Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

Enemy at the Gates Blu-ray Movie Review

This War picture lines up under the Blu crosshairs.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 19, 2009

What we need are heroes.

The extended battle that defined World War II and shaped the course of history in the 20th Century, Stalingrad saw the fate of the world teeter on the brink as two superpowers faced off in one of the bloodiest confrontations in the history of mankind. Costing countless lives on both sides, the carnage wrought encompassed the entirety of the War on the Eastern front, and indeed, proved the turning point of the conflict. Though World War II saw bloody confrontations across several theaters, it was the Nazi-Soviet conflict, and the Battle of Stalingrad in particular, that defined the War and settled its outcome. Fought in the winter of 1942-43, the superior German army could never successfully take the entire the city. The cold weather, long supply lines, and the determination of the Red Army and the citizens of Stalingrad proved too much for the modernized German forces. Depicted in several films, notably among them Director Joseph Vilsmaier's superb Stalingrad and Director Jean-Jacques Annaud's Enemy at the Gates, the epic battle will never be completely re-imagined to the extent of the true devastation and despair that marked that winter, but cinema can provide a glimpse into the horrors of life amongst the rubble of the city bearing the name of the General Secretary of the Communist Party, Joseph Stalin.

One shot, one kill.

Boatloads of Russian soldiers cross the Volga river and charge well-fortified German positions, many mowed down before even firing a shot, and those who survive the barrage and retreat are murdered by their own officers in the rear, who shoot their men for desertion in the face of the enemy. Among the survivors of the river crossing is a young farm boy from the Ural Mountains, Vassili Zaitsev (Jude Law, Gattaca), who manages to survive the barrage by hiding in a fountain littered with corpses. He soon meets a Russian propagandist, Commisar Danilov (Joseph Fiennes, The Great Raid), who also takes cover amidst the bloodied remains of his countrymen. When Zaitsev helps the bumbling Commisar load a weapon and kill five Germans in rapid succession, he is hailed as a hero when Danilov writes of him in his latest propaganda piece. Zaitsev is reassigned to the sniper division and, with each kill, his legend grows. To counteract him, the Germans bring in their own top sniper, Major König (Ed Harris, Appaloosa), to eliminate the famed Russian killing machine and once again place the Red Army and Stalingrad's populace into a state of despair.

Generally, Enemy at the Gates impresses, though it never ascends to the same level as the all-time greats of the genre, notably Saving Private Ryan, Glory, Platoon, and Full Metal Jacket. The action sequences are well-staged, the danger around every corner or above that last bit of a brick wall that serves as cover palpable throughout. Through the larger, sweeping battles in particular, the movie does well to draw the audience into the danger where bullets, artillery shells, and bombs mark the landscape and spell imminent death for all but the most (un)fortunate who live but for one more day only to once again face the same devastation. Most every scene is filled with smoke, all that remains from an explosion, a crumbled structure, or the barrel of a rifle recently fired. No building, no vegetation, and no man remains unscathed, and the movie creates a believable atmosphere where one can appreciate the scope of the devastation. Likewise, the sniper duel generally enthralls, and the many twists and turns the film takes throughout the action always keeps audiences on their toes.

Although much of the film's historical accuracy may be in question, it works from a purely detached sense, the action and cat-and-mouse game playing well from a cinematic perspective. Accepting most any movie as gospel truth for any historical event is a dubious-at-best proposition, for even the most accurate will embellish or omit for the sake of dramatic license, pace, time constraints, or any of dozens of other reasons a filmmaker may choose to deviate from fact. In the case of Enemy at the Gates, the film's action is derived from a strong emotional core that lends to the film plenty of gut-wrenching drama that frames both the whole of the battle and the singularity of the sniper duel exceptionally. The characters in the film are surprisingly well-developed, and their camaraderie and, in some cases and much more importantly, physical and emotional love for one another lends to the film a deeper, more personal touch that provides added weight to the action. Also working in the film's favor is a generally rapid pace that, despite material that may superficially seem monotonous, plays with plenty of raw drama that is punctuated by the action sequences.

Enemy at the Gates Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Enemy at the Gates lines up in the Blu-ray crosshairs and reveals a picture that does not quite excite the visual senses. This 1080p, 2.35:1-framed image takes on a dull, drab, lifeless appearance, reflecting the cold, harsh, smoky, and decaying Stalingrad that populates every frame of the film. At times, the film seems almost colorless, only the brown stocks of the rifles or the dull green uniforms standing out from the black and gray rubble and smoke that has overtaken the city. It should come as no surprise that the finest of details are hard to come by, particularly in those outdoor shots covered in smoke and generally bleak imagery. Some objects -- wool-lined jackets, the lines in the wood on the rifle stocks, facial hair growth, or the remnants of a brick wall -- reveal adequate textures and visible nuances that enhance the realism of the picture, but never does any one object stand out to truly wow viewers. The image often appears rather clean with minimal grain but displays the occasional bout of noise or dirt. Black levels are sufficient and flesh tones take on an appropriately cold, lifeless appearance that matches up with the overall look of the film. Enemy at the Gates offers a rather flat-appearing image at best, but considering the many challenges facing the visuals, this disc seems to replicate the intended look nicely enough.

Enemy at the Gates Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Enemy at the Gates shells Blu-ray with a somewhat lackluster Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Gunshots lack that crisp oomph and zip, and explosions don't provide the heft and deep thumps one might expect of them. The action sequences fall a bit flat, with not much in the way of immersion or foundation-shaking bass. Sound effects spread out nicely across the front, but the rear channels offer little in the way of discernible support. Generally subtle ambience is heard nicely here and there, for example machine gun fire and explosions off in the distance, most coming out of the front speakers, and sometimes elevated in volume when shells land closer to the action. Sometimes, these distant explosions, and those closer to the action in particular, surpass in the level of hefty bass those happening in the middle of the frame. The film's final major battle scenes offer up the most heft and power, with the explosions playing to good volume but still not rattling the floorboards. Music and dialogue are both delivered crisply and efficiently. While a solid soundtrack, this one ultimately underwhelms in its effort bring the action to vivid life.

Enemy at the Gates Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Enemy at the Gates arrives on Blu-ray with only a few extras. Through the Crosshairs (480p, 19:36) plays as a very basic making-of piece where cast and crew recount the plot, discuss the characters, speak of the themes, and recount the history of the battle itself. Inside 'Enemy at the Gates' (480p, 15:01) features cast and crew discussing their preparations for the roles, including learning the history of the battle and firing their weapons. They also speak further on the themes, the making of the film, casting, working together, their favorite scenes, and more. Concluding this brief presentation of extras is a collection of nine deleted scenes (480p, 10:13) and the film's theatrical trailer (1080p, 2:28).

Enemy at the Gates Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Enemy at the Gates gets it right. A fine War picture but not necessarily one of the all-time greats, the film frames the action in a human context, bringing life and emotion to its characters and building them not necessarily as heroes, but as men and women fighting to see another day. While the action serves as the fundamental point-of-interest for the film, the emotional and dramatic core lends more importance and danger to each shot fired, leaving the audience hoping for the best but anticipating the worst. In a world where smoldering ruins and bloodied corpses seem to litter every square inch of terrain, the characters struggle to survive, fighting perhaps superficially for their country and their leader but, deeper inside, for one another, for their friendships, and for their loves. Paramount's Blu-ray presentation of Enemy at the Gates might not entice hardcore Blu-ray fans to upgrade from the DVD. While the picture and sound are improved, the lack of bonus materials disappoints. Enemy at the Gates comes recommended as a rental for sure and a purchase for those yet to own the film on another format.