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This film tackles a difficult topic--the battle of Stalingrad. Many believe it was the bloodiest battle in history. So not surprisingly, the film includes a lot of animated violence. But it's inevitable, given the topic. The movie compellingly displays the truly inhuman conditions faced by the Red Army: they were sent against elite Panzer divisions--with no guns. Naturally some tried to retreat, only to be fired on by Stalin's blocking units--commissars who shot and killed any retreating soldiers. This was a turkey shoot, and they were the turkeys. Very disturbing. The duel between the two snipers, the Russian Vassily Zaitsev and the German Erwin Koenig, also receives compelling treatment. Unfortunately the movie fails to convey anything about the personality and character of the Russian people. It does, however, give an accurate portrayal of communist party functionaries and their role in the army. Like the German SS, they were political units, although they were all attached to the regular army and did not form independent combat groups.Read full review
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Intriguing story of 2 snipers stalking each other during the last days when the German armies tried unsuccessfully to take over Stalingrad to be able to capture the must-needed oil fields to support the German war machine. Very tense to watch 2 blue, steel-eyed opponents (Jude Law & Ed Harris) face each other to the end. Great examples of how political war propaganda can be used to motivate people to do things they would rather not. Bob Hoskins' role as Nikita S. Kruschev was accurate & believable. Rachel Weisz role as a female soldier in the Russian Army was also accurate & believable. The Russian female soldiers were just as fierce & unflinching as their male counterparts, fighting side by side. I agree with several reviewers who placed this movie at the same level as "Saving Private Ryan." Not to be missed.Read full review
Enemy At The Gates is the story of the Russian sniper Vassili Zaitsev. Vassili Zaitsev was a real person and was acclaimed the greatest Russian sniper of World War II. Enemy At The Gates is a fact based movie that is of course glamorized for Hollywood. The movie does reveal to the viewer the hardships faced by the beleaguered defenders of Stalingrad during the German invasion of that city during World War II. It is a dramatic story containing a little for every taste. Vassili falls in love with a fellow defender of the city who is also loved by a man who becomes his best friend. His friend betrays him when he finds that the woman has chosen Vassili over him, but repents and helps Vassili in the end. This is a movie about not normal war, but guerrilla fighting, house to house and street to street. The Russian defenders find themselves short of food, ammunition and few safe havens are available to hide from the German invaders. This movie is a reflection of actual events and does not seek to glorify war but to convey the story of a normal boy who becomes a man during war and eventually, a hero to his countrymen. As in real life and real war, Vassili loses much that he holds dear but fights to save his homeland from the invader. For those of you who like the fast action of movies like First Blood, do not expect the same from this movie. To some, this movie might seem slow at times and the love story woven through it might seem distracting. But the intent is to paint Vassili as a real human being and to make the viewer aware of his character as more than just a soldier. Anyone who wants a taste of what war and the losses derived from it might be like, this movie is a stark example of those trying times. I do not believe it suitable for children and most teens would find it to realistic to enjoy it.Read full review
Movie was good and had enormous heart and courage in it. Movie turns bad when it shows Russian leaders shooting their own in order to get them to fight. This cannot be true as it would have had a horrible affect on morale. In Russia the veterans wanted this movie banned because of its false portrayals of shooting their own. Hitler was the monster, not the Russian leaders. Stalin may have been bad but the veterans that were there tell the true story. Individual story line in the movie is good.
This is a great movie that can give the viewer a general idea of what Stalingrad was like. But be aware that the German sniper portrayed in this movie has been proven to never exist although the Soviet sniper Vassilly certainly did. Soviet snipers were also not "true" snipers as we know them today. Many were just machine-gunners who worked in teams and claimed & were credited for every German they gunned down. But the movie will certainly make you feel as if you are there in the rubble with the characters. A good movie to own and I feel most people will watch it more than once.
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