The Film
While the title is taken from a book about the overall Stalingrad campaign, this film serves to look merely at a sideshow cat and mouse game between Soviet and German snipers that took part in the ruins of this city on the Volga. And it focuses specifically on the so-called "true story" of the showdown between a Soviet and German sniper - an event only chronicled by Soviet propaganda, so take the "true story" with a grain of salt. This does make for a mostly good thriller, complete with the requisite love story element, but it loses it by the third act. Unfortunately this is a film that starts strong, but runs out of steam by the end - ironically (and fortunately for the allies) much like the German assault on the city of Stalingrad!
The Picture
The 1080p 2.35:1 picture looks good, but really it is just a nominal improvement over the DVD version. It appears better than an upconverted DVD, but only slightly so that it may not be worth upgrading unless you have a very large screen HDTV. The picture is comparable to a paid cable channel, rather than the best Blu-ray Disc. The bleakness of the location - a ruined city in the fall - doesn't help matters either, but this one lacks any significant visual punch.
The Sound
The English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD surround sound is also less immersive than we'd expect. There are plenty of discrete rear channel effects but the audio sounds as if everything is off in the distance. Even during the major action sequences the rear channels fail to provide any type of engagement with the scene. The sound from the front speakers is excellent, but given the situation and sounds of war, this is one that might have you wondering if your surround system is actually working properly.
The Extras
Two featurettes are included, but these are just matted standard definition "making of" and "cast interviews" that were made to promote the film when it was released in 2001, and which were further included on the original DVD release. Along with the deleted scenes, this is merely a slightly upscaled version of the DVD package - minus the insert card that studios still included back then. The only new bonus feature on the Blu-ray is a theatrical trailer in HD.
Final Thoughts
Even the packaging is reused from the DVD, complete with the same photos of the film's stars, and a word-for-word description. Even the same "reviewer" quotes appear front and back. Given that the picture only looks marginally better than the DVD, this is one to skip on Blu-ray and wait to open the gates for a special edition.
Where to Buy
Enemy at the Gates on Blu-ray Disc (Amazon.com)
Product Details
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