Movie review.
May. 10th, 2003 11:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gridloreOK, watching Enemy at the Gates last night. Being a history freak, I loved it; they did a nice job getting some details in. Yes, Soviet troops coming into the battle got one rifle for every two men, and were told to move in pairs so when the rifleman died, the unarmed man could keep fighting.
Even the love story didn't bother me much. It felt a bit forced, but worked on a few levels. What bothered me was that Stalingrad felt empty. There were over 100,000 soldiers fighting in that city! Yet it felt like an empty set of buildings. Oh, well.
If you haven't seen it, the movie is the story of the greatest sniper duel of all time. Vassili Zaitsev, a shepherds' boy from the Urals becomes the terror of German officers and a hero to the Soviet people. In response, the Germans send Konig, the commander of the Wehrmacht sniper school to hunt him down. Much of the movie is taken up with their personal battle. The love triangle complicates things for Zaitsev.
From a professional point of view, the sniping was well handled. Konig and Zaitsev used cover and concealment, waited out their shots, and made good target selections. There were a fair share of impossible shots. (a Russian sniper hit while leaping between shattered portions of a building, and a German officer killed with only a tiny portion of his head visible) but these two guys were the best.. but..
Historically, Konig set up and let Zaitsev know where he was by killing several Russian officers. Zaitsev and his Commissar moved into the area. The Commissar announced "I see him!" and stood up. He was shot. Zaitsev then contemplated the pile of rubble where the shot had come from, and finally found the place where he would pick as a hide. A six-inch square area where two metal plates had fallen, leaving a triangular opening. He took his shot, and killed Konig.
In the film, the Commissar is Zaitsev's rival in the love triangle, and basically kills himself by standing up. There then comes a long stand-off. Konig leaves his hide, and Zaitsev confronts him from a standing unsupported position. One shot, one kill. But the nice thing about the real life ending is the sheer impossibility of Zaitsev's shot! 150m through a hole about the size of the space you get when you touch your thumbs and forefingers together to form a circle. I know this was more dramatic, but my first thought was "if Konig has anybody covering him, Zaitsev is a dead man."
All in all a good move.
Even the love story didn't bother me much. It felt a bit forced, but worked on a few levels. What bothered me was that Stalingrad felt empty. There were over 100,000 soldiers fighting in that city! Yet it felt like an empty set of buildings. Oh, well.
If you haven't seen it, the movie is the story of the greatest sniper duel of all time. Vassili Zaitsev, a shepherds' boy from the Urals becomes the terror of German officers and a hero to the Soviet people. In response, the Germans send Konig, the commander of the Wehrmacht sniper school to hunt him down. Much of the movie is taken up with their personal battle. The love triangle complicates things for Zaitsev.
From a professional point of view, the sniping was well handled. Konig and Zaitsev used cover and concealment, waited out their shots, and made good target selections. There were a fair share of impossible shots. (a Russian sniper hit while leaping between shattered portions of a building, and a German officer killed with only a tiny portion of his head visible) but these two guys were the best.. but..
Historically, Konig set up and let Zaitsev know where he was by killing several Russian officers. Zaitsev and his Commissar moved into the area. The Commissar announced "I see him!" and stood up. He was shot. Zaitsev then contemplated the pile of rubble where the shot had come from, and finally found the place where he would pick as a hide. A six-inch square area where two metal plates had fallen, leaving a triangular opening. He took his shot, and killed Konig.
In the film, the Commissar is Zaitsev's rival in the love triangle, and basically kills himself by standing up. There then comes a long stand-off. Konig leaves his hide, and Zaitsev confronts him from a standing unsupported position. One shot, one kill. But the nice thing about the real life ending is the sheer impossibility of Zaitsev's shot! 150m through a hole about the size of the space you get when you touch your thumbs and forefingers together to form a circle. I know this was more dramatic, but my first thought was "if Konig has anybody covering him, Zaitsev is a dead man."
All in all a good move.
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I quite liked EatG myself...
Date: 10 May 2003 15:27 (UTC)But what you were saying about impossible shots reminded me of something I read online a while back; did you post something to the TML about being in a theatre watching Bambi and leaping to your feet screaming "WHAT A SHOT!!" when Bambi's mother gets killed?
Re: I quite liked EatG myself...
Date: 11 May 2003 07:11 (UTC)