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Originally posted by Voyager13b
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Originally posted by Alex_Ivanov
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Originally posted by Hans_Testicleese
I enjoyed Enemy at the Gates, it was interesting for me to see a film about the hard working Russian troops
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In fact that movie was too hollywood. True tragedy and victory of Stalingrad are still unknown to western audience, but stereotypes became stronger.
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Alex,
That comment sounds like something Limey would say about the Britsh effort during WWII. Bear with me for a couple of minutes here. The film WAS Hollywwod, and was based on some fact and strong rumors about the history of the day. Even though it attempted to present a graphic portrayal of the Hell on earth conditions within the battle, and show a little Soviet heavy handedness to boot, those issues were secondary to the story. Once the inhuman conditions were established (which they pretty well were), the story moved to it's focus. That was the battle of wits between Zaitsev and Kohnig (did I spell that right?).
Of course, Hollywood has to add a romantic twist to most stories, so the broken love triangle of this script fit OK, and didn't detract from the story line. In the end, I think the movie gave two thumbs up for the average Russian soldier. It not only gave him credit for outsmarting Fritz, it cast him in a good light from a down to earth patriotic viewpoint as well. It also gave a glimpse of the Hell that was Stalingrad.
I don't think that the movie was a failed effort to make western audiences feel the horror of that battle. I think it was nothing less than a long overdue tribute to the Russian peasant soldier in the form of a docudrama about two men in time, with the Russian peasant rightfully ending the day as a hero warrior against the best offered by the "super race".
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Hi Voyager,
Personally I didn't like that movie. I think it would seem somewhat offensive (?) to most Russians, the Soviets all look like thugs -- dirty, hungry, disorganized; and those Germans with their cool uniforms and aristocratic looks slaughter them by the hundreds (the Russians didn't even have any weapons in some of the scenes). I somehow felt almost more sympathetic with the Ed Harris' character (I actually think Ed Harris was a bad choice for this role, he's too charismatic for a Nazi). Now compare this treatment of war heroes with a movie like "Pearl Harbor", and you'll see what I'm talking about. I mean Americans show their own war heros as saints, but we always come out as idiots.
Anyhow. The best war movie ever made (IMHO) is called "Come and See", (USSR, from the 1980ies), it's a kind of avant-garde, scary, and very realistic-looking film about the Belorussian partizans.
D.