Enemy at the Gates Movie Information

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Movie Information

Overall Rank: 1973

Average Rating: 2.8/4

# of Ratings: 205

Theatrical Release Date: 03/16/2001

Language: English

Genre: Drama

MPAA Rating: R

Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud

Actors: Jude Law, Joseph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Ed Harris, Bob Hoskins, Ron Perlman

Plot: A different kind of war movie, revolving around two snipers from Russia and Germany fighting the small battles that make men into heroes.

Indyfreak - wrote on 01/19/2016

Entertaining WW2 movie that takes the gargantuan battle of Stalingrad as its backdrop for a thrilling duel between rival snipers. One for the Soviet Union (Jude Law) and the other for Nazi Germany (Ed Harris). Both are used as propaganda tools for their own totalitarian regimes as the fighting drags on and on. The performances are good, the battle scenes are hectic, and the musical score is effective.

mitchellyoung - wrote on 04/09/2012

Some of this war film feels flat, though it does present a unique perspective on WWII films. The cat and mouse action scenes between Law and Harris' characters are the film's shining moment, full of tense and edge-of-the-seat moments.

Gustavo² - wrote on 07/30/2010

ENEMY AT THE GATES is not just another war drama, it's a war thriller! It's suspenseful. We don't get to see that every year at the movies. Just wait until the tense scenes in which Jude Law's and Ed Harris's characters hunt each other. Ed Harris is chilling, delivering an efficient low-key turn as the villain. I only watched the movie at home, on DVD, so I can't really say I was in the edge of my seat, but you get the idea. Too bad the writers felt like it needed one of those insipid romantic subplots. Rachel Weisz tries to do her best with an underwritten role. The whole film looks ugly and dirty. Visual splendor was rightfully sacrificed in order to maintain fidelity to the real events.

Daniel Corleone
Movie God

Enemy at the Gates review

Daniel Corleone - wrote on 02/23/2013

"Man will always be man...There is always something to envy...there will always be rich and ppor" A fictional Battle of Stalingrad involving two top snipers. Vassili Zaitsev (Jude Law) survives a massacre together with Danilov (Joseph Fiennes). The pair meets Tania (Rachel Weisz). Koulikov (Ron Perlman) aids Vassili Zaitsev in killing Major Erwin König (Ed Harris). local boy Sacha Fillipov (Gabriel Thomson) will play a huge role. The romantic angle, additional drama with Tania being shot and Danilov's story prolonged the movie. The strategies to "stay ahead" was brilliant. Soundtrack, screenplay and editing were good as well. It reminded this critic of Assassins in a war setting. Special effects and locations were realistic. The acting, obviously a given, were believable. …

Yojimbo
Movie God

"Enemy At The Gates" by Yojimbo

Yojimbo - wrote on 01/27/2012

When a young Russian soldier is held up as a heroic example to the besieged citizens of Stalingrad during WWII, the Nazis send their top marksman to kill him and quell their rising hope. There's a lot about Enemy At The Gates that I admire; the opening sequence is excellent, showing the Russian soldiers as a collection of unwilling young conscripts treated like virtual slaves, used as cannon fodder and just as likely to be shot by their own officers as the enemy. The visuals are also superb, brilliantly recreating the devastated ruins of the city and Annaud's direction makes the cat and mouse game between the two snipers extremely tense and suspenseful. A steely-eyed Ed Harris also puts in a typically excellent performance as the German sharpshooter who locks horns with our hero. …

Franz Patrick
Movie God

Snipers Duel = Entertaining

Franz Patrick - wrote on 10/05/2008

I really liked the fact that this movie was set in World War II but the point of view was from the Russians. I haven’t seen many films that tried to tell the story of what happened in Stalingrad so this was refreshing and fascinating. I also liked that the core of the picture is the duel between two snipers: one is Russian (Jude Law), the other is German (Ed Harris). It’s not that hard to root for Law because of his usual puppy dog charm and Harris was an effective villain because of his cold, steely eyes. Rachel Weisz is also great in this because she is both quite bookish and able to wield a rifle. Lastly, I liked Gabriel Thomson and his spying ways. It provided something different among the exploding bombs and bullets piercing people’s bodies. Even though I thought Law and Weisz …