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Movies / Upcoming / Enemy at the Gates
Enemy at the Gates

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Enemy at the Gates (2001)

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Reviews Counted:123

Fresh:71

Rotten:52

Average Rating:5.8/10

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

Runtime: 2 hrs 11 mins

Genre: Dramas

US Box Office: $50,507,533

Synopsis: September 1942. The German Army has advanced to the gates of Stalingrad. The Russian Army holds on desperately. It is so poorly equipped that every pair of soldiers is given a single rifle--the... September 1942. The German Army has advanced to the gates of Stalingrad. The Russian Army holds on desperately. It is so poorly equipped that every pair of soldiers is given a single rifle--the second man only gets the weapon when the first is cut down. Trapped in no man's land between the opposing armies, Russian recruit Vassili Zaitsev (Jude Law) finally acquires a rifle from Political Officer Danilov (Joseph Fiennes). Danilov is astonished when Zaitsev picks off several German officers. On their return to the Russian lines, Danilov writes about Zaitsev's exploits in the army newspaper. Zaitsev is assigned to a sniper unit. He kills more German officers and, thanks to Danilov, becomes a hero. In retaliation, the Germans bring in sharpshooter Major König (Ed Harris) from Berlin--to hunt Zaitsev. The two snipers engage in a desperate duel, as the appalling Battle of Stalingrad rages. In ENEMY AT THE GATES, director Jean-Jacques Annaud uses a palate of dull greens, blues, and greys to tell the powerful, true story of Russian sniper Vassili Zaitsev. The film is distinguished by fine performances from Law, Fiennes, Rachel Weisz as a female soldier, and Bob Hoskins as Nikita Khrushchev--with Harris particularly notable as the chilly, aristocratic König. [More]

Starring: Jude Law, Joseph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Bob Hoskins

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

Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud

Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Screenwriter: Jean-Jacques Annaud, Alain Godard
Producer: John D. Schofield, Jean-Jacques Annaud
Composer: James Horner
Studio: Paramount Pictures

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Reviews for Enemy at the Gates

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81 - 100 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

A powerful and gripping story of war depicted on both its grandest and most intimate levels.

Full Review Source: Calgary Sun | comment Comment
03/16/01
Louis B. Hobson
Louis B. Hobson
Calgary Sun

Erratic, but sometimes thrilling.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
03/16/01
Bob Thompson
Bob Thompson
Jam! Movies

Impressive visually, with great sets and a grim feel of massive tragedy.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
03/16/01
Louis B. Parks
Louis B. Parks
Houston Chronicle

Although it is not without flaw, Enemy at the Gates makes its point in compelling fashion.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
03/16/01
Susan Stark
Susan Stark
Detroit News

Worthy tribute to the sacrifice and suffering that such historically necessary hell required.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
03/16/01
Bob Strauss
Bob Strauss
Los Angeles Daily News

It's good enough to make you want to know more.

Full Review Source: Contra Costa Times | comment Comment
03/16/01
Mary F. Pols
Mary F. Pols
Contra Costa Times

An elaborate, character-driven World War II epic that gets the war right, but pretty much fumbles the characters.

Full Review Source: CNN.com | comment Comment
03/16/01
Paul Tatara
Paul Tatara
CNN.com

Overrun with so many Aaron Spelling-ish drama bits and tangled subplots, that Gates too often plays like Falcon Crest in a bunker.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
03/16/01
E! Online
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: This is London | comment Comment
03/16/01
Alexander Walker
Alexander Walker
This is London

A tense and artful war film that works both as thrilling spectacle and as intimate drama.

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
03/16/01
Andrew O'Hehir
Andrew O'Hehir
Salon.com

Ed Harris is great as a reserved, calculating marksman, but always hints at a buried humanity.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
03/16/01
Ian Freer
Ian Freer
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Enemy at the Gates tells a gripping tale of opposing snipers, but sometimes at the expense of the story of the bloodiest siege in World War II.

Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
03/16/01
Jack Garner
Jack Garner
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

A big-budget war thriller that sets up a nice little cinematic cat-and-mouse game but manages to fumble it with conventional, clichéd and unrealistic storytelling.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
03/16/01
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Large and ungainly, this World War II tale of a sniper duel that parallels the bloody battle for Stalingrad has an indisputable visual power, but it's nothing you'd want to have a conversation with--or, for that matter, about.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
03/16/01
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A beautiful, satisfyingly old-fashioned movie.

Full Review Source: Flick Filosopher | comment Comment
03/16/01
MaryAnn Johanson
MaryAnn Johanson
Flick Filosopher

As an occasionally somber meditation on the toll war takes on the human soul, it's not without its moments.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
03/16/01
Mike Ward
Mike Ward
PopMatters

If Saving Private Ryan didn't thoroughly convince you that war is hell, Enemy at the Gates should complete the job.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
03/16/01
Robert W. Butler
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star

It's remarkable.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
03/16/01
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

If the love triangle is the weakest part of the movie, that is only because the rest of it is so strong.

Full Review Source: Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies | comment Comment
03/15/01
Nell Minow
Nell Minow
Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

Throughout the movie I could imagine Annaud, metaphorically speaking, on the brink of shooting himself and his movie in the head. It was nice that he only would up shooting himself, and Enemy at the Gates, in the foot.

Full Review Source: Matinee Magazine | comment Comment
03/15/01
Chuck Rudolph
Chuck Rudolph
Matinee Magazine
 
 
81 - 100 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Text View | |< << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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