Enemy at the Gates

Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud Jean-Jacques Annaud

Overview

A turning point in 20th century war history is the focus of this fact-based account of the 1942-1943 battle of Stalingrad, in which the Germans were finally defeated by Russian influence -- one of the bloodiest battles in World War II history. The film stars Jude Law as Vassili, a marksman from the Urals who is transported to Stalingrad in 1942, and a master German sniper, Major Koenig (Ed Harris). Koenig, an expert German sniper, is determined to eliminate his formidable opponent by any means necessary; meanwhile, Vassili has joined forces with Danilov (Joseph Fiennes), a young Russian political adversary, who is impressed by Vassili's skills and raises his profile in the Soviet Union. Both Vassili and Danilov become involved with Tanya (Rachel Weisz), whose Jewish parents have been captured by the Germans and have forced her to take up with the men on a sniper expedition. Koenig and Vassili begin to develop traps for each other, until fate inevitably must bring the two sharpshooters together. This large-scale production, financed mostly by Teuton companies, also features Bob Hoskins as Nikita Krushchev and Ron Perlman as an aging Russian sniper.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/25/2017
UPC:	0032429265104
Original Release:	2001
Rating:	R
Source:	PARAMOUNT
Language:	English
Time:	2:10:00

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Jude Law	Vassili Zaitsev
Joseph Fiennes	Commisar Danilov
Rachel Weisz	Tania Chernova
Ed Harris	Major König
Bob Hoskins	Nikita Khrushchev
Ron Perlman	Koulikov
Eva Mattes	Mother Filipov
Gabriel Marshall-Thomson	Sacha Filipov
Matthias Habich	General Paulus
Lenn Kudrjawizki	Comrade in Train
Dan Van Husen	Political Officer
Ivan Shvedov	Volodya
Sophie Rois	Ludmilla
Mario Bandi	Anton
Hans Martin Stier	Red Army General
Clemens Schick	German NCO
Hendrik Arnst	Fat Colonel
Claudius Freyer	Aide de Camp
Dietmar Nieder	Blond Captain
Bernd Lambrecht	Captain with Lighter
Jim Dowdall	Stubborn Feldwebel
Maxim Kovalevski	Politruk
Peter Silbereisen	Sweating Officer
Markus Majowski	Stammering Officer
Robert Stadlober	Spotter
Gotthard Lange	Corpse Robber
Anna Böttcher	Female Russian Typist
Holger Handtke	Paulus' Aide de Camp
Marc Bischoff	Stealing Photographer
Mark Zak	Russian Captain at Headquarters
Thomas Petruo	Russian Lieutenant
Dmitri Alexandrov	Comrade in Shelter
David Pagel	Pravda Interviewer
Galina Dobberstein	Izvestiya Interviewer
Igor Rozinsky	Krasnaya Zvezda Interviewer
Sergei Tokarev	Russian Reporter
Tom Wlaschiha	Soldier
Natalya Bondar	Woman Officer
Dana Cebulla	Athletic Female Sniper
Piotr Papierz	Politruk
Jarek Wozniak	Politruk
Genia Makarov	Politruk
Werner Dähn	Politruk
Birol Ünel	Politruk
Grigori Kofmann	Politruk
Vladimir Vilanov	Politruk
André Emanuel Kaminski	Russian Trench Officer
Michael Schenk	Russian Officer
Jury Cooper	Russian NCO
Manfred Witt	Russian NCO
Arslan Kodirov	Chechen Sniper
Axel Neumann	Gaunt German Prisoner
Morin Smole	Sniper
Inna Samain	Sniper
Keta Burowa	Female Russian Radio Operator
Toby Cockerell	Russian Sharpshooter
Jürgen G.H. Hoppmann	Russian railroad worker
Eddy Joseph	Voice on Tannoy
Valentin Platareanu	General Schmidt
Mikhail Matveev	Grandfather
Martin Glyn Murray	Narrator
James Horner	Composer

Technical Credits

Jean-Jacques Annaud

Alain Godard

Jean-Jacques Annaud	Director,Screenwriter,Producer
Alain Godard	Screenwriter,Executive Producer
John D. Schofield	Producer
Roland Pellegrino	Executive Producer
Alisa Tager	Executive Producer
Martin Cantwell	Sound Effects
Martin Mueller	Sound/Sound Designer
Chris Carpenter	Sound/Sound Designer
Eddy Joseph	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

A sober, thoughtful, non-jingoistic World War II movie, Enemy at the Gates views the last century's bloodiest conflict from a different perspective and tells a remarkably absorbing story based on actual people and events. It takes place in 1942 during the siege of Stalingrad, which finds poorly supplied Russian soldiers mounting a valiant defense against relentless and overwhelming Nazi forces. Jude Law stars as a young Russian sniper whose unerring marksmanship claims the lives of innumerable German officers and thus makes him an invaluable asset to the propaganda machine run by Joseph Fiennes. Ed Harris plays a celebrated Nazi officer, also a distinguished marksman, sent to Stalingrad and charged with eliminating the now-legendary Soviet sniper before he can further demoralize the invaders. Writer-director Jean-Jacques Annaud (The Name of the Rose) dramatizes the Russian resistance with a documentarian's zeal, painstakingly noting the privations endured by Stalingrad's defenders. The suspenseful cat-and-mouse game between Law and Harris is skillfully developed, as is a romantic subplot in which Law and Fiennes compete for the affections of gorgeous Rachel Weisz. Enemy at the Gates never flinches when presenting war's horrors, but it acknowledges the essential humanity of the combatants on both sides -- an achievement that makes Annaud's film one of the very best of its type. The DVD edition includes a behind-the-scenes featurette, cast and crew interviews, additional scenes, and theatrical trailers.