Is Enemy at the Gates any good?
#3
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 3,586
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I don't know if that record was broken but at the time of its release, it was the biggest, most expensive european film made.
Very dark, and sort of hard to sympathize with either side at war, because the film presents characters that, while easy to understand as individuals, are hard to root for because of their allegiances. A World War II film exclusively about Stalin's Russians defending themselves against Hitler's Nazis, all boiled down to a showdown between two snipers. That being said, as it's really about two men that you really get to invest time with, I enjoyed it and the action/effects are very impressive. Nowhere near as graphic as "Saving Private Ryan", in case you're wondering about that.
The typical British accents are a bit much, but every historical drama has that it seems, and I suppose it's easier to understand than heavy Russian accents. Ed Harris doesn't use a German accent, or even a British one. He's just very formal and pronounced, but with no accent. Of course I loved Horner's score but a lot of people didn't and found it too much. Whatever, I'm not them.
Very dark, and sort of hard to sympathize with either side at war, because the film presents characters that, while easy to understand as individuals, are hard to root for because of their allegiances. A World War II film exclusively about Stalin's Russians defending themselves against Hitler's Nazis, all boiled down to a showdown between two snipers. That being said, as it's really about two men that you really get to invest time with, I enjoyed it and the action/effects are very impressive. Nowhere near as graphic as "Saving Private Ryan", in case you're wondering about that.
The typical British accents are a bit much, but every historical drama has that it seems, and I suppose it's easier to understand than heavy Russian accents. Ed Harris doesn't use a German accent, or even a British one. He's just very formal and pronounced, but with no accent. Of course I loved Horner's score but a lot of people didn't and found it too much. Whatever, I'm not them.
Last edited by Nick Martin; 11-08-08 at 07:09 PM.
#8
DVD Talk Legend
Good movie. The problem is that with snipers they have to stay still for hours on end waiting for someone to come along. The movie did a nice job of keeping things moving. Easily could have been overly long. If that guy that directed Babel had directed Enemy, it would have been 17 hours long.
#10
DVD Talk Hero
I remember the cool sniper scenes. And I remember the city ruins sets looking awesome.
The story and suspense never totally grabbed ahold of me. But it was enjoyable. I'd recommend a rental or buy it used.
The story and suspense never totally grabbed ahold of me. But it was enjoyable. I'd recommend a rental or buy it used.
#14
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
It rivaled the opening of Saving Private Ryan in the siege of ...was it Stalingrad? where refugees had to cross a narrow water channel in boats while being pummeled by cannon fire. Rather riveting that.
#16
En vacance
Yeah it had some good scenes but the way they made the Soviet army out was regular Hollywood. There was no 2 men per rifle nonsense, the kid going between Nazi and Soviet sides was funny since he would be found out as a spy very quickly by the NKVD, the trains with soldiers were kept open incase of air attack and there were no open land where soldiers would charge at each other, they fought in houses and rubble very irregularly.
#18
DVD Talk Legend
I enjoyed it a great deal when I saw it in the theater. Excellent cast. But never bought it on DVD. And I buy just about everything.
#20
#22
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: SoCal
Posts: 825
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
It's most of a good movie.
The actual combat and duel between snipers is really good, but the love story is obscene against such a backdrop.
The actual combat and duel between snipers is really good, but the love story is obscene against such a backdrop.
Last edited by Neeb; 11-10-08 at 04:02 PM. Reason: spelling, hey, I was drunk!
#23
DVD Talk Legend
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Land of the Lobstrosities
Posts: 10,300
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
I had high hopes for this movie, since it's a great subject, but the movie was a disappointment. It's been so long I can't say exactly what it was but the lasting impression I have is that it was too hollywood-ized. It had good visuals but the script and acting was very theatrical. Even though it largely had the look it was still missing the character of modern WWII productions like SPR and Band of Brothers. It didn't help that the character's accents were all over the place, literally. Some Russians would have Russian accents, others would sound British, etc.