General Issue
Enemy at the Gates(movie stills my own)
I have always felt that Jude Law is a rather under appreciated actor. His best performance was most probably in the sci-fi drama Gattaca, however for me, his role as Russian sniper Vasily Zaytsev in Enemy at the Gates comes in at a close second (sorry Mr. Ripley). Indeed whilst recently watching Enemy at the Gates, I got to considering the costume design of the film.
Compared to the likes of other war films, such as Saving Private Ryan, I have always been amazed by the costume design of Enemy at the Gates. For a film such as Saving Private Ryan, I suppose that the standard 1940s American military uniform does perhaps not leave much for interpretation or creative alterations. For me however the look of the costumes felt a tad too clean. Admittedly, being set during the events just after D-Day, the uniforms may have been newly issued to the soldiers specifically for the offensive. And the Americans would have no doubt had better provisions for kitting out soldiers in properly finished and sized uniforms.
Director Jean-Jacques Annaud's subject matter however certainly lent itself to the opportunity for far more interesting costume design, and I really do applaud Janty Yates' (costume designer for the likes of Gladiator and Kingdom of Heaven) work. The Soviet soldiers in Stalingrad, and the USSR in general, were notoriously under provisioned and ill equipped. Uniforms were quite literally taken from the dead to clothe the living, or else patched and layered with whatever happened to be at hand simply to weather the cold. I suppose it is my instinctive love for the beauty of survival inspired clothing, nevertheless I found the costume design stunning.
The costumes really did seem to fit far more naturally, as indeed did the make up and physical signs of fatigue on the characters. By naturally I do not mean that all the garments fit the characters size wise, but rather in places it was quite clear that they did not. Each character may have worn similar or identical garments, however the way in which they wore it was quite unique. Indeed the potential for layering, and the requirements of urban camouflage as suited to the sniper, allowed for a more exciting design.
The unique and well aged finish of garments was clear. I was particularly drawn to the silhouette of the make shift sniper's uniform, of the wide and draped upper half and the slim and fitted bottoms. The uppers were carefully layered, with a quilted coat serving as the outer layer, however the addition of a blanket serving as a cover for sniping was also seen. This heavy top contrasted wonderfully against the thermal leggings and trousers, tapered and tightly bound around the soft leather boots. It is in an odd way actually a silhouette that has been somewhat prominent on the runway of many winter collections these past few years.
Although one may be drawn to the conclusion that the costume design relied only on the sourcing of original Soviet army uniforms, the ingenuity and care taken to finish each look really did add to the overall look of the film. And I suppose that the uniforms of war shall always inspire as much as the wars themselves. For the uniforms represent the people that wore them, and people inevitably inspire us all the most.
Currently playing: Sky Might Fall - Kid Cudi
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