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U-571 [2000]


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

If you've never seen a submarine drama before, then U-571 will probably make a good impression as a tautly choreographed piece of entertainment. A strong cast led by Matthew McConaughey's sympathetic Lt. Tyler undertakes a perilous mission to seize a German Enigma machine, and encounter many dangers along the way. For anyone who has seen any other submarine movie, however, U-571 quickly turns into a succession of genre clichés: there's the depth-charge dropping scene, the diving so deep the reading goes off the scale scene, the near-mutinous tension among the crew, the sacrificial lamb who must save the day, the one torpedo left in the tube, assorted pipes bursting, and so on. The formula is set up by Bill Paxton's hard-nosed Captain, who tells Tyler what he must be prepared to do if he ever has his own command: a series of prophecies that, of course, all come true before long. From then on it's predictable action all the way.

Where U-571 scores highly is in its wealth of period detail: every cog and lever that operates the U-boat is dwelt upon lovingly. It looks and feels completely authentic. The central historical inaccuracy, that the first naval Enigma machine was in fact captured by a British ship, is apologetically mentioned in the end credits. The movie makes no claim to be a true story, admittedly, but other fictional dramas have dealt with the same subject more effectively. Try the magnificent Das Boot, for example, then The Cruel Sea, after which U-571 will seem very unambitious indeed. --Mark Walker

On the DVD: The director himself interviews two naval officers, one American and one British. The British officer is Lt. Commander David Balme, the very man who captured the first naval Enigma machine from U-110 in 1941; the American is the movie's technical adviser, Vice Admiral Patrick Hannifin. The Enigma machine itself is described briefly by an American cryptologist. There's also an old American documentary short about the 1944 capture of the U-505 in the Pacific and a "making of" featurette. The director provides a detailed commentary. --Mark Walker


The US wins the war ... again!
Review date: 2008-09-01 Rating: 2 out of 10

You would have to be unbelievably sad and delusional to come up with a film like this. It is quite simply the worst example of Hollywood tosh to ever be screened. Avoid it like the plague.

It has been said that the film doesn't claim to be based on a true story ... so why did the film's producers ignore a request to make it CLEAR that it was a work of fiction? Only AFTER the film had been slated did the screenwriter come out with the mind-numbingly stupid quote "It was a distortion ... a mercenary decision ... to create this parallel history in order to drive the movie for an American audience. Both my grandparents were officers in World War II, and I would be personally offended if somebody distorted their achievements." It's a shame he didn't think of the blindingly obvious BEFOREHAND.

What next? A film in which the US Cavalry defeats Napoleon at Waterloo ... or perhaps the US Navy could defeat the Spanish Armada? Maybe the US Air Force could win the Battle of Britain single-handedly?

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Reviews


Absolute rubbish
Review date: 2008-08-23 Rating: 2 out of 10

A poor attempt to re-write history...

The US had nothing to do with the capturing of the enigma machine, add this to poor acting and directing, a rubbish script and cinematography and you get a totally missable film.

Hollywood all at sea...
Review date: 2008-07-02 Rating: 2 out of 10

This film is utter rubbish, but unfortunately such is the power of a movie that this will become historical 'fact' for many impressionable youngsters. Jon Bon Jovi should have stuck to 'giving love a bad name' and Harvey Kietel REALLY should have known better. I assume he had much the same view of appearing in this turkey as Michael Caine had about doing Jaws 3.

ie: 'I haven't seen the film myself, but I'm told it is awful. I have however seen the house that it built and it is terrific'!

Unfair reviews for a good movie.
Review date: 2008-02-14 Rating: 10 out of 10

This is actually a very good movie with suspense and great special effects.
The reviews on here are unfair in my opinion.
They claim the movie is a complete insult to history and I would be inclined to agree had the movie stated it was actually based on a true story, however it does not.
This is a fictional movie and does not claim otherwise.
It may be inspired by the Royal Navy's capture of the U-110 however it does not state this what the movie is based on as it is called U-571 which was never even captured by the allies.
In addition to this the movie does infact honor and recognise those real incidents during the war.
So dont be put off this movie as I almost was. Its a good enjoyable movie!

One of the worse war movies I've ever seen
Review date: 2008-01-13 Rating: 2 out of 10

Apart from some very good sound effects this is one of the worse WW2 movies ever made in Hollywood.

Firstly is grossly inaccurate and is a painful distorsion of what really happened , the acting is dreadful and the action scenes are SO BAD.

From the point of view of the accuracy of military actions you can see how a cruiser fires 10 or 20 shots a close range ( 800 yards ) and misses then hits a submarine in the pro and ( the submarine ) continues sailing as it nothing had happenned ie it does not blow up , then a torpedo hits a cruiser in the pro and it ( the cruiser ) desintegrates in a second ( !!?? ).

What were they thinking ? I have watches many action /war films but this is one of the that will earn the wodden spoon , if you are really thinking about watching it please consider renting it.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Harvey Keitel
Jon Bon Jovi
Matthew McConaughey
Bill Paxton
David Keith

Creators:
Matthew McConaughey (Primary Contributor)
Bill Paxton (Primary Contributor)
Jonathan Mostow (Writer)
Dino De Laurentiis (Producer)
Hal Lieberman (Producer)
Lucio Trentini (Producer)
Martha De Laurentiis (Producer)
David Ayer (Writer)
Sam Montgomery (Writer)

Director(s):

Recording label: Entertainment in Video
Manufacturer: Entertainment in Video
EAN: 5017239190698
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Anamorphic, PAL,
Release date: 2001-01-22
Number of discs: 1
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 116 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2000-04-21
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: English (Subtitled)

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