Further Details

Title: Enemy at the Gates [Region 2]
Format: DVD
Condition: New
Number Of Discs: 1
Release Date: 19/11/2001
Genre: Military & War
Actors: Ron Perlman, Eva Mattes, Ivan Shvedov, Sophie Rois, Gabriel Thomson, Matthias Habich, Mario Bandi, Hans Martin Stier, Clemens Schick, Bob Hoskins, Ed Harris, Jude Law, Joseph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Audio Language: English, English, English
Runtime: 125 minutes
Region Code: Region 2
Studio: Pathe
Subtitle Language: Hard of Hearing English
Certificate: 15
Description: PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
DVD Special Features:
Director's Commentary
3 Documentaries
Deleted scenes
Filmographies
Story boards
Film posters
Theatrical trailer
Audio description
2.35:1 aspect ratio, widescreen 16:9 version
Language: English Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English Hard of Hearing

REVIEW
Enemy at the Gates opens with a pivotal event of World War II--the German invasion of Stalingrad--recreated in Saving Private Ryan-like epic scale as ill-trained Russian soldiers face German attack or punitive execution if they flee from the enemy's advance. Director Jean-Jacques Annaud captures this madness with urgent authenticity, creating a massive context for a more intimate battle waged amidst the city's ruins. Embellished from its basis in fact, the story shifts to an intense cat-and-mouse game between a Russian shepherd raised to iconic fame, and a German marksman whose skill is unmatched in its lethal precision. Vassily Zaitzev (Jude Law) has been sniping Nazis one bullet at a time, while the German Major Konig (Ed Harris) has been assigned to kill Vassily and spare Hitler from further embarrassment. There's love in this war, too, as Vassily connects with a woman soldier (Rachel Weisz), but she is also loved by Danilov (Joseph Fiennes), the Soviet officer who promotes his friend Vassily as Russia's much-needed hero. This romantic rivalry lends marginal interest to the central plot, but it's not enough to make this a classic war film. Instead it's a taut, well-made suspense thriller isolated within an epic battle, and although Annaud and cowriter Alain Godard (drawing from William Craig's book and David L Robbins' novel The War of the Rats) fail to connect the parallel plots with any lasting impact, the production is never less than impressive. Highly conventional but handled with intelligence and superior craftsmanship, this is warfare as strategic entertainment, without compromising warfare as a man-made hell on Earth. --Jeff Shannon,

On the DVD: with a choice of Dolby 5.1 or DTS the sound is suitably spectacular (James Horner's Prokofiev-inspired score comes up well amid whizzing bullets and explosions), while the 2.35:1 anamorphic picture makes the best of the epic battle sequences. "Through the Crosshairs" is a standard 20-minute behind-the-scenes documentary, which is complemented by "Inside Enemy at the Gates", a 15-minute montage of interviews with the stars and director. There's also a 25-minute French-made documentary (with English subtitles) about the real battle that includes a short interview with the real Vassily Zaitsev. Eight brief deleted scenes can be played separately or neatly inserted into the movie by pressing Enter when the gun sight icon appears on screen. The commentary by director Jean-Jacques Annaud is as informative as might be expected from a director who always seems passionate about his film projects. Storyboards, posters, a trailer and filmographies round out an excellent disc package. --Mark Walker

DVDs ARE REGION 2 UNLESS OTHERWISE STATED

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