Enemy at the Gates (2001)

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 | Political Officer

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:

Unfortunately, in real life, there was no happy reunion for Vassili and Tania: by the battle's end, each thought the other dead, and Tania learned years later that not only was her lover still alive, but had recently married.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: On the DVD cover, the Moison-Nagant Russian Rifle has a left hand bolt action. This is never found in any variation of this rifle. All original military bolt action Moison-Nagant rifles (M91, M91/30, M38, M44 etc.) are right hand bolt actions.

Quotes:

Vasilli: Ludmilla and Anton were killed today. And it was my fault.
Danilov: No, I'm sure that's not true.
Vasilli: It was a German sniper. I walked them right into his trap.
Danilov: What else can you tell me?
Vasilli: He didn't relocate. A sniper who doesn't relocate isn't normal. He was very good. It wasn't just his shooting, it was his instinct. He was a step ahead of me all the time.
Danilov: That's because he knows everything about you. His name is Konig. Major Konig. They've sent them here to find you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005) (TV)

An extrordinary work of raw skill and imagination.

A gut-wrenching and impressive hide-and-seek thriller that uses the bloody battle of Stalingrad (during the second World War) as the clever disguise here for a real battle of courage and determination. The film follows a young and highly talented Russian sniper from the Urals, Vassili Zaitsev (Jude Law - "eXistenZ", "The Talented Mr. Ripley"), who gains national fame from the help of Danilov (Joesph Fiennes - "Shakespeare in Love"), a propoganda officer and his true love and fellow sniper, Tania (Rachael Weisz), who is also flirting with Danilov.

However, the Germans have an ace sniper of their own in Erwin Koning (Ed Harris - "Pollock"), a seasoned and out-spoken Major who comes to Stalingrad only to pick off Vassili. And before Koning leaves, his superior officer asks how he'll find Vassili. Koning says, " I'll fix it so he finds me."

The love triangle that director Jean-Jacques Annaud and co-writer Alain Godard put in the story shows that the pair took a chance and I'll give them credit for doing it. Plus, the love scene that Law and Weisz have is one of the strangest (no offense to either one) that I've seen.

The film's best moments come when Vassili tries to catch Koning off guard, but the problem is Koning is aware of what Vassili is capable of. I won't say how it's done, but the final confrontation is a genuine nail-bitter.

All of the performances here are powerhouse and that includes Bob Hoskins as Nikita Kruschev, a snarling and impatient man and Ron Perlman, who portrays Koulikov, a lieutenant whose teeth are all metal and serves as a guide for Vassili.

Robert Frassie ("Ronin") handles the movie's photography with care and the appearrence of Stalingrad itself reminded me heavily of the war-torn cities shown in Spielsburg's "Saving Private Ryan" and Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket". Also, James Horner conducts a tender and extremely mournful score that leaves a quiet yet important reminder of how awful war is.

"ENEMY AT THE GATES" is an extrodinary work of raw skill and imagination.