View Full Version : Enemy At The Gates
Vinyl-Pants
01-12-2001, 11:31
Saw this the other day. I have two major complaints about the movie however which stops it from being a absolute corker;
a) the pointlessness of Rachael Weisz's character. It was obvious from the word go she was only there to play the love interest, slow the pacing of the film down and pad it out, the film wouldve been better without her character at all and more battle scenes instead.
b) the inconsistency of spoken languages. It really got on my nerves how in the backgroud everyone spoke russion or german but in the foreground they all spoke english with dodgy accents. The little boy didnt even attempt to hide his accent at all in fact (isnt he the one who's in "My Family" as well?)
Aside from these two gripes it wasnt a bad film but these two things are really playing on my mind. What does everyone else think?
This film is fantastic, got in on DVD this week and the quality of the sound and picture just blew me away.
Chris
I thought is was *ok*, I also had a problem with the language thang - it was just stupid! I agree that Rachel Weisz's character was pretty weak. Ed Harris however was as cool as ever and there were some impressive *sniper* scenes between him and Jude Law (Who always gives a solid performance IMO)
Watched this on dvd yesterday and thought it was very good.Have to admit though that the accents let it down slightly.
The love story was admittedly pretty perfuntory at times, but let up to the great climax, and wasn't nearly as bad as some make out. As for the accents; 3 options here. 1) Everyone speaks in Russian and German with subtitles. In a film funded with shedloads of US money -- isn't going to happen I'm afraid. 2) Everyone speaks in dodgy German and Russian accents, or "mien gotting" as its called -- *cringe* 3) The film takes the route it does -- English spoken in the foreground, with the audience having to assume they're just "hearing" it as English, and the background dialogue in the respective languages. I know which one I'd prefer from 2 & 3! :)
My father bought it for the family - I thought it was reasonable... To be honest though I think Pearl Harbor is better...
Originally posted by Madm@tt
My father bought it for the family - I thought it was reasonable... To be honest though I think Pearl Harbor is better...
:brickwall :D
Vinyl-Pants
01-12-2001, 18:33
Originally posted by Byron
The love story was admittedly pretty perfuntory at times, but let up to the great climax, and wasn't nearly as bad as some make out. As for the accents; 3 options here. 1) Everyone speaks in Russian and German with subtitles. In a film funded with shedloads of US money -- isn't going to happen I'm afraid. 2) Everyone speaks in dodgy German and Russian accents, or "mien gotting" as its called -- *cringe* 3) The film takes the route it does -- English spoken in the foreground, with the audience having to assume they're just "hearing" it as English, and the background dialogue in the respective languages. I know which one I'd prefer from 2 & 3! :)
You are forgetting probably the best option; all the russians speak english (foreground and background) and all the germans speak german as there is very few lines spoken by the krauts at all.
However, there is one fundemental problem with the film. Racheal Weisz character is consistenly heralded as a unique and valuable person - she is one of the few german speaking russians. Also, I doubt many germans bothered to learn russian other than key military personel - the point im making is Ed Harris's character more than likely cannot speak russian especially as he is drafted in unexpectedly to counter Jude Law however he communicates effectively and often with the russian boy. I suppose ultimately we have to make the assumption he can speak russian, but its unlikely and not explained in the film and of course is just another minor irritating point.
A great story hamstrung by by some appalling mis-casting & a lame script.
I enjoyed SPR more than this & thats going some. :D
hookbeak
02-12-2001, 10:05
Originally posted by Vinyl-Pants
However, there is one fundemental problem with the film. Racheal Weisz character is consistenly heralded as a unique and valuable person - she is one of the few german speaking russians. Also, I doubt many germans bothered to learn russian other than key military personel - the point im making is Ed Harris's character more than likely cannot speak russian especially as he is drafted in unexpectedly to counter Jude Law however he communicates effectively and often with the russian boy. I suppose ultimately we have to make the assumption he can speak russian, but its unlikely and not explained in the film and of course is just another minor irritating point.
the boy can speak German, Rachel Weisz's character has taught him - it mentions this somewhere...
(thanks to my wife for pointing that out to me)
I thought it was a bad film mainly due to the accents. The pinnacle came when Ed Harris was talking with the 'plum english' accented russian boy and said somethign along the lines of
"it's natural, you after all russian"
Plus Ron Perlman's accent changed from australian to german to russian on several occasions.
I quite enjoyed it as a film but found the whole story a bit far fetched and the plot full of holes but as with a lot of films the harder you look the more inconsistencys you will find.
Originally posted by Vinyl-Pants
You are forgetting probably the best option; all the russians speak english (foreground and background) and all the germans speak german as there is very few lines spoken by the krauts at all.
You're quite right; that is a fourth option I forgot (they used it in Monsignour Renard on ITV; French = English, German spoken with subtitles). However, that would still lead to quite a bit of subtitled dialogue, which I'm not sure, even that limited amount, most US audiences would accept.
wabznasm
03-12-2001, 11:40
Originally posted by Byron
...In a film funded with shedloads of US money
It's actually an entirely European funded movie.
I was going to say isn't it the most expensive European production to date?. As for the film i thought it was ok but to be honest i enjoyed the dts soundtrack more than the film. Which isn't really saying much. Also it's one of very few films that kept stopping where the deleted scenes should be, really got on my tits that.:mad:
I saw this a few weeks ago on rental, and it was far better then i expected to be. Better acting then Pearl Harbor! It's just nice to see a war film not dominated by how americans save the day once again. Heck, it didn't even have the English in it! Therefore i thought it was very original!
The only thing that i tought was a little silly was Rachael Weisz's characters face when she was making love. Looked like she was having her nipples twisted!
jonathan.e
03-12-2001, 16:05
What’s the commentary like?
Originally posted by wabznasm
It's actually an entirely European funded movie.
Mental note; never, ever trust anything the film mags say! :rolleyes: ;)
I also think Pearl Harbor was a better movie.
Jude Law and Bob Hoskins, (who I usually rate as an actor) gave particularly poor performances. Ed Harris was, in my opion, the only saving grace.
Originally posted by sanejo
I also think Pearl Harbor was a better movie.
Jude Law and Bob Hoskins, (who I usually rate as an actor) gave particularly poor performances. Ed Harris was, in my opion, the only saving grace.
I thought both were fine; especially loved Hoskins' firey, truculent Kruschev. ("And stop ******** your pants!") Whatever the merits of the performances however, at least, unlike the cast of Pearl Harbor, at least the put in a performance. :p
the opening sequence is stunning, an accurate portrayal of the wholesale slaughter techniques used by the russian high command.
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