Help w/ a movie name (WWII sniper)

[SW CQB 45]

I was given a name of a must see movie and now I forgot it.

possibly WWII sniper (true story) european offensive

any help with the name of the movie so I can rent it would be greatly appreciated.

thanks in advance

 

[SW CQB 45]

I was given a name of a must see movie and now I forgot it.

possibly WWII sniper (true story) european offensive

any help with the name of the movie so I can rent it would be greatly appreciated.

thanks in advance

 

[29aholic]

Could be "Enemy at our (the?) Gates" about true story sniper duel between a russian who's name I cant spell and a german who's name I cant remember

 

[feralmerril]

29aholic is right.

 

[SW CQB 45]

OK, good deal.

I just saw the trailer.

Why did I miss this movie back in 2001?

looks good

thanks

 

[n4zov]

Russian sniper Vasily Grigoryevich Zaytsev recounts in his memoirs that he killed a German master-sniper Major Erwin König during the battle of Stalingrad. The movie centers on this event. There is considerable debate about the existence of Konig, but there is no doubt that Zaytsev killed a very large number of Germans during his service.

 

[Jellybean]

It is a story based on a true story, which means it has little to nothing to do with actual events. The movie would almost be worth watching again except it was too full of stuff to get your date interested in it.

 

[carguychris]

Why did I miss this movie back in 2001?

It wasn't well-reviewed and didn't stay in the theaters for very long. It was criticized for being needlessly predictable and for playing fast and loose with the facts, although this isn't unusual measured against older WWII movies or recent historical actioners such as "The Patriot".

Also, according to many critics- including myself- all of the lead actors except Ed Harris and Ron Perlman were miscast.

However, the movie is a technical masterpiece. The cinematography and sets are superb, and the action sequences are very exciting. It's worth watching despite its flaws IMHO.

 

[carguychris]

Originally posted by n4zov:
Russian sniper Vasily Grigoryevich Zaytsev recounts in his memoirs that he killed a German master-sniper Major Erwin König during the battle of Stalingrad. The movie centers on this event. There is considerable debate about the existence of Konig, but there is no doubt that Zaytsev killed a very large number of Germans during his service.

+1. I've read that most serious modern-day historians believe that the König story is apocryphal at best and blatant Soviet propaganda at worst.

It goes without saying that "memoirs" and "histories" of WWII from the Soviet era often contain stories that can't be verified by independent observers or other historical records. An average Soviet citizens' use of dedication, ingenuity, meager resources, and a healthy measure of stoicism to defeat the best and the brightest of the Wehrmacht is a common theme in such stories.

 

[hberttmank]

In spite of it's flaws, I liked Enemy at the Gates. It had some pretty good actions scenes, worth seeing at least once.

 

[dkees]

The begining of this movie although not as good as Saving Private Ryan, is pretty darn good!

 

[CH47gunner]

Based on the book "War Of The Rats".

Very good read.

Bruce

 

[mississippi revolverman]

Yup Has to be Enemy at the Gates. Go to wikapedia and read the stroy on the sniper. Make the movie very true to histroy

 

[walnutred]

I liked the movie but it was a little distracting having the Russian speak with British accents.

A friend commented to me once that movie graphics are one thing, but if they ever develop Smell-Surround to match the sights and sounds in a movie, there will never be another movie made about combat.

 

[Malysh]

The addition of Rachel Weitz to this movie was a distraction that was pure Hollywood.
She WAS nice to look at,though!

 

[perpster]

Definitely Enemy at the Gates. Despite all the fluff, it is an excellent movie to watch on a flat screen TV with surround sound. As said above the movie is technically excellent and accurate regarding the weapons (IMHO).

Incidentally, Call of Duty 5 [COD5] (World at War) looks almost exactly like the movie. It even has the sniper among the bodies around the fountain scene and the department store scenes.

 

[Jack Flash]

Originally posted by hberttmank:
In spite of it's flaws, I liked Enemy at the Gates. It had some pretty good actions scenes, worth seeing at least once.

Agree +1.

IIRC, the opening scene is a suicidal infantry charge toward the Germans, in which many Russian soldiers are unarmed! (I guess this was pretty common - apparently the miracle of communism failed to provide sufficient equipment for the war effort). Zaytsev is one of these unarmed men, who are expected to rush forward and pick up a rifle from a fallen comrad (and there are plenty of fallen comrads) if they are not killed first.

That scene is worth the whole movie. You may want to fast forward through all the bs about the love triangle, or whatever it was...

{Edited added:}
Actually, the first scene is Vasily as a boy with his grandfather(?) who is teaching him the art of killing wolves for pelts. This lays the foundation for later scenes that show his skill with a rifle and his ability to use cover and stealth.

 

[red14]

Usually the Russians leave out the part about outnumbering the Germans 10 to 1, and still getting pushed around, until it started freezing.

Many Russian women were great snipers also!

 

[SIG229fan]

Get the movie...it's well-made and, if not perfectly, historically accurate, will give you a real sense of the desperation of the Nazis and Russians willing to bet all for a city.

Lots of good period-correct firearms, too.

I bought the DVD and watch it regularly.

 

[Deek]

+1 SIG229fan
I have the DVD and have watched it several times. I don't know about the chick Malysh is talking about, she was okay, but Ed Harris and Jude Law are yummy. They have all the cool parts anyway.