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Enemy at the Gates

Play trailer Poster for Enemy at the Gates R 2001 2h 11m War Drama Action History Romance Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
53% Tomatometer 139 Reviews 82% Popcornmeter 100,000+ Ratings
Vassili is a young Russian sharpshooter who becomes a legend when a savvy political officer makes him the hero of his propaganda campaign. Their friendship is threatened when both men fall in love with a beautiful female soldier. As the battle for the city rages, Vassili faces the ultimate challenge when the Nazi command dispatches its most elite marksman to hunt down and kill the man who has become the hope of all Russia.
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Enemy at the Gates

Enemy at the Gates

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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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Critics Reviews

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Nell Minow Common Sense Media 12/24/2010
4/5
Tense and violent WWII movie. Go to Full Review
Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader 02/09/2007
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. Go to Full Review
Time Out 01/26/2006
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. Go to Full Review
Michael Sragow Baltimore Sun 07/15/2023
3/4
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. Go to Full Review
Leigh Paatsch Herald Sun (Australia) 10/02/2020
2.5/5
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. Go to Full Review
Mark Steyn The Spectator 01/30/2018
Everything in the movie is obstinately stupid. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Kong K @kingkong2000 1h the cinematic part is ok. the story is the problem. it's a pathetic appropriation of an heroic story. even after the ussr has collapsed after decades of cold war, the west just can't get over demonising the commie to make itself looks good. funny how people could be forced to fight and win in stalingrad. the movie depicts Vasily as a peasant and conscript; in real life, he was college-educated, and had already served for at least five years in the soviet navy's pacific fleet before the war began. he entered the army as a trained warrant officer and was far from illiterate or unfamiliar with military discipline. yes, he was likely a real card-carrying commie; instead, in this western politically-correct narrative, a fictional selfish jewish commissar needs to be inserted, so the only bad guys who appear in the movies are all commies. the nazis appear so noble in comparison. just that thought sickened me enough to lower the score from 2 to 1 star. See more Jordan C @RT05058361 18h I've always loved this movie. Visually stunning, exciting and it's got Rachel Weisz!! ❤️😆 Got to love Jude Law as well 🙂 When i realised it was leaving Netflix, I actually messaged a friend so they didn't miss watching it again! See more James A @Droz27 Aug 10 So disappointed given the positive reviews.. The opening scene is okay, but then the focus shifts to the nerdy, jealous journalist writing about the hero in a bunker. Half the movie is them talking in this bunker. There is way too little of what we want, an exciting, clever cat and mouse game between top snipers. Instead we get an unbelievable eight year old double agent and a love story and awkward love scenes with an ugly girl. Ed Harris can't carry his role at all, he's a bit part actor at best, he's dull and without personality. For the climax, he just walks out into the open and Jude Law is suddenly there. Worse than what Netflix is doing rn, which says a lot. See more rex W @RT11010153 Aug 9 The first 20 minutes rank as one of the best movie openings of all time. The movie slows down after that. But it is never boring. This could have been a classic. The production is outstanding. However, I'm not quite sure what they could have done differently, or better. Maybe the subject matter is just too depressing. See more Chris S @Janomi Aug 5 Enemy at the Gates is a really solid war thriller because the sniper-duel premise gives the massive Battle of Stalingrad a focused, suspenseful center. The cat-and-mouse battle between Vasily Zaitsev and Major König is built on patience, fear, deception, and survival, where every movement could be fatal. Jude Law gives Vasily a strong mix of humility, skill, and quiet pressure. He feels like a young soldier who becomes a symbol before he fully understands the cost. Ed Harris is excellent as König, bringing calm, intelligence, and controlled menace without turning him into a cartoon villain. The Stalingrad atmosphere is grim and effective, full of rubble, smoke, cold, mud, broken buildings, and constant death. The opening battle sequence is especially overwhelming. Some of the history is simplified into a cleaner hero-villain structure, but Enemy at the Gates is tense, atmospheric, and very effective. See more J H @UpstateNYThriller Jul 22 7.7/10 War movie, action WWII 2001 movie with Jude Law. Vasili Zastev Movie about the Soviet sniper who killed Nazis to help the Soviet morale during World War II Great movie about the battle of Stalingrad Puts the historical perspective of war into your mind and how brutal yet strong the Soviets were Watched it in my sophomore 20th century Europe class in college See more Read all reviews
Enemy at the Gates

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Movie Info

Synopsis Vassili is a young Russian sharpshooter who becomes a legend when a savvy political officer makes him the hero of his propaganda campaign. Their friendship is threatened when both men fall in love with a beautiful female soldier. As the battle for the city rages, Vassili faces the ultimate challenge when the Nazi command dispatches its most elite marksman 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, Action, History, Romance
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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