Saturday, December 22, 2007

Enemy At The Gates (2001)


Enemy at the Gates film poster
Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud
Produced by Jean-Jacques Annaud
John D. Schofield
Written by Jean-Jacques Annaud
Alain Godard
Starring Jude Law
Ed Harris
Rachel Weisz
Joseph Fiennes
Music by James Horner
Cinematography Robert Fraisse
Editing by Noëlle Boisson
Humphrey Dixon
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date(s) March 16, 2001
Running time 131 min.
Country Flag of the United States USA
Flag of Germany Germany
Flag of the United Kingdom UK
Flag of Ireland Ireland
Language English, German, Russian
Budget $68,000,000

Enemy at the Gates is a 2001 motion picture directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, starring Jude Law and Ed Harris.

The film is based on William Craig's 1973 book Enemy at the Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad, which describes the events surrounding the Battle of Stalingrad, 1942-1943. [1] The movie follows Soviet sniper Vasily Grigoryevich Zaytsev and his German rival, Major Erwin König, as they stalk each other during the Battle of Stalingrad. Following its release, the film received criticism in both the West and in Russia for the numerous inaccuracies of historic details, Russian linguistics and how the Red Army was presented in bias to Western views at the time.

Plot

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 poorly 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 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 bond between the two men is to be tested, 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 demoralizing 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.

Synopsis

The story focuses on the exploits of Vassili Zaitsev (Jude Law), a Ural peasant who was taught how to hunt and shoot by his grandfather, now fighting on the Eastern Front of World War II. A Red Army volunteer, he is traveling in a train's cattle truck along with other soldiers and civilians, where he manages to catch the eye of a young woman (Rachel Weisz) before the train is converted into a military convoy headed for Stalingrad, a city that is now occupied by the German Army. Upon arriving on the city's outskirts, the soldiers attempt to cross the Volga on unprotected river barges, bombarded by German dive bombers and artillery, resulting in many casualties. When the survivors disembark on the other side, only half of them are given rifles, while the rest - among them Vasily - are given only a clip of ammunition. In a desperate charge against German lines, the poorly-armed Russians are massacred both by the enemy, and the soviet commissars who have been ordered to shoot retreaters.

After the battle, a car races through the streets, under fire from a German panzer. Knocked off the road, one of the passengers - Danilov (Joseph Fiennes), a soviet political officer - flees to the safety of a drained fountain and evades death amongst the corpses. Here he meets Vasily, and witnesses with amazement as he shoots down five nearby German officers with a single clip of his rifle. Later, Nikita Khrushchev (Bob Hoskins) arrives in Stalingrad to coordinate the city's defences. At an officer's meeting he demands for suggestions to improve morale, and Danilov comes forward with the idea of making heroes for the people to idolize. Through propaganda, Vasily's exploits becomes national news, and he 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 — the author of the articles — become firm friends. Vasili then learns that the girl he had seen on the train (whose name is Tanya), has joined the Red Army as well.

Due to Zaitsev's infamy, and the immense casualties being inflicted by the Russian snipers, Major Erwin König (Ed Harris) is deployed to Stalingrad to help counter this threat and boost German morale. A renowned marksman himself, he immediately sets his sights on killing Zaitsev.

The next day, Vasily and two other snipers are assigned to kill an enemy sniper lurking in the Department Store sector, which he dispatches with short order. When they go to retrieve the sniper's dog tags, they discover that it was only a decoy. König, hiding in the building, kills the other snipers while Zaitsev manages to escape in the confusion caused by a German air raid. Upon learning that Major König was sent to terminate Vasily, another sniper and former König student named Koulikov (Ron Perlman) is called upon to assist Vasily in fighting the Major. König's skill and resourcefulness proves to be too much, however, and in a failed plan to draw him out, Koulikov is killed himself, shaking Vasily's spirits considerably.

Danilov has since recruited a double agent - a boy named Sacha Fillipov (Gabriel Marshall-Thomson), a close fan of Vasily who has also managed to become close with König; Sacha would give König false information about Vasily's whereabouts, allowing Vasily opportunities to ambush him, but König's cunning would keep him a step ahead of his enemies. The Major eventually learns of Sacha's betrayal, and hangs him to enrage Vasily into another duel.

Running alongside the main plot is Vasily and Danilov's attraction to Tanya, which causes underlying tension between the two men amidst the chaotic atmosphere, especially when Tanya finally chooses Vasily as her lover. This personal conflict comes to a head when Tanya is presumed to be dead after being struck down by shrapnel. As Vasily and Danilov hunt for König to avenge Sacha, Danilov laments his jealousy for Vasily and his disenchantment with the Communist cause as a result. Danilov then exposes himself in a final act of friendship, allowing König to shoot him. König leaves his position to inspect the body, only to be shot dead, clean through the eye, by Vasily.

Two months later, it is revealed that Stalingrad is liberated and Zaitsev is reunited with Tanya, who was only wounded by her ordeal.

Main cast

Location

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, yet, as it is based on a book, it is not supposed to be completely faithful to history. [2]

Some Soviet Stalingrad veterans were so offended by inaccuracies in the movie and what they saw as the insulting way in which it portrays the Red Army, that on May 7, 2001, soon after it was shown in Russia, they addressed their grievances to the State Duma (the Russian Parliament), demanding the film be banned, but this request was not granted.

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 book 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


Behind It

Vasily Zaytsev

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vasily Grigoryevich Zaytsev
March 23, 1915 – December 15, 1991

Vasily Zaytsev in Stalingrad, October 1942
Place of birth Flag of Russia Yeleninskoye, Russia
Place of death Flag of Ukraine Kiev, Ukraine
Allegiance Soviet Union
Years of service 1942-1943
Rank Captain
Battles/wars Flag of the Soviet Union Great Patriotic War
- Battle of Stalingrad
Awards Hero of the Soviet Union
Order of Lenin
Order of the Red Banner
Order of the Patriotic War, 1st Class
Medal for the Defence of Stalingrad
Medal For the Victory Over Germany

Captain Vasily Grigoryevich Zaytsev (Russian: Васи́лий Григо́рьевич За́йцев, pronounced[help] [vʌˈsʲilʲɪj grʲɪˈgorʲjevʲɪtɕ ˈzajtsɨf] ) (March 23, 1915–December 15, 1991) was a Soviet sniper during World War II, notable particularly for his activities between November 10 and December 17, 1942 during the Battle of Stalingrad. He killed 225 soldiers and officers of the Wehrmacht and other Axis armies, including 11 enemy snipers.[1] Prior to 10 November, he had already killed 32 Axis soldiers with the standard-issue Mosin-Nagant rifle (tryokhlineyka, "three line rifle").[1] Between October 1942 and January 1943, Zaytsev had made 242 verified kills,[2] but the real number may be much higher,[3] some argue it might have been as many as 400.[4] His military rank at the time was Junior Lieutenant.

Early life and World War II

Zaytsev was born in Yeleninskoye and grew up in the Ural Mountains. His surname Zaytsev has the same root as the word "hare" (zayats) in Russian. Before going to Stalingrad, he served in the Russian Navy as a clerk but upon reading about the brutality of the fighting in Stalingrad volunteered for front-line duty. Zaytsev served in the 1047th Rifle Regiment of the 284th Rifle Division of the 62nd Army. He is notable for having participated in the Battle of Stalingrad. There, the Russians set up a snipers' training school in the Lazur chemical works; it was run by Zaytsev. The snipers Zaytsev trained were nicknamed zaichata, meaning "leverets" (baby hares). Anthony Beevor wrote in Stalingrad that this was the start of the "sniper movement" in the 62nd Army. Conferences were arranged to spread the doctrine of "sniperism" and exchange ideas on technique and principles that were not limited to marksmanship skills. It is estimated that the snipers Zaytsev trained killed more than 3000 enemy soldiers.

Zaytsev served until January 1943, when he suffered an injury to his eyes from a landmine. He was attended to by Professor Filatov, who is credited with restoring his sight. He then returned to the front and finished the war on the Dniestr River with the military rank of Captain. After the end of the war, Zaytsev visited Berlin, where he met friends who served with him. They presented him with his sniper rifle, now engraved with the words: "To the Hero of the Soviet Union Zaytsev Vasily, who buried in Stalingrad more than 300 fascists."[1] (The rifle is now on exhibit in the Volgograd State Panoramic Museum's "Stalingrad Battle" exhibit.[5]) After the war, Zaytsev managed a factory in Kiev, and remained in that city until he died at the age of 76.

For the Russians, World War II produced numerous snipers with large numbers of confirmed kills. Hence, some sources claim that Zaytsev's remarkable performance was not unique and that others matched or surpassed his kill record, such as Ivan Mihailovich Sidorenko of the 1122nd Rifle Regiment who is credited with approximately 500 kills by the end of the war.[3][4] Undoubtedly, though, there were numerous Soviet snipers serving during World War II who distinguished themselves with a high number of individual kills, including Fyodor Okhlopkov who had 429 confirmed kills.

Commemoration

On January 31, 2006, Vasily Zaytsev was reburied on Mamayev Kurgan with full military honors. Zaytsev's dying wish was to be buried at the monument to the defenders of Stalingrad. His coffin was carried next to a monument where his famous quote is written: "There was no ground for us beyond [the] Volga."

The telescopic sight from Heinz Thorvald's rifle, allegedly Zaytsev's most treasured trophy, is still exhibited in the Moscow armed forces museum. However, the entire story remains essentially unconfirmed. There is no mention of it in any Soviet military reports, including those to Aleksandr Shcherbakov, even though almost every act of sniperism was reported with relish. The supposed duel is depicted in David L. Robbins' book War of the Rats and fictionalized in the film Enemy at the Gates, although Thorvald character's name was changed to Major König. Whether this duel actually took place is in dispute among historians, however, due to lack of any evidence as to whether there was a German sniper of such name or rank who ever existed during World War II.[citation needed] Zaytsev himself did make mention of the duel in his own biography "Notes of a Sniper", although it was a brief description occupying less than a chapter, in which he commented that he had been up against a very skillful sniper.

Popular culture

References

  1. ^ a b c (Russian)Biography at the website on Heroes of the Soviet Union and Russia
  2. ^ About Vassili Zaitsev
  3. ^ a b Top WW2 Snipers
  4. ^ a b World War II Snipers
  5. ^ Volgograd State panoramic museum "Stalingrad Battle". Hall 4 - Street fights in Stalingrad - the first photo there is of Zaytsev's sniper rifle

Books

  • Zaytsev,Vasily (1956-1971) "Notes of a Sniper:For us There is no Land Beyond the Volga" Vladivostok:Moscow/2826 Press Inc.
  • Beevor, Antony (1998). Stalingrad. Penguin Books Ltd.: London. ISBN 0-14-100131-3.
  • Robbins, David L. (2000). War of the Rats. Bantam Books. ISBN 0-553-58135-X.
  • (1989). The Reader's Digest Illustrated History of World War II. Reader's Digest Association Limited.: London. ISBN 0-89577-333-3

Source : Wikipedia,Imdb.com
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