Paramount (USA)
2.35:1 1080p
131 minutes
Audio: Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English, DD 5.1 French, DD 5.1 Spanish
Subtitles: Optional English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese
Extras: Through the Crosshairs; Inside Enemy at the Gates; deleted scenes; theatrical trailer
Released: 19 May 2009
After Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan presented armed combat in harrowingly realistic terms, several other filmmakers followed suit. Their movies, such as Black Hawk Down and We Were Soldiers, were all extremely violent, though they were not gratuitous. The seriousness of purpose on display inspired respect for the sacrifices made by brave men and women. In some cases, as with the TV miniseries Band of Brothers, I felt sad relief about my not being subjected to such dangers.
Enemy at the Gates is a valuable contribution to Western cinema’s war genre. The movie depicts the siege of Stalingrad during World War II. The German-Soviet arena is something that is generally unfamiliar to Americans due to the Cold War and general ideological differences, and Enemy at the Gates gives viewers an incipient understanding of Soviet hardships and internal political developments.
The conflict is framed around a sniper duel between a young Soviet conscript (Jude Law) and an aristocratic German (Ed Harris). Vassili Zaitsev’s success demoralizes the invading Nazis, and the propaganda stories written by a political officer (Joseph Fiennes) inspire the Soviet military to drive back enemy despite technological and logistical handicaps.
The action sequences are terrifying but necessary to convey the high costs that the Soviets paid. The script also observes the devastation wreaked by Soviet leaders on their own people. For example, Soviet officers shot their own soldiers if they retreated, and anyone who was “politically questionable” was tortured or condemned to hard labor. Late in the movie, the political officer realizes that communism is a failed dream; after all, there will always be people richer than others in terms of friendships, love, luck, and admiration.
I usually think that Jude Law and Joseph Fiennes are undistinguished, but they’re excellent in Enemy at the Gates. Ed Harris is chillingly steely as the “villain”. Rachel Weisz is believably warm and determined as a female soldier. Bob Hoskins channels Nikita Khrushchev with amusingly vulgar vigor.
Video:
The 2.35:1 1080p image is surprisingly film-like in appearance. Unlike many movies being prepped for Blu-ray, this one wasn’t DNRed to death. The picture’s fine-grain structure is noticeable but quite beautiful and not at all intrusive. Colors are suitably muted given the bleak landscapes, but nothing looks faded. There are a few instances of print damage, but they’re few and far between.
Audio:
This has always been a decent demo for home-theatre sound systems, and the new Dolby TrueHD 5.1 English audio presentation will certainly please fans. Directionality effects are plentiful and precise. Bass response is deep and resonant. Unlike some action movies, dialogue isn’t buried beneath the din. James Horner’s score is given a wide spread across the entire soundstage, so it fills the room quite nicely.
Extras:
Paramount’s Blu-ray edition carries the same extras offered by domestic DVD.
“Through the Crosshairs” features a breathless narrator and relentlessly driving music overlaid on-set interviews and film clips. This is obviously a promotional clip meant to generate viewer interest around the time of the movie’s release.
“Inside Enemy at the Gates” presents several sit-down interviews that are more substantive in nature than what you get with “Through the Crosshairs”.
There are nine deleted scenes filled with interesting character moments. Unfortunately, the video is of shoddy quality.
Finally, you get the American theatrical trailer.
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