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Enemy at the Gates is a motion picture directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud and released in 2001, adapted from the David L. Robbins book called The War of the Rats. Robbins borrowed elements from William Craig's book Enemy at the Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad which describe the events surrounding during the Battle of Stalingrad, 1942-1943. The movie follows Soviet sniper Vasily Grigoryevich Zaitsev and his German rival, Major Erwin König, as they stalk each other during the Battle of Stalingrad.
| Enemy at the Gates | |
|---|---|
 Enemy at the Gates film poster | |
| Directed by | Jean-Jacques Annaud |
| Written by | Jean-Jacques Annaud Alain Godard |
| Produced by | Jean-Jacques Annaud John D. Schofield |
| Starring | Jude Law Joseph Fiennes |
| Music by | James Horner |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date | 2001 |
Running time | 131 min. |
| Language | English / German |
| Budget | $70,000,000 (estimated) |
Historian Anthony Beevor suggests in his book, Stalingrad, that, while Zaitsev was definitely a real person, the story of his duel (dramatized in the film) with König is fictional. William Craig's novel Enemy at the Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad however, states that although Zaitsev and König fought against each other in combat, the sequence of events in the film is almost entirely fictional.[citation needed]
Synopsis
Stalingrad, 1942. The German invasion of Russia has reached the city of Stalingrad, reducing the city to rubble as the Soviet and Nazi armies battle for the fate of Russia. Vasily Zaitsev (Jude Law), a not very educated peasant from the Urals conscripted into the Red Army, manages to survive both a suicidal charge without a weapon into the front lines of the German attack and the NKVD penalty squad machine gunners shooting survivors who tried to flee. Acquiring a rifle, Zaitsev — an expert marksman — manages to kill five German officers in a row with the only five bullets he has, impressing a witnessing political officer, Danilov (Joseph Fiennes). Writing an account of Zaitsev's achievement in the military newspaper, Danilov manages to inspire the broken, morale-sapped people of the Soviet Union to renew their efforts against the German invaders, and Zaitsev becomes a national hero and propaganda icon.
The friendship between the two men is to be tested, however, as both have fallen in love with Tanya (Rachel Weisz), a Jewish citizen of the city who, inspired by Zaitsev, has joined the sniper division. Fearing the Soviet snipers and the demoralising effect they are having on their own men, the Germans have sent for Major Erwin König (Ed Harris), the best sniper in the German military, to seek out and eliminate Zaitsev.
Detailed plot outline
This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. |
Introduction - Crossing the Volga
The movie opens several years before the events of the Battle of Stalingrad, as a young Vasily Zaitsev is taught how to hunt and shoot by his grandfather. A horse has been tied down, acting as a lure to the wolves - and as one approaches the horse, his grandfather urges the terrified boy to shoot, and the young Vasily misses his target. His grandfather must take the shot.
The movie then cuts to years later. Zaitsev, now a grown man, wears the uniform of a soldier in the Red Army, and is traveling in a train's cattle truck along with a mixture of soldiers and civilians. He manages to catch the eye of Tanya (Rachel Weisz), a dark-haired young woman, before she, along with the other civilians, is taken off the train to make way for more soldiers. The train is hurriedly converted into a military convoy, headed for Stalingrad. A voice-over provides background information: it is 1942, Nazi Germany has overcome most of Europe and invaded the Soviet Union, and the two mighty armies have met at Stalingrad, where 'the fate of the world' is being played out.
Upon arriving on the outskirts of Stalingrad, the soldiers are moved from the train to river barges, to cross the Volga. The city is a bombed-out ruin, the Soviet and German armies fighting within the city limits, and the crossing is fraught with danger. As political officers read out 'letters from Soviet mothers to their sons on the front' to inspire the terrified troops, the barges are constantly attacked by Stuka dive bombers that strafe and bomb the unprotected barges. Although Vasily's barge remains afloat, several conscripts are thrown overboard or jump attempting to flee, and are promptly shot as deserters by officers.
The battle
Upon disembarking at the docks of Stalingrad, the conscripts are issued their weapons - or rather, the rifles and the 5-round clips are divided between the soldiers, with one man getting a Mosin-Nagant rifle and the man behind him receiving the 5-round clip; the idea being that when the man in front is shot, the man behind him picks up the gun and loads it if need be. Vasily — unfortunate enough to be issued merely with ammunition — insists that he 'need(s) a rifle'.
The attack begins. As the well-entrenched Germans prepare themselves, the Soviet commanders exhort their men to victory, and remind them that traitors and cowards will be shot. The resulting charge is little more than a massacre: the Germans freely slaughtering the poorly-armed Soviet wave of men, who are consequently told to retreat. But those who retreat too far are gunned down as deserters.
Zaitsev meets Danilov
After the battle, a car races through the streets, under fire from a German panzer. Knocked off the road, the driver- Danilov (Joseph Fiennes), a Soviet political officer - flees to the safety of the drained "Round-dance of Childhood" fountain, hiding amongst the corpses of the Soviet dead as the Germans in the tank fire sub-machine guns into the corpses before they leave. Across the street, a car arrives, and several German officers exit, one taking a shower as the others relax.
Taking a gun from one of the dead, Danilov attempts to shoot at them, but the rifle has no ammunition left. Movement next to him, however, reveals Zaitsev, who has also taken refuge in the fountain, and he offers Danilov the handful of bullets he received at the beginning of the charge. Danilov then tries to shoot again, but he is inexperienced and incompetent with the weapon and hands it over to Zaitsev. Zaitsev, using the ambience of artillery as sound cover, proceeds to pick off the 5 Germans using only 5 rounds, much to Danilov's surprise.
Not long after, Nikita Khrushchev (Bob Hoskins) — Soviet commander and Joseph Stalin's personal representative - arrives in Stalingrad to coordinate the city defences. Berating the Soviet commander for his failure to resist, Khruschev advises the general to 'avoid the red tape' before Khruschev files his report — and as the general shoots himself, Khruschev sees the assembled political officers, including Danilov. Reminding them of the city's strategic and political importance — as it bears Stalin's name, he demands to know their suggestions to improve morale. Whilst the other officers, terrified, urge greater brutality towards the soldiers and citizens, Danilov — the lone alternative voice - instead urges that they 'give them hope!'. As the people at the moment only have a choice between German bullets and Russian bullets, Danilov suggests that they create examples to follow, heroes for the people to idolize — and he has just the man in mind.
Danilov's account of Zaitsev's exploits becomes national news, and Zaitsev is transferred from the regular forces to the Soviet sniper service. As Zaitsev and his fellow snipers take their toll on the German forces, he and Danilov — who is recording all of his exploits, and reaping the political benefits also — become firm friends.
Major König arrives and the first encounter
Due to the immense casualties being inflicted by Soviet snipers in the city, Major Erwin König is dispatched to Stalingrad to help counter this threat and boost German morale. Shortly after arriving by train, König meets with General Friedrich Paulus to discuss the situation, during which Paulus tells König that he had to recently promote 25 Sergeants to replace the officers killed by snipers. With shaky confidence in Hitler's persistence of taking the city, Paulus assures König that they will be home by Christmas.
Asked as to how he will hunt down Zaitsev, König replies that he will arrange it that Zaitsev will be the one to find him first.
The next day Zaitsev is awakened to help find and kill a sniper lurking in the Department Store sector, who recently killed five Soviet officers and two machine gunners. Zaitsev, with the aid of two other snipers, think they killed the sniper when they see his helmet tumble to the ground after being shot. When they go to retrieve the sniper's dog tags, König kills one of the Soviet snipers. When Zaitsev arrives at the sniper's window, they find it was a decoy. König, hiding in the building, kills the other sniper; Zaitsev manages to escape in the confusion caused by a German air raid. Following the first encounter, Major König studies Russian publications about Zaitsev while having his shoes polished by a young Russian boy named Sacha Fillipov (Gabriel Marshall-Thomson).
When it is realized that the Germans have dispatched Major König to Stalingrad to eliminate Zaitsev, a Soviet sniper named Koulikov (Ron Perlman) is called upon to assist Zaitsev in fighting König. Koulikov studied under König before the war, and thus had a deep understanding of the tactics employed by the German snipers. Zaitsev is then summoned to a publicity meeting with Khrushchev in front of members of the press.
Vassily, along with Koulikov and a third sniper, enter Stalingrad's ruins to hunt König. They wait out the time killing German soldiers trying to lay telephone cables. Meanwhile, König hears reports of all the sniper activity that day, and homes in on the deaths of the cable laying soldiers. When he arrives, the Germans have captured Vasily's third companion. They dress him as a German soldier and make him lay cable in the open. Koulikov mistakenly kills him, revealing their position. As Koulikov and Vasily are relocating, Koenig kills Koulikov mid jump, a shot Vasily later claims is practically impossible.
Vassily is afraid that König is too good to be beaten, but Danilov encourages him. Meanwhile, Sacha tells König where he can ambush Vasily on his way through a tractor factory. Sacha is acting as a double agent for Danilov, who wants to set up König for Vasily. In the tractor factory, König manages to trap Vasily, separating him from his rifle. Vasily is saved by Tanya, who distracts König so that Vasily can retrieve his rifle and shoot at König, wounding his hand.
Main cast
- Jude Law - Vasily Zaitsev (spelled "Vassili" in the closing credits and English subtitles)
- Rachel Weisz - Tanya Chernova (spelled "Tania" in the closing credits and English subtitles)
- Joseph Fiennes - Commissar Danilov
- Bob Hoskins - Nikita Khrushchev (spelled "Krushchev" in the closing credits and English subtitles)
- Ed Harris - Major Erwin König
- Matthias Habich - General (later Field Marshal) Friedrich Paulus, commander-in-chief of the German Sixth Army
- Eva Mattes - Mother Filipov
- Gabriel Marshall-Thomson - Sacha Fillipov
- Ron Perlman - Sniper Koulikov
- Sophie Rois - Ludmilla
Trivia
This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. (June 2007) |
- Annaud started his film career by shooting training films for the French Army.
- The first few levels of the Russian Campaign in Call of Duty and Call of Duty: Finest Hour were inspired by the opening scenes.
- Annaud made the film also as a sort of tribute to his friend and fellow director Sergio Leone, who had been trying to make a film about the Siege of Leningrad at the time of his death.
- The $80 million film budget was provided mostly by German investors.
- Arno employed a crew of 300 and 500 extras.
- The fighting in Stalingrad was actually shot near Berlin, Germany.
- The Volga crossing was filmed near Cottbus, Germany.
- Before the film's shooting, Annaud showed to the cast and crew classic Russian films about WWII «Баллада о солдате» (Ballad about a Soldier) by G. Chukhrai, «Летят журавли» (Cranes are Flying) by M.Kalatozov, and «Иваново детство» (Ivan's Childhood) by A. Tarkovsky.
- The duel between Zaitsev and Konig is fiction. There is, according to modern research, no evidence that such a battle took place. There was, though, a rumor amongst Russian soldiers about the story but no witnesses or logs support it (probably it was just a rumor created for increasing the will to fight amongst the Russian soldiers). The German who was shot in the duel was SS sniper Colonel Heinz Thorvald. The Germans claimed someone named Koenig had been shot in the duel and not Thorvald because they didn't want to admit their ace was down. This was claimed by Zaitsev, who also found the papers on the body identifying him as Thorvald.
Criticism
The film was criticized both in Russia and in the West for taking considerable liberties with the facts; in both its plot and in the depictions of its characters (notably Fiennes' character, Danilov, and the German sniper König), it varies widely from the historical record. The actual Soviet Stalingrad veterans were so offended by inaccuracies in the movie and the very insulting way in which the movie portrays the Red Army, that on May 7, 2001, soon after this film was shown in Russia, they addressed their grievances to State Duma, the Russian Parliament, demanding to ban the film in Russia, but this request has not been taken into account.[citation needed]
External links
- Official site
- Enemy at the Gates at IMDb
- Enemy at the Gates at Rotten Tomatoes
- David R. Stone, "Review of Enemy at the Gates," H-War, H-Net Reviews, June, 2002. URL: http://www.h-net.org/mmreviews/showrev.cgi?path=259.