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Summary: "Enemy at the Gates" is based on
the true story of a Russian sniper's heroic acts and the associated
patriotic propaganda that turned the morale of the Russian people during
World War II. The turn of events proved to be critical in Russia's
defense of Stalingrad, a key city that would hold back the Nazi's
advancement over the rest of Mother Russia. The movie focuses on the
lives of the people who were close to this sniper. It's a terrific
war-time movie that has heart-stopping action, deep dramatic flair,
character studies, and a touch of romance. I highly recommend
it. Should not be missed.
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The Story
"Enemy at the Gates" is a gut-wrenching war-time
thriller that is based on a true story. The scenario is 1942 in the
middle of World War II,
Hitler's Third Reich has taken over Europe and is now invading much of
Russia. If they're able to conquer the city of Stalingrad, the Nazis
would almost have control of Mother Russia. That is why the Russians
have to defend this symbolic city at all costs.
Enter Vassili Zaitsev (Jude Law), a sharp shooter who manages
to knock off German officers with uncanny accuracy. A political
officer by the name of Danilov (Joseph Fiennes) discovers Vassili's
remarkable marksmanship and builds Vassili up to a national war-time hero in
the hopes of boosting the sagging morale of the Russian troops and
people. The word of Vassili's heroic actions quickly spreads as the
military newspaper is distributed to the front lines of Russia. And
the resulting boost in morale proves critical to the Russian troop's efforts in
defending this key city. As much as Danilov realizes how much
Vassili's heroic actions mean to the war-time effort, he can't help but be
jealous of Vassili's talents and richness:
"We tried so hard to create a society that was equal,
where there'd be nothing to envy your neighbor.
But there's always something to envy...
In this world, even a Soviet one,
there will always be a rich and a poor.
Rich in gifts... poor in gifts.
Rich in love... poor in love."
Performances were strong across the board, particularly by
Jude Law. The war scenes were fantastically portrayed, nearly as
remarkable as the opening scenes of "Saving Private Ryan".
"Enemy at the Gates" has a fantastic combination of action, drama,
suspense, and romance. The movie gets my emphatic nod of approval.
Don't miss it. It's clearly among this year's best.
The Extras
"Enemy At The Gates" contains the following bonus
material:
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"Through the Crosshairs" behind-the-scenes featurette
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"Inside Enemy at the Gates" exclusive cast and crew interviews features
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Additional scenes: nine deleted scenes, entitled
"The Pier", "Sacha Dogtags", "Trenches",
"Soup Time", "Sleep Koulikov", "Black
Cats", Tania Cries", "Hang On", and "Davilov's
Report"
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Theatrical trailer
Because this is such a good movie, I wish there were
even more bonus features. But those included will have to do
for now. The deleted scenes were particularly worthwhile.
Video & Audio
The image quality of this anamorphic
widescreen DVD is excellent. The colors are accurate and
saturated, while shadow detail is very good. The Dolby
Digital 5.1 soundtrack is well balanced with very aggressive use of the surround channels
during the gunfire exchanges. The dialog
consistently remains crystal clear regardless of the soundtrack explosions
and musical score.
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Visit the "Enemy at the
Gates" theatrical web site and the Paramount
Home Video web site.
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Associated equipment used in evaluation: Sony
KP-61V45 61" rear projection TV (4:3 screen aspect ratio), Sony KV-27V66
27" TV (4:3 screen aspect ratio), Sony
STR-V444ES A/V receiver, NHT 2.1 as left/right main speakers, NHT 1.1C center channel speaker, NHT
SuperZero as surround speakers, Monster Cable M-series S-Video cable MSV-500, Monster
Cable Interlink LightSpeed 100 (Toslink) optical cable, Monster Cable XP speaker
wires, and Sony MDR-V600 studio monitor headphones. Our home theater equipment was calibrated
with the Video
Essentials DVD.
Be sure to check out our Top 10 DVDs of the year
2001 and our list of this year's Oscar winners on DVD.
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United We Stand
