Enemy at the Gates (2001)

54% of critics liked it
(137 reviews)
81% of users liked it
(201,645 ratings)

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… More 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. ~ Jason Clark, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 2 hr. 11 min.
Directed By: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Written By: Jean-Jacques Annaud, Alain Godard
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure

In Theaters: Mar 16, 2001 Wide
On DVD: Aug 14, 2001
Studio: Paramount Pictures

Critic Reviews

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.
Peter Rainer, New York Magazine
It's as if an obsessed movie nut had decided to collect every bad war-movie convention on one computer and program it to spit out a script.
Amy Taubin, Village Voice
Hackneyed material.
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Any flaws in execution pale against those moments when the film brings history to vital life.
Mike Clark, USA Today
The story hits and misses for more than two hours following its opening artillery bloodbath.
Peter Howell, Toronto Star
It's this human understanding of an inhuman conflict that gives Enemy At The Gates so much power, despite its defects.
John A. Nesbit, Old School Reviews
more character development and depth would vastly improve this
Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
Tense and violent WWII movie.
Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures
it could have held back on the parts featuring boredom because they did tend to drag the suspense down a bit
Ryan Cracknell, Movie Views
While it does have some solid moments of action, the film as a whole is laughable.
Marty Mapes, Movie Habit
An action movie for the art house crowd, or a highbrow movie for the action crowd
, Hollywood.com
Enemy at the Gates won't find too many friends at the box office -- fans of war movies (and of Jude Law) will appreciate it, but there isn't much for everyone else in this mid-March downer.
Bob Grimm, Sacramento News & Review
There's a decent movie buried in here somewhere, but the lousy love triangle and ultimate lack of focus make this WWII drama a bit hard to take.
Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com
Flatulent hero-worship of a man played by a tired-looking actor who deserves funkier roles.
, 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.
Jeffrey Overstreet, Looking Closer
Annaud shows a real knack for suspense here, enough to make me hope he will do more action-adventure in the future.
Jordan Hiller, Bangitout.com
If only ambition was the bar at which to measure the quality of motion pictures, Enemy at the Gates could sit atop the best of the year.
Eugene Novikov, Film Blather
There's ambition, and then there's pretense. It's a common mistake for both filmmakers and filmgoers to mistake the latter for the former.
Harry Guerin, RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)
Worth the trouble, but make sure to leave the history notes at home.
John R. McEwen, Film Quips Online
It generally succeeds at telling a truly heroic story, providing yet another vehicle to showcase the talents of Law and Harris, and of their supporting cast.

Read all 21 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

xGary X

When a young Russian soldier is held up as a heroic example to the besieged citizens of Stalingrad during WWII, the Nazis send their top marksman to kill him and quell their rising hope. There's a lot about Enemy At The Gates that I admire; the opening sequence is excellent,… More
When a young Russian soldier is held up as a heroic example to the besieged citizens of Stalingrad during WWII, the Nazis send their top marksman to kill him and quell their rising hope. There's a lot about Enemy At The Gates that I admire; the opening sequence is excellent, showing the Russian soldiers as a collection of unwilling young conscripts treated like virtual slaves, used as cannon fodder and just as likely to be shot by their own officers as the enemy. The visuals are also superb, brilliantly recreating the devastated ruins of the city and Annaud's direction makes the cat and mouse game between the two snipers extremely tense and suspenseful. A steely-eyed Ed Harris also puts in a typically excellent performance as the German sharpshooter who locks horns with our hero. Unfortunately the woeful miscasting of Jude Law in the lead role means that the young shepherd from the Urals is played like an extra from a Guy Ritchie movie and the introduction of Hollywood gloss in the form of a pointless love triangle and overly intrusive incidental music compromises everything about the film that is of merit. It's still worth watching for the good bits, but I'd avoid the scenes involving the unfortunate Miss Weisz like a little red dot on the forehead.
Jeff "

Enemy At The Gates is a very good film about two snipers who go head to head and play a game of cat and mouse. During The Battle Of Stalingrad, a young Sniper makes a name for himself by having multiple enemy kills. Judd Law gives a splendid performance as Vassilli Zaitsev, who became… More
Enemy At The Gates is a very good film about two snipers who go head to head and play a game of cat and mouse. During The Battle Of Stalingrad, a young Sniper makes a name for himself by having multiple enemy kills. Judd Law gives a splendid performance as Vassilli Zaitsev, who became a hero during the war. Enemy At The Gates is not flawless but it sure is very entertaining and is one of the better war films. There are things that could have been changed. For example, the love story could have been omitted. Ed Harris delivered the best performance of the film, and I find him to be a great actor. A thing that I found great about the film was that it was set during the turning point of the war, because as we all know; the Battle Of Stalingrad was the first of many defeats of Nazi Germany. It's obvious that Hollywood took some creative liberties to make the story more appealing for the general public by including a love story, despite that fact it doesn't revolve constantly around that. Unlike other "war" films who've played out on the love aspect and downplayed on the war factor, very much like the Paul Gross travesty, Passchendaele and Michael Bay's Pearly Harbor. I guess the love side of the film is to give the characters a little more development and show a hopeful side to the end of the conflict, and unlike many films who've done that and failed, Enemy At The Gates is pretty good at limiting corny love scenes. The result is a flawed but very good film that is very entertaining to watch because the Battle Of Stalingrad was epic, and watching these two Elite snipers is very intense and thrilling. Enemy At The Gates is a fine war film, not accurate but very good. Also the fact that they don't overdo the love story is a big plus, and the film isn't another Passchendaele or Pearl Harbor. Enemy At The Gates should be seen as entertainment, and it is a well acted and solidly plotted film.
Chris W

Avoid this if you want a rousing and historically accurate war film. If you want to see a movie wit hlots of tense sniper exchanges and tension though, then this is a movie for you. The sets and atmosphere are wonderful, and some of the sequences are quite well done. The cast is also… More
Avoid this if you want a rousing and historically accurate war film. If you want to see a movie wit hlots of tense sniper exchanges and tension though, then this is a movie for you. The sets and atmosphere are wonderful, and some of the sequences are quite well done. The cast is also fairly notable.
Richard C

B
MisterYoda ?

"Enemy at the Gates" is about how a bunch of British soldiers try to keep the German army from taking Stalingrad in WW II. The opening scene, where the British take a train from England to the east bank of the Volga and then are transported across to Stalingrad, is well… More
"Enemy at the Gates" is about how a bunch of British soldiers try to keep the German army from taking Stalingrad in WW II. The opening scene, where the British take a train from England to the east bank of the Volga and then are transported across to Stalingrad, is well done. After that, the movie kind of falls flat. Two British snipers fall in love, but a love triangle develops between them and a British NKVD agent. Then one of the British snipers is used as propaganda to boost Soviet morale by trying to kill an American sniper that the Germans bring in. Well, I could go on, but what's the point?
Conner R

I have no idea why this is one of the best war movies, but it just is. Theoretically it should have been interesting at best. The actors are not even close to their character's counterparts in terms of accents, but they nail the personalities 100%. It's just an excellent… More
I have no idea why this is one of the best war movies, but it just is. Theoretically it should have been interesting at best. The actors are not even close to their character's counterparts in terms of accents, but they nail the personalities 100%. It's just an excellent representation of honor that plays out like a pulp tale from the 40s or 50s. The visual elements of the film are beautiful, giving a glorious war-torn Stalingrad.
Randy T

I enjoyed this one more than most, even though director Jean-Jacques Annaud took a few liberties with the truth. The essence of the actual story is here, highlighted by outstanding performances from Jude Law, Joseph Fiennes and Ed Harris. I think it's interesting when… More
I enjoyed this one more than most, even though director Jean-Jacques Annaud took a few liberties with the truth. The essence of the actual story is here, highlighted by outstanding performances from Jude Law, Joseph Fiennes and Ed Harris. I think it's interesting when American movies feature real-life 'foreign' heroes. Why doesn't France produce a film about Audie Murphy? Or Germany do a bio-pic on Neil Armstrong?
Anthony L

Jean-Jacques Annaud has never been one to let a little detail like fact to get in the way of a good story, sometimes it's ok but sometimes it's not. This time, it's the latter. What could have been a great film is merely good, due to historical meddling and an… More
Jean-Jacques Annaud has never been one to let a little detail like fact to get in the way of a good story, sometimes it's ok but sometimes it's not. This time, it's the latter. What could have been a great film is merely good, due to historical meddling and an unnecessary love triangle. A real shame but entertaining enough anyway. It's not the fucking Patriot anyway!
Ginny

Autumn, 1942. Europe lies crushed beneath the Nazi jackboot. The German Third Reich is at the height of its power. Hitler's Armies are charging through the heart of the Soviet Union towards the oil fields of Asia. One last obstacle remains, a city on the… More
Autumn, 1942. Europe lies crushed beneath the Nazi jackboot. The German Third Reich is at the height of its power. Hitler's Armies are charging through the heart of the Soviet Union towards the oil fields of Asia. One last obstacle remains, a city on the Volga, where the fate of the world is being decided.. <center>This, is Stalingrad... Welcome to Hell. <img src="https://owlspace-ccm.rice.edu/access/content/user/mab3/stalingrad.jpg" width=200> "I am a stone. I do not move. Very slowly, I put snow in my mouth, then he won't see my breath. I take my time. I let him come closer. I have only one bullet. I aim at his eye. Very gently, my finger presses on the trigger." -Vassili Zaitsev <img src="http://www.quickflashnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/enemy-at-the-gates.jpg" width=200></center> I havent been this ecstatic about a war movie for a long time. Sniper vs sniper action, tactical combat, wow.. and I mean "WOW!" 10 minutes from the start of the movie, my eyes were poppin out of its sockets (lol). The actors performances were stellar, but I thought the casting was a tad bit off. (Another American passing of as a German.. well he played the role well, I just couldnt see him as a German thats all.) All movies have its flaws, if you dwell on them too much you'll spoil the good in it. I liked this one a lot, end of. Recommendation: A worthy collectible. Genres: War History, Thriller, Drama Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Dan S

An overall decent war story featuring two snipers (Jude Law and Ed Harris) whose mission is to kill the other. Strong beginning is a huge plus, since it echoes aspects of "Saving Private Ryan", however the love story that is tossed in about 3/4 of the way through… More
An overall decent war story featuring two snipers (Jude Law and Ed Harris) whose mission is to kill the other. Strong beginning is a huge plus, since it echoes aspects of "Saving Private Ryan", however the love story that is tossed in about 3/4 of the way through doesn't make one ounce of sense, its just one of those cliched Hollywood forced love stories. Law and Harris are both very good, but Fiennes is surprisingly soft and ineffective. Still watchable just because the scenes between Law and Harris are chalked with suspense, and the beginning is something else.
Lorenzo v

I simply want to weigh in with a very positive response to Enemy at the Gates. Taken as a historical drama rather than an attempt to flawlessly depict a historical incident, this is topnotch entertainment. "Enemy" portrays the conflict between a young Russian sniper played… More
I simply want to weigh in with a very positive response to Enemy at the Gates. Taken as a historical drama rather than an attempt to flawlessly depict a historical incident, this is topnotch entertainment. "Enemy" portrays the conflict between a young Russian sniper played by Law and the German sniper (Harris) who is sent to kill him during the German attack on Stalingrad during WWII. Apart from a scene which awkwardly caricatures the Russian field commanders and the occasionally distracting accents, the film successfully immerses the viewer in this tense war drama. Appreciate it it for its tight focus, uncompromising realism, and fine characterizations by the main actors. Research the historical accuracy later, if you must, but don't let it spoil the film. 4/5
Lenny M

Great casting, Jude Law vs. Ed Harris, excellent.
Aaron N

Danilov: Do you know how to shoot? Vasilli: A little. This is a fun movie to watch. I love sniper warfare, I've read books on it. I'm involved in it when it comes to video games (terrible comparison, I know). To have a WWII movie about the subject is very neat for me.… More
Danilov: Do you know how to shoot? Vasilli: A little. This is a fun movie to watch. I love sniper warfare, I've read books on it. I'm involved in it when it comes to video games (terrible comparison, I know). To have a WWII movie about the subject is very neat for me. Jude Law stars as an expert Russian sniper, as portrayed by Joseph Fiennes character. Fiennes is a Soviet officer who makes news articles celebrating Las as a folk hero of sorts for the Russians. Ed Harris is a German sniper who has been assigned to come to Russia and kill Law. Vasilli: He shot him on the run. It was an impossible shot. Danilov: Vassili... Vasilli: You've promised people a victory I can't deliver. I don't stand a chance against this man. Then you have a supporting cast that includes Rachel Weisz as the charming, cute, and unnecessary love interest, Bob Hoskins, who is always good, as Nikita Kruschev, and a small but sweet role for Ron Perlman as a fellow sniper. Koulikov: Nobody gives a shit about the telephone guys. Besides the love story stuff, which is of course necessary from a Hollywood perspective, but ultimately could be done without, this is a fairly well done movie. I'm no Joe Warbuff, so I don't really care about inaccuracies, but the movie has great fun with the Sniper vs. Sniper aspect. The opening war scenes are also very well handled. Major König: He isn't dead, and do you know why? Because I haven't killed him yet.
Curtis L

okay. I like Russians a lot.
Lafe F

An involving war movie which gets up close behind a sniper's gunsight. Very memorable and realistic, done interestingly. There's no anti-war message to pound you on the head. It is what it is. I like for how it really gets into the experience.
Michael S

Great war film gets caught up in a unnecessary love triangle. The Stalingrad scene is amazing and on par with Private Ryan's D-Day invasion.
Justin Y

I'm not really a big fan of classic war movies, but this movie about sniping was interesting enough to keep me watching.
Dean M

This war film is amazing true story of Stalingard sniper Vassili Zaitsev and it's humongous battle scenes.
Jason S

Ok war movie.
Sarah G

Just love Joesph Fiennes in this lol. Film is good aswell.