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 enlarge | Actors: Matthais Habich, Ed Harris, Bob Hoskins, Eva Mattes, Ron Perlman
Studio: Paramount
Category: DVD
List Price: $9.98
Buy Used: $1.45
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Avg. Customer Rating:  376 reviews
Sales Rank: 2055
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 131
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.5
MPN: 097363386247
ISBN: 0792172760
UPC: 097363386247
EAN: 9780792172765
ASIN: B00003CXRA
Theatrical Release Date: 2001
Release Date: August 14, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Remember the line about histories being written by the victors? December 23, 2006
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
First off, the star rating for this movie is 3.625 stars. This is the averaged conclusion of four of us watching Enemy at the Gates ( we gave it a 4.0, 4.5, 3.0, and 3.0 stars, respectively).
"Well, I thought the acting was pretty darn good" (4.5).
"Good killing scenes" (4.0).
"I thought it was pretty realistic about war... dirty, grimy, and people die" (4.5).
"I thought the sniper scenes were very well done... you have to know your enemy, see your enemy" (4.0).
However:
"It had the "Saving Private Ryan" flavor, mixed with a love story, a story about friendship, and a clear example of the cruelty of war" (3.0).
"It was okay, I guess" (3.0).
Our conclusion? Entertaining and gritty. Not the best of war-themed movies, but John Wayne wasn't swaggering around either. The viewer won't have the best understanding of which aspects of this story were true and which were all Hollywood. The Russians were noble and the Germans were beasts. Remember the line about histories being written by the victors? There you go!
We appreciated the reality of war being presented as "... dirty, grimy, and people die." Certainly, in any war, there are stories of luck, of hope, and of love. We also know that the dirty, grimy, and people dying part predominates. The film is true in that regard. We'll leave the accuracy of the history to other reviewers.
 for once a reluctent hero December 6, 2006
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
In spite of other reviews and critisms this movie is a classic to me and probably a lot closer to fact than most "Hollywood" war movies. Fully accurate or not, how refreshing to have a war hero without an ego. Was the intention to give a full history lesson or to focus on the intriguing game of cat and mouse of the opposing sharpshooters Vassily Zaitzev(Jude Law)and the German Major Konig (Ed Harris)with the battle for Stalingrad as the backdrop. If you want a history lesson get a documentry.Great performances all round.
William Craig's Book on Stalingrad from 1973 brought to life September 24, 2006
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
A central statue display of Children dancing around a Maypole with a Crocodile leering at them while buildings burn after the bombing of a railroad yard in Stalingrad. That was the picture on the original cover of the famous book produced by William Craig that this film used as a resource. It makes an impression immediately as to what nightmares this battle was all about and the film does deliver that impression just as well. I was haunted by the stories in Mr. Craig's book when I first became acquainted with the work in 1980. You can feel the atmosphere in this film. It is very Stalinist in the deep browns, blacks and fiery red of war. As Al Stewart said in his famous song "Roads to Moscow": "and the pale sun of October whispers the Snow will soon be coming..and I wonder when I'll be home again and the morning answers 'never' and the evening sighs and the steely russian skies go on ...forever". So you can imagine how I felt as I sat in the audience for the first showing of this movie. When it was over, the audience sat there...in stunned silence at what had been shown and no one left the theatre as the credits rolled to the end. It was as if everyone could not quite take in all that was given in this movie. It did not fail in trying to tell the personal tales that Craig spoke about, but it tended to center on a few individuals (real people, in most cases, but somewhat romanticized) yet, it does convey a certain sense of the misery of fighting in the city. The director made a few changes in the fates of individuals, added a political officer in the mix to good effect and generally did a good job. A few scenes from the original have been CUT. One in the meeting with Nikita K of political officers where one wets his pants and another when Ed Harris (as Maj. Konig, an Oscar worthy performance!) is sitting in the train and the camera focuses on terribly wounded Germans in another train, stacked like cattle ready to head in the opposite direction, staring at him in a luxurious train car alone is a bit longer before he pulls the curtain down so that he don't have to look at them. The film decends into a personal duel between Harris and Jude Law playing the hero Vassily Zaitzev, two snipers of note. The film misses on other heroes like General Vassili Chuikov or Colonel Ivan Lyudnikov, a division commander who defended the Barrikady factory against the German Pioneer unit. 15 year old Sacha Fillipov was indeed hanged for espionage, but this too was romanticized for effect. I have nothing against it. It is still an effective picture. Not perfect for a History scholar but the film produces the intended result. The truth is that most Americans were unaware of the Russian fight at Stalingrad, only Harrison Salisbury, a reporter for the NY Times, wrote and reported during the war about Soviet fighting that later made for effective books that he wrote as an afterthought. It is still good and makes for an entertaining semi-historical lesson.
 A Rare Recent Movie on Events of the Eastern Front of World War II September 7, 2006
4 out of 8 found this review helpful
As you may have read, this movie covers events from the Battle of Stalingrad 1942, which was the turning point of the war against Nazi Germany. This was a brutal battle during a harsh winter and the casualties were horrific. Brutalities occurred from both sides fighting the battle, the Nazi's, which are well known, and the Soviets, the brutalities of which are alarmingly little known. Considering the library shelves full of the atrocities committed by the Soviets, there remains a dichotomy on the coverage committed by both of these totalitarian regimes. An acknowledgment of the nature of the Soviet Union will be when there's an equivalent Schindler's List Hollywood movie, heaped with loads of awards, and broadcast on network TV without commercial interruption. That day may be a long time off, or may never occur, so there only exist whatever rare movies occur on it. There are a few telling statements here and there, Bob Hoskins as Krushchev, the Communist political leader in the battle, asks another soldier what he thinks can be done to motivate the Soviet soldiers, and he replies threaten their families, to which Krushchev lets out a "pfthh, of course we already tried that!". This is a realistic comment on the mentality of the Russians who killed thousands of their own troops in disciplinary actions. There's a comment on the `political correctness' of the movie. It's the other way around, politically correct would be to say how great the Russians were in WWII. The fact that this Hollywood movie has been released and is un-politically correct is what's surprising, and is why you should view such a rarity.
There is a duel between two snipers in the movie, one German, one Russian. It's should have been more of a back story as opposed to being the plot. There's also a love interest. Apparently aspects of these events did occur, but you should consider this a fictional movie of course, although the historical background certainly isn't. It's not a great movie, because of the sniper and love interest are so-so done, but it's a good movie, and one of the few large screen Hollywood cinematic releases on the subject, is relatively short at a bit over two hours considering the subject matter, and is essential viewing for anyone interested in Stalingrad and the nature of the Soviet Union. If you have further interest, there are numerous documentaries that could and should be watched on the Battle for Stalingrad.
Second World War - the Soviet point of view September 5, 2006
1 out of 5 found this review helpful
An excellent movie ! You really feel that you are there in Stanlingrand. Superb performance by Jude Law and Ed Harris. Unforgettable ! See it, Buy It, Own it !
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