Skip to content
The Catholic Leader
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
The Catholic Leader
No Result
View All Result
Home Culture

ENEMY AT THE GATES

byStaff writers
19 August 2001 - Updated on 25 March 2021
Reading Time: 2 mins read
AA
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Starring: Jude Law, Joseph Fiennes, Ed Harris
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Rated: MA15+

THE battle over Stalingrad was one of the bloodiest conflicts in World War II.

The German and Russian armies lost thousands of men in this drawn out campaign. For the Russians, national pride was at stake, and so poorly trained conscripts were sent to the city to “win at all costs”.

Enemy at the Gates begins with the Russians re-taking part of their city.

Like Saving Private Ryan and Pearl Harbour, this 20-minute sequence captures the brutality of war and profiles the human sacrifice involved. It is not for the faint-hearted!

Cornered on every side, Vassili Zaitsev (Jude Law), a Russian infantryman turns the outcome of the battle with his expert marksmanship. The Soviet political officer, Danilov (Joseph Fiennes), seizes on Vassili as the hero that the Russian people need. A military star is born.

Very loosely based on historical characters, Enemy at the Gates is three stories in one: How Danilov exploits Vassili and then loses control of his media creation; the duel to the death between Vassili and German Major Koning (Ed Harris), the finest marksman in Hitler’s army; and an obligatory but silly front-line romantic triangle involving Vassili, Danilov and comrade-soldier, Tania (Rachel Weiz).

Like Saving Private Ryan and Pearl Harbour, the brutal battles are the most compelling scenes in the film, but unlike the US propaganda in these films, Enemy at the Gates is much more complex where the Russians and Germans both come out badly.

This film is an interesting exploration of how war propaganda needs celebrities for morale, and it makes a noble contribution to showing anyone who needs convincing how futile and evil war is.

Jude Law and Ed Harris give engaging performances, but Joseph Fiennes and especially Bob Hoskins as Khruschev verge on parody. The decision not to modify any actor’s accents is disconcerting. These soldiers sound like they have just arrived from South London or LA rather than Moscow or Berlin.

Related Stories

Nuncio take in the sights of Queensland’s far north

Cardinal Joseph Zen appears in court in Hong Kong on day of prayer for China

15 killed in Texas school shooting

Enemy at the Gates is an expensive, stylish and accomplished film but the dark and grey art direction not only conveys the bleakness of this epic siege, it also cools down any passionate and emotional response one could have to this tragic chapter in 20th century history.

ShareTweet
Previous Post

BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY

Next Post

Running for Poor

Staff writers

Related Posts

Nuncio take in the sights of Queensland’s far north
News

Nuncio take in the sights of Queensland’s far north

25 May 2022
Hong Kong
World

Cardinal Joseph Zen appears in court in Hong Kong on day of prayer for China

25 May 2022
15 killed in Texas school shooting
News

15 killed in Texas school shooting

25 May 2022
Next Post

Running for Poor

Killer Infection: Catholic Schools Hit by Meningococcal

Cause Moves ON

Popular News

  • 15 killed in Texas school shooting

    15 killed in Texas school shooting

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • US bishops applaud San Francisco prelates pastoral response to Pelosi’s decades of abortion advocacy

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Archbishop calls for prayers in “troubled times”

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • From a humble start Albanese is sworn in as new prime minister

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Nuncio take in the sights of Queensland’s far north

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
Search our job finder
No Result
View All Result

Latest News

Nuncio take in the sights of Queensland’s far north
News

Nuncio take in the sights of Queensland’s far north

by Staff writers
25 May 2022
0

Pope Francis’ delegate to Australia has found time for sightseeing during a busy trip to Far North...

Hong Kong

Cardinal Joseph Zen appears in court in Hong Kong on day of prayer for China

25 May 2022
15 killed in Texas school shooting

15 killed in Texas school shooting

25 May 2022
Archbishop calls for prayers in “troubled times”

Archbishop calls for prayers in “troubled times”

24 May 2022
Myanmar military burns houses, destroys a village

US bishops applaud San Francisco prelates pastoral response to Pelosi’s decades of abortion advocacy

24 May 2022

Never miss a story. Sign up to the Weekly Round-Up
eNewsletter now to receive headlines directly in your email.

Sign up to eNews
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Jobs
  • Subscribe

The Catholic Leader is an Australian award-winning Catholic newspaper that has been published by the Archdiocese of Brisbane since 1929. Our journalism seeks to provide a full, accurate and balanced Catholic perspective of local, national and international news while upholding the dignity of the human person.

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader
Accessibility Information | Privacy Policy | Archdiocese of Brisbane

The Catholic Leader acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the First Peoples of this country and especially acknowledge the traditional owners on whose lands we live and work throughout the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader

0
    0
    Your Cart
    Your cart is emptyChoose another Subscription
    Continue Shopping