Enemy at the Gates (2001)
1 trivia entry
Directed by: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Starring: Ed Harris, Joseph Fiennes, Jude Law, Rachel Weisz
Factual error: When Kruschev and Vasy go to the press meeting the Soviet National Anthem is playing in the background. The actual anthem was not written until January of 1944, a year after the Battle of Stalingrad. In addition, the song sung is the 1977 lyrics. The lyrics used in 1944 were slightly different. See http://www.skazka.no/anthems/ for more info.
Vassili Zaitsev: He doesn't know you exist, but at that moment you're closer to him than anyone else on earth. You see his face through the sign. You see whether he shaved or not. You can see whether he's married if he's got a wedding ring. It's not like firing at a distant shape. It's not just a uniform. It's a man's face. Those faces don't go away. They come back and they get replaced by more faces.
Question: If Jude Law as Vasily Zaytsev is the protagonist, then why is Joseph Fiennes the first-billed actor of the movie?
Answer: They almost share the same amount of screen time, but Jude Law is a tad younger and Joseph was coming off a very successful 'Shakespeare in Love' as well as 'Elizabeth'. He was a more marketable actor at the time.
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Answer: For the same reason Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman were top billed in Superman. He was a bigger name and his agent was able to negotiate a better deal.