Enemy at the Gates (2001)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Jean-Jacques Annaud

Writers (WGA):

Jean-Jacques Annaud (written by) &
Alain Godard (written by)

Release Date:

16 March 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | Thriller | War

Tagline:

Some Men Are Born To Be Heroes.

Plot:

Two Russian and German snipers play a game of cat-and-mouse during the Battle of Stalingrad.

Plot Keywords:

Russian | Sniper | Stalingrad | WWII | Rifle

Awards:

6 nominations

Cast

Jude Law	...	Vassili Zaitsev
Ed Harris	...	Major König
Rachel Weisz	...	Tania Chernova
Joseph Fiennes	...	Commisar Danilov
Bob Hoskins	...	Nikita Khrushchev
Ron Perlman	...	Koulikov
Eva Mattes	...	Mother Filipov
Gabriel Thomson	...	Sacha Filipov (as Gabriel Marshall-Thomson)
Matthias Habich	...	General Paulus
Sophie Rois	...	Ludmilla
Ivan Shvedoff	...	Volodya
Mario Bandi	...	Anton
Hans Martin Stier	...	Red Army General
Clemens Schick	...	German NCO (as Clemans Schick)
Mikhail Matveyev	...	Grandfather (as Mikhail Matveev)

Also Known As:

Duell - Enemy at the Gates (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong graphic war violence and some sexuality.

Runtime:

131 min

Country:

USA | Germany | UK | Ireland

Language:

English | German | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #37903) | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Malaysia:18SG (uncut version) | Malaysia:U (cut version) | Philippines:R-18 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA (original rating) | Australia:M (TV rating) | Canada:14A | Chile:14 | Finland:K-15 | France:U | Germany:16 (f) (bw) | Hong Kong:IIB | India:A | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R15 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Singapore:M18 | Singapore:PG (cut) | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Babelsberg, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Most of the characters in the film are based on real people.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Vasily and Danilov arrive at the banquet with Krushchev, the Soviet National Anthem can be heard playing in the background. The version of the anthem played, however, was not adopted until early 1944, just over a year after that scene takes place.

Quotes:

Vassili Zaitsev: [Vassili sees his own picture while reading the Red Army newspaper as it is coming off the press] That's me.
[he reads the caption]
Vassili Zaitsev: "Vassili Zaitsev." That's me!
Danilov: No, you're not dreaming! It's your name! We made the front page! They haven't changed a word! Do you have any idea what this means? It's not the back page. It's not the second page. It's the front page.
Danilov, Vassili Zaitsev: [together] The front page!
Danilov: They're going to reprint our article everywhere, in the Caucasus, in the Crimea... even in the Urals!
[he laughs]
Danilov: Tomorrow morning, Stalin himself will be sitting over breakfast, reading my words, memorizing your name. We're famous, Vassili. Khrushchev loved the article. He's promoted me to the General Staff... and you... to sniper division.
Vassili Zaitsev: Well, that's good.
Danilov: It's *very* good.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Red Faction II (2002) (VG)

Everything that Pearl Harbor isn't

Bursting into my Top Five war movies of all time is this film. A gritty and realistic portrayal of one of the worst battles in the history of war - the 1942-43 armwrestle for the city of Stalingrad.

Much has been made of the actors speaking in their native accents, but this seems a trivial complaint - the film is in English after all! More important is the masterful manner of speech of the actors - Bob Hoskins' gutteral exultations as Ukrainian potato farmer Nikita Krushchev; Joseph Fiennes' pompous and proud intonations as the political officer; Jude Law's common man for the peasant turned soldier; Ed Harris with the clipped and crisp tones of a German officer.

This is my pick for the best film of the year so far (August). It is truly a cinematic masterpiece, with horrific scenes of the violence of war, brilliant dialog and heart-wrenching tragedy. Expect to be moved.