A Clever Spell

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For all the widespread critical acclaim that surrounded the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan (which portrayed the D-Day invasion Normandy landing), little is said about the opening scenes of Enemy At The Gates. Just as lifelike and certainly as, if not more, compelling, Enemy At The Gates paints a vivid picture of the Battle of Stalingrad…

As Nazi forces besiege the city, Russian peasants are shipped across the river in undefended boats. As Luftwaffe swoop down from the skies and rain bullets on the men below, only the mountain of bodies that topple on top of a man can save him from being shot himself. Those who do survive and make it to shore are armed with a single Kalashnikov - but not every man, only every other man… The unarmed men are instructed to follow a man with gun, and when he is killed, to pick up the weapon himself and fight the enemy valiantly.

Sharp-shooting farm boy Vassili Zaitsev (Jude Law) finds himself thrust into this bloody environment. As part of the initial wave of the Russian advance, he is forced to play dead and hide among the mangled bodies of his countrymen when the Germans annihilate the Russian offensive. Using the bodies as cover, he puts his sniper skills to work, not against the animals he used to shoot for food, but against German officers exposed to his crosshairs. Vassili’s brilliant talents are immediately recognized by Commisar Danilov (Joseph Fiennes) who ends up befriending the man.

As a powerful figure in the Communist propaganda machine, Danilov uses his skills and connections to transform Vassili into a larger-than-life hero, creating the impression that he is capable of defeating the German army all by himself. It’s Danilov’s hope that by creating a recognizable face for the war effort, he can raise the morale of the Russian forces and turn the tide against the advancing German armies.

But the relationship between the two men becomes complicated when Vassili and Danilov both fall in love with the same woman, a female soldier named Tania Chernova (Rachel Weisz). Will Danilov’s jealousies turn him against his friend? The man who made Vassili is certainly capable of tearing him down, and in the Soviet Union, no one is above the wrath of Stalin… Vassili’s problems are further accentuated by the announced arrival of his German counterpart, Major Konig (Ed Harris), winner of the Iron Cross and the most celebrated sniper in German history.

Based on the true story of the two real life soldiers, Zaitsev and Konig, Enemy At The Gates sticks closely to the historical record concerning the showdown between these noted wartime figures. Were they mere creations of propaganda? Or was this the individual battle of the century? Only history can make that distinction. Meanwhile, Enemy At The Gates makes a place for itself among the great war dramas of our era. A well-cultivated screenplay, coupled with an unparalleled visual display of the destructiveness of war, makes this a must-see film - both for its educational and historical value as well as its edge-of-your-seat excitement…

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a blog where you can find more reviews like this one of the Enemy At The Gates (DVD).

A phenomenon the likes of which comes only once or twice in a century, Marilyn Monroe has without a doubt defined what it means to be a “blonde” both during her short career and since her untimely sudden demise.

Born as Norma Jean Mortensen on June 1, 1926 in Los Angeles, California, she died of a drug overdose again in the same city, on August 5, 1962. She has become a mythical icon like Elvis since then.

Even today quite a few female stars are compared with MM to underscore their beauty. The non-blonde Italian diva Sophia Loren earned the moniker “Italian Marilyn Monroe” thanks to her Marilyn-like sex appeal.

Monroe appeared in only 31 films but left behind dozens of unforgettable scenes starting with The Asphalt Jungle (1950). Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), There’s No Business Like Show Business (1954), and Monkey Business (1952) are some of her better known works.

But probably Monroe’s reached the zenith of her career with the following 3 films: The Seven Year Itch (1955) (remember the skirts-up scene over the air grill?), Some Like It Hot (1959), and The Misfits (1961).

Never nominated for any Oscars, she is still more popular today and more a part of the popular culture than many actors who have won the prestigious prize.

Did you know these trivia facts about Marilyn Monroe?

1. In 1947 she won the Miss California Artichoke Queen beauty pageant.

2. She was on the cover of the Playboy magazine in 1953 and a Playboy Playmate for the December 1963 issue. Playboy owner Hugh Hefner purchased the vault right next to hers in order to be buried next to the one and only Marilyn.

3. She had a global reputation as a “blonde bombshell” but her natural hair color was brunette and (a good reader) she wore prescription glasses in private.

4. In a 1999 auction, her make-up kit brought a whopping $266,500.

5. For her first film Scudda Hoo! Scudda Hay! (1948) she was paid $75 a week. For the Misfits (1961), she was paid a very respectable $250,000.