Enemy at the Gates (2001)

A Russian sniper and a German sniper play a game of cat-and-mouse during the Battle of Stalingrad.

Director:

Jean-Jacques Annaud

Writers:

Jean-Jacques Annaud, Alain Godard

Stars:

Jude Law, Ed Harris, Rachel Weisz

6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 Matveev	...	Grandfather

Storyline

During the WWII battle of Stalingrad, two snipers, a Russian, and a German, are locked in a battle of wills and marksmanship, while the Russian is boosted to the status of hero by a political official.

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Plot Keywords:

russian | german | sniper | battle | stalingrad | 

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Taglines:

Some Men Are Born To Be Heroes.

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Genres:

Drama | History | Thriller | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong graphic war violence and some sexuality

Details

Country:

USA Germany UK Ireland

Language:

English German Russian

Release Date:

16 March 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Enemigo al acecho

Filming Locations:

Babelsberg, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$68,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,033,164 (UK) (16 March 2001)

Gross:

$51,396,781 (USA) (6 July 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Mandalay Pictures, KC Medien

Technical Specs

Runtime:

131 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Joseph Fiennes was the first actor cast.

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Goofs

In the scene where Zaitsev is trying retrieve his rifle with a string and pocketknife, the German shoots the string, but the bolt on his rifle is not locked down. This would have resulted in a misfire and possibly would have injured the shooter.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Grandfather: [whispering to boy aiming rifle] I am a stone. I do not move. Very slowly, I put snow in my mouth. Then 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 do not tremble. I have no fear. I'm a big boy now. Ready Vassili? Now, Vassili, fire!

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Crazy Credits

The end credits are slanted and curved

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Connections

Spoofed in Red Faction II (2002)

User Reviews

Opening the gates of my mind

At first glance I must admit I thought "Oh no!" not another war movie trying to cash in on the success that Saving Private Ryan had. However when I viewed this film it turned out to be a great surprise in my mind. Its the story of a man brought to fame in a form of propaganda to help the disintegrating Russian forces keep faith. The boy (Law) was obviously talented however nearly lost his own faith when poised against his greatest challenge, the prized German sniper. The story line throughout kept me glued to the screen leading up to a wonderful climax.

The wonder of friendship and love also have a great deal in the plot and realistically portrays both in those times of chaos and death. I urge any reader who is doubting this films credentials to swallow their pride and sit down to watch this film. You will not be disapointed in the least.

In saying this I would like to just add that I feel there could have been improvement in the accents as sometimes I was finding it hard to grasp that the Germans were fighting the Russians and not the English, but otherwise 10 out of 10.