Enemy at the Gates (2001)

A Russian 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, Joseph Fiennes

4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jude Law	...	Vassili
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

In World War II, the fall of Stalingrad will mean the collapse of the whole country. The Germans and Russians are fighting over every block, leaving only ruins behind. The Russian sniper Vassili Zaitsev stalks the Germans, taking them out one by one, thus hurting the morale of the German troops. The political officer Danilov leads him on, publishing his efforts to give his countrymen some hope. But Vassili eventually starts to feel that he can not live up to the expectations on him. He and Danilov fall in love with the same girl, Tanya, a female soldier. From Germany comes the master sniper König to put an end to the extraordinary skilled Russian sniper.

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Plot Keywords:

sniper | stalingrad | battle | russian | battle of stalingrad | 

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Taglines:

A hero never chooses his destiny. His destiny chooses him.

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong graphic war violence and some sexuality

Details

Country:

Ireland UK France Germany USA

Language:

English German Russian

Release Date:

16 March 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Enemigo al acecho

Filming Locations:

Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$68,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,810,266, 18 March 2001

Gross USA:

$51,401,758

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$96,976,270

Company Credits

Production Co:

Swanford Films, MP Film Management, Little Bird

Technical Specs

Runtime:

131 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

While much is said of Stalingrad being of symbolic value for Hitler, it was a transit hub for oil deliveries for the Soviets, who got their oil from Chechnya and Azerbaijan at the time. The whole southern focus of the Axis campaign on the Eastern Front was to capture the Caucasus oilfields.

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Goofs

The locomotive hauling the troop train is a German "Kriegslok" ("war locomotive"). Captured Kriegsloks were not used by the Soviet Railways until after the war, and even then used mainly in the Baltic and border states.

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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

Referenced in Medal of Honor: Allied Assault - Spearhead (2003)

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Soundtracks

Cto Stois, Hacajas' Tonkaja Ajabina
Written by Aleksandr B. Shalov
(C) Rara Music, Baden-Baden
Performed by Inna Samain, Victor Goggol, Sergiy Chernov, Olexandr Derhachov

User Reviews

A good cat and mouse game.

Ed Harris (the Nazi) and Jude Law (the Russian) are matched against each other as World War II snipers serving their countries. Joseph Fiennes is also good in a pivotal role as is Bob Hoskins as Nikita Khrushchev and Rachel Weisz as a strong female character. This is a compelling look at the constantly needed reminder that simply, war is terrible and the innocent victims that suffer is even more tragic. Director Jean-Jacques Annaud's still framed direction has always lacked a depth of character development but he still makes admirable films for the high end lovers of film art.