Project-Blu Enemy at the Gates, by M. Enois Duarte

Enemy at the Gates

By: M. Enois Duarte, 6.5.2009

The Movie Itself:
Taking place at a major turning point in the Battle of Stalingrad, Enemy at the Gates opens with an incredible battle scene of young Russian soldiers storming a Nazi barricade (clearly reminiscent of Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan). As the bleak depiction of a large city turned to embers, the drafted men are literally caught in the middle of a rock and a hard place. Either keep running forward and be slaughtered by a wave of enemy gunfire, or be unmercifully gunned down by your comrades for turning back and running the other way. It's all very thrilling and exciting. Unfortunately, the rest of the film doesn't quite live up to the intensity established by this opening sequence. Though still interesting and entertaining, the narrative drastically slows down and misses its mark by only a few inches.

At a time when the Red Army was desperately trying to hold back the German offensive with little success, the morale of the Soviet people quickly diminishes with each passing day. Amidst all the destruction and hopelessness, a young soldier named Vassili Zaitsev (Jude Law) climbs to the ranks of the sniper division as the best sharpshooter the military has to offer. With the help of a political commissar named Danilov (Joseph Fiennes), reporting accounts on Vassili's triumphs, the uneducated peasant of the Urals becomes an inspiration to the nation and a propaganda icon. The Nazi army responds by assigning their top sniper, Major Erwin König (Ed Harris), with the charge of eliminating Zaitsev and destroying the Soviet sniper division. Meanwhile, Vassili finds doubts in his abilities when Tania (Rachel Weisz) moves into his line of sight.

Inspired by an account mentioned in the nonfiction book Enemy at the Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad by William Craig and partially inspired by the novel War of the Rats by David L. Robbins, Jean-Jacques Annaud's World War II film takes a great deal of liberty in its subject matter, with the majority of the plot being fictionalized. Of course, that's a moot point as long as the story accomplishes its intended goal. Coming off of Seven Years in Tibet, Annaud does a fine, workmanlike job, maintaining audience interest in a fairly overcomplicated chess-game of sniper proficiency. We are giving plenty of panoramic views of a large city reduced to rubble, which can ironically be viewed as rather lovely whilst depressing. He deserves credit also for creating what has to be one of the most intense, touching, and romantically erotic love scenes in a long time.

Aside from some notable aspects though, Enemy at the Gates starts to drag a bit by the middle of the second act, introducing characters that do little but cause hurdles for retaining pace. There is also a subplot involving the love triangle between Vassili, Danilov, and Tania that feels forced within this cat-and-mouse storyline and never really gains genuine sympathy. What is war without romance to lighten things up, right? The enervated script seems to also struggle with generating a proper villain, as Harris's König is a soldier haunted by the death of his son and Fiennes's Danilov is a part of a propaganda machine with some deceitful behavior. While Law and Weisz pull in really nice performances, their characters appear to lack a sincerity beyond what is written for them as two lonely peasants simply wishing for the war to be over.

Regardless, the film upholds interest with competent direction and an admirable production design that recreates the devastation made by the Battle of Stalingrad. Annaud's Enemy at the Gates is a sufficient World War II film that has gained a pretty good following over the years and likely to be enjoyed by some viewers. Only, it's hindered by a troubled script that keeps it from being one of the best war films available and arguably forgettable because of it.
Rating: 6/10

The Presentation:
If there was anything intentional about the photography in Enemy at the Gates, then something was lost in the translation. This AVC-encoded transfer of a film only produced seven or eight years ago is not very impressive when compared to other Blu-rays and looks rather anemic on its own. However, the video presentation framed in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio is much sharper and exhibits better resolution than its standard definition counterpart.

The picture is gritty and very grainy by nature, but also a tad distracting in nighttime scenes, as details are lost to the shadows. Fine object detailing is mostly good with clear perception, but not razor-sharp. Colors are drab and severely drained, but somehow, it suits the subject matter well. However, flesh tones seem affected by this, as they appear pasty and pale, even sickly so, and might be intentional. Occasionally, and particularly in close-ups, they display some decent texture, but nothing consistent. Contrast and brightness levels are less than impressive as well, falling on the lower side of the grayscale. Nevertheless, whites are stable and blacks deep, but the image remains two-dimensional throughout. This may not be the sort of presentation one would have expected of this film, but it's still satisfactory and passes in terms of worthy upgrade for fans.
Rating: 7.2/10

As with the video, the audio presentation of Enemy at the Gates is nothing spectacular. But compared to its lossy equivalent on DVD, the Dolby TrueHD track on this Blu-ray exhibits a definite improvement in clarity and definition.

The mix comes with quite a bit of activity, especially in the front channels. The original music score by James Horner fills the entire soundstage with clean fidelity and a pleasant enough mid-range. At times, the music blends into the background, enhancing the soundfield lightly. Dialogue is well-prioritized in the center of the screen and appears nicely balanced within the mix. But more often than not, actors sounded a bit canned and whispers are not always clearly discernible. Discrete effects are not very consistent, but when employed, they can be immersive and precise. The LFE-channel adds some weight to action sequences and explosions, but never reaches the lower fine frequencies. Generally, this lossless soundtrack of Enemy at the Gates is a nice listen, only nothing truly engaging or demonstrative.
Rating: 7.2/10

Overall Presentation: 7/10

** 10 = Reference / 8 - 9 = Excellent / 7 = Good /
6 = Satisfactory / 5 = Average / 4 & under = Below Average **

The Extras:
The real surprise lies in this rather mediocre package of bonus material for this Blu-ray edition of Enemy at the Gates. I honestly would have expected something a little more extensive, but I suppose it is what it is. Supplements are all presented in standard definition, except for a lone Theatrical Trailer of the film.

Through the Crosshairs (20 min.)
This EPK doc is all about the film's production, its origins, casting, and the story itself.
Inside Enemy at the Gates (15 min)
Similar to the above, this making-of featurette covers the same ground and consists mostly of interviews with cast members and the director.
Deleted Scenes (10 min)
This collection of scenes is not greatly relevant to the overall narrative and wisely removed for the sake of pace.

Rating: 3/10

Final Thoughts:
Jean-Jacques Annaud's Enemy at the Gates, about two snipers hunting each other down, is not an entirely bad movie. But it's also not great or standout, considering so many better entries within the genre are readily available and much more entertainment. This Blu-ray edition of the war film arrives with a rather disappointing A/V presentation, although it's a definite step up from its previous DVD incarnation and porting over the same special features. Overall, the disc is at least an easy rental.
Rating: 5/10