are shown bullets entering bodies, limbs floating in the water, etc. The cinematography and the special effects are impressive throughout, and we get more than our fair share of bombs, explosions and gunfire. So what’s it all about? Things are looking bleak for the Red Army as Hitler’s troops look set on conquering the city of Stalingrad. Morale is very low amongst the ...

cribby 16.05.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Enemy At The Gates (DVD)

...any way. Thanks. Enemy at the gates was often staring at me on the shelves in the video section of Spar, but I always seemed to scan past it, then I got sick of seeing it there, and after reading a few decent reviews on the film, decided to give it a try as I like war films, but don’t think anything can be as good as Saving Private Ryan is. However, I’m always one for giving something a try, so off I trundled to the dishy shop assistant ...
...as I could! Enemy at the gates was made with a budget of $70m and I expect every last cent of it was used! As with most movies though, it reaped back the budget and more just from the box office income. Making $51.4m in the US and £3.8m in the UK alone. That’s just 2 countries! Actually, it’s a continent and a country, but shhh and no one will notice! The film is set in 1942, the height of WW2. The premise is that Germany are taking over ...

GR-Design 16.09.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Enemy At The Gates (DVD)

Well, it would appear that war films are fashionable again - not my favourite genre, you understand, but I'm not complaining if films with as much quality as this are going to come out of it! I'd say it is certainly the best film that I've seen this year (and I've seen quite a few), being highly memorable, absorbing, well acted and with a pleasing touch of originality it in. The film stars Jude Law (fresh from acting Matt Damon off the screen in ...
...name that I cant even begin to spell, in the seige of Stalingrad during the winter of 1942. Amongst the rubble of the blitzed city, he plays a dangerous game of cat and mouse with German soldiers and snipers (notably Ed Haris as ace marksman Major Konig), along with fellow snipers (including love interest Rachel Weisz). Turned by political officer Joseph Fiennes from a ordinary soldier into a propoganda hero after Law saves his life, (in order to ...

Collingwood21 20.03.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Enemy At The Gates (DVD)

...a German adversary. Zaitsev’s enemy is Major Konig (Ed Harris) an experienced sharp shooter. The two play a deadly game of hide and seek through the war torn cityscape. The plot has a love story running throughout where Tania Chernova (Rachel Weisz) is in love with Vassili. However Danilov is has also fallen for Tania. It is a great plot that is slow at times but is incredible during the sniper confrontations. The acting throughout is superb ...
...a Jude Law film before but though his acting was brilliant. He is very convincing as the Russian sniper and manages to make the love story convincing too as he has an on screen chemistry with Rachel Weisz. Joseph Fiennes is excellent as Danilov and I feel he was central to holding the plot together. He manages to do this superbly and is believable in his role. Ed Harris is wonderful in his role as the German sniper. He has a relatively small speaking ...

elspeth334 20.03.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Enemy At The Gates (DVD)

Released in 2001, Enemy at the Gates is a war film set during the battle of Stalingrad and starring Jude Law as russian peasant-turned-sniper Vassili Zaitsev and Ed Harris as Major Erwin Konig, an elite German sniper who gets the job of tracking down and taking out Vassili after the russian attracts the attention of his superiors on account of his hunting-honed sniping skills and is moulded into an important Soviet propaganda weapon. The film's opening ...
...Nazi lines that echoes Saving Private Ryan in its stark and uncompromising brutality. Troops are handed one rifle between three and instructed to pick the weapons up when their wielder is killed; German Stukkas strafe overcrowded Soviet troop boats with machineguns whilst Sargeants pump revolver rounds into anyone that tries to escape by jumping over the side; conscripts are mown down from the front by concentrated german fire whilst NKVD machinegunners ...

Burning_Darkness 02.11.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Enemy At The Gates (DVD)

...commercial viability. Jean-Jacques Annaud's Enemy at the Gates, however, finds a delightful compromise between these two spheres of fact and fiction, one which ought be noted by all prospective "historic" directors. What EATG offers is a wholesome and captivating adaptation of a supposedly true war story, yet the background horrors of the struggle for Stalingrad are as depressingly accurate a depiction of wartime's hellish nature as one will ever ...
...taken the vast majority of Europe under its control. Stalingrad is the next in line for the systematic submission to the Third Reich, and should it be taken there seems little hope left for Stalin and his people. This city is a major tool for propaganda in title alone - as commander Nikita Khrushchev states bluntly, it "bears the name of the boss." It is this issue of propaganda that proves so crucial a concept however. Political officer Danilov ...

Quinion 04.07.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Enemy At The Gates (DVD)

What a film! I loved it! The story is based on the Soviet Union's desperate defence of Stalingrad against the Germans during World War II. Straight away, the film lets you see the desperation of the defence mixed with the confusion and fear that blanketed the conscripted forces. Vasily Zaitsev, Jude Law, is one of these... from the train-station, off the train at the river, onto the boat, getting shot at half way across by Stuka Dive Bombers, off ...
...told to follow the bloke in front who was given the gun and when he gets shot, to pick up the rifle and carry on... it's blindingly quick into the action and you feel just how Zaitsev must have... like being carried along on the crest of a wave straight toward the cliff that was the German machine gun emplacements. Miraculously, Zaitsev survives the German salvo and then the Soviet one, mowing down their own soldiers who were retreating. Danilov ...

poodu 15.04.2002 · Read full review
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Review of Enemy At The Gates (DVD)