Truly one of the great WW II films.

Rating: 9/10 (25 March 2001)

Because of the titanic significance of WW II to the history of our century and because of the true heroism (in the meaningful sense of the word) shown by so many people who gave their all to defeat this century's antichrist, the moral prerequisite of any film about the subject is authenticity. We owe it to all those who gave so much to tell their stories as close to the way it was as far as we can determine(not necessarily about real incidents but about what it was like). Saving Private Ryan earned the accolades of veterans for that reason and Enemy at the Gates follows suit. `Enemy' adds the extra whollup of biography: there was just such a hero in the battle of Stalingrad. The producers and directors also get credit for making the contributions of the Russians to winning the war as their subject matter. As some historians have pointed out, this contribution is often overlooked because of the seedy history of Stalinist communism and the chronic, postwar, anticommunistic hysteria of Americans. With that preparation, Annauld gives us a bone-chilling account of the kinds of horrific sacrifices the Russians made. The battle scenes are equally horrific in their realism to those in `Ryan'. Like `Ryan', it thereby reminds us continuously of the nature of the heroism: that ordinary, peace-loving, sensitive people could apply themselves to this hateful work, contrary to their inclinations and preferences. All the other elements that are required to support this presentation (production values, acting, directing, etc.) are first class in this film. This is one of the all time greats. See it and be sure your kids see it so they understand what all these people did for them.