Enemy at the Gates

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Enemy at the Gates

R

2001

2h 11m

War

Drama

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Popcornmeter

53%

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139 Reviews

82%

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100,000+ Ratings

Vassili (Jude Law) is a young Russian sharpshooter who becomes a legend when a savvy polical officer (Joseph Fiennes) makes him the hero of his propaganda campaign. Their friendship is threatened when both men fall in love with a beautiful female soldier (Rachel Weisz). As the battle for the city rages, Vassili faces the ultimate challenge when the Nazi command dispatches its most elite marksman (Ed Harris) to hunt down and kill the man who has become the hope of all Russia.

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Critics Consensus

Atmospheric and thrilling, Enemy at the Gates gets the look and feel of war right. However, the love story seems out of place.

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Tense and violent WWII movie.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 24, 2010

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

There's never much risk of reality intruding--just a lot of histrionic James Horner music nd plenty of designer stubble on the soldiers' faces.

Feb 9, 2007

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Time Out

Set-pieces get you so far (and Annaud delights in blowing this set to pieces), but the script's shortcomings aren't camouflaged by the decision to adopt Home Counties' accents as the film's lingua franca.

Jan 26, 2006

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Michael Sragow

Baltimore Sun

Without its ambitious underpinnings, these virtuoso set pieces wouldn't flicker with emotion. In Enemy at the Gates, gravity has entertainment value, at least to those who can respond to wartime fervor.

Rated: 3/4

Jul 15, 2023

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Leigh Paatsch

Herald Sun (Australia)

Time and time again, Enemy at the Gates squanders its pulse-pounding momentum on long, high-falutin' stretches of pointy-headed pretentiousness that just get in the road of the good stuff.

Rated: 2.5/5

Oct 2, 2020

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Mark Steyn

The Spectator

Everything in the movie is obstinately stupid.

Jan 30, 2018

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trainmaker 1

Loads of Inaccuracies Enemy At the Gates is just a Movie Set in Stalingrad With a Hollywood mix. It is a Disaster of a Film. Stalin's "Step One Step back" was misunderstood. Retreating Solders would be Forced to turn back and fight the Germans. Stuka dive Bombers Did not attack the Boats. The Crossing Happened at Night. There was a risky day crossing under a Smoke Screen. Vasily Your name Should never been Used in this film.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

08/02/25

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Kyle B.

Interesting movie but really enjoyed it. Do not know if it’s accurate or not.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/19/25

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Joe W.

Jude Law is amazing, an absolute masterpiece of casting brings this war movie to my top 20 of all time

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/06/25

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Joel B.

Excellent movie!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/06/25

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Alejandro E

Based on a World War II event, it's not exactly a history lesson. Although the romantic subplot is a little out of place, the duel between two snipers is suspenseful enough to pique the viewer's interest.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/17/25

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Sea G

How can it have one song throughout the entirety of the movie? It wasn't terrible, but the painfully repetitive song drove me a little nutty.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

04/20/25

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Jean-Jacques Annaud

Director

Joseph Fiennes

Danilov

Jude Law

Vasily Zaitsev

Rachel Weisz

Tania Chernova

Bob Hoskins

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Ed Harris

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Synopsis

Vassili (Jude Law) is a young Russian sharpshooter who becomes a legend when a savvy polical officer (Joseph Fiennes) makes him the hero of his propaganda campaign. Their friendship is threatened when both men fall in love with a beautiful female soldier (Rachel Weisz). As the battle for the city rages, Vassili faces the ultimate challenge when the Nazi command dispatches its most elite marksman (Ed Harris) to hunt down and kill the man who has become the hope of all Russia.

Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Producer: John D. Schofield, Jean-Jacques Annaud
Screenwriter: Jean-Jacques Annaud, Alain Godard
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Swanford Films, Reperage, Little Bird, DOS, Mandalay Pictures, Paramount Pictures, KC Medien AG
Rating: R (Strong Graphic War Violence|Some Sexuality)
Genre: War, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 16, 2001, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $51.4M
Runtime: 2h 11m
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, Dolby Digital, DTS, Surround, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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