U-571 (2000)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Jonathan Mostow

Writers (WGA):

Jonathan Mostow (story)
Jonathan Mostow (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

21 April 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | War

Tagline:

You won't come up for air until it's over!

Plot:

A German submarine is boarded by disguised American submariners trying to capture their Enigma cipher machine.

Plot Keywords:

U Boat | Sos | Code | Submarine | Mission

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 9 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Thur. Nov. 12

8:30 AM

USA

Cast

Matthew McConaughey	...	Lt. Andrew Tyler, Executive Officer
Bill Paxton	...	Lt. Cmdr. Mike Dahlgren
Harvey Keitel	...	CPO Henry Klough
Jon Bon Jovi	...	Lt. Pete Emmett, Chief Engineer
David Keith	...	Maj. Matthew Coonan, USMC, Office of Naval Intelligence
Thomas Kretschmann	...	Capt.-Lt. Gunther Wassner
Jake Weber	...	Lt. Hirsch, USNR
Jack Noseworthy	...	Seaman Bill Wentz, Radioman
Tom Guiry	...	Seaman Ted 'Trigger' Fitzgerald, Radioman
Will Estes	...	Seaman Ronald 'Rabbit' Parker, Torpedoman
Terrence 'T.C.' Carson	...	Steward Eddie Carson
Erik Palladino	...	Seaman Anthony Mazzola, Planesman
Dave Power	...	Seaman Charles 'Tank' Clemens, Machinist Mate
Derk Cheetwood	...	Seaman Herb Griggs, Helmsman
Matthew Settle	...	Ens. Keith Larson, Chief Torpedoman

Also Known As:

U-571 (France)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for war violence.

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

France | USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS (8 channels)

Certification:

Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) (original rating) | Canada:PG (Nova Scotia) (re-rating on appeal) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Brazil:14 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 | South Korea:12 | Singapore:PG | Philippines:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Canal Plus Image International

Trivia:

Erik Palladino, who played Mazzola, had laryngitis during the filming of the plane-buzzing scene. He lip-synched his lines and dubbed them later in the studio.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the start of the film, just after the fire starts in the German sub's diesel room, an officer shouts, "She's dropped to 120 meters, Captain." Close examination of the depth gauge to his right shows the sub to be rapidly surfacing.

Quotes:

Lieutenant Andrew Tyler: He torpedoed me, Chief. Nine months aboard the S-33 doing the best job I know how. Doing everything once, and then doing it again just to make sure I didn't miss anything the first time.
Chief Klough: You'll get your chance sir. There's other commands in the navy.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 72 metra (2004)

Soundtrack:

Lover, Come Back to Me

Sinks With All Hands, Leaving An Ugly Oily Stain

The REAL story behind the films exploits is far more embarasing & not one that Hollywood is going to tell the great American public.

The British cracked Enigma before the US even entered the War! Admiral Doenitz, suspicious that the UK had cracked the 3 code wheel Enigma (used by the German army), ordered a 4 wheel device & the British no longer were able to decode the U-Boat's messages. Sinkings of convoy vessels went up as a result, until a Royal Navy officer had the bright idea of knocking over a German weather ship in the North Sea & pinching the Enigna (they couldn't decode the messages from this ship so suspected, correctly, that it was a new, 4 wheel device). Code breaking recommenced & the U-Boats suffered such heavy losses that Doenitz eventually recalled them.

In "Operation Drumbeat", where the US, now in the war, had the shipping of it's East coast targeted, the British supplied the US Navy with intercepts, giving the U-Boats locations, courses, speed & intended target areas. Also passed on were suggested tactics for dealing with the U-Boat threat, all learned the hard way & shown to be effective. The US East coast commander, Admiral King, IGNORED them!

A bigoted Anglophobe, Admiral King refused to mount any anti submarine patrols & so condemed thousands of his own countrymen (the people he was supposed to PROTECT) to death. So many ships were sunk the U-Boat commanders called it "The New Happy Times".

Contrast this with Canada, also the target of the U-Boats, where the UK supplied intelligence was used & the anti submarine tactics employed. So few were the sinkings of ships & so heavy the U-Boat losses they were withdrawn to the SAFER waters of the US coast!

Only when Admiral King was finally replaced, after losses to shipping which could no longer be covered up, did effective anti submarine operations begin off the east coast of the US & the menace receded.

One man's obstinacy, stupidity & wrecklessness sacrificed thousands of US lives to satisfy the cravings of his ego. No Hollywood studio is going to dramatise that, so crap like "U571" is churned out. This is even more shocking when you consider that the people who died in this shameful episode still have living relatives.

The film Titanic was bad enough, but this is a step too far.I am appaled to think that if this carries on what the next step might be? How about the US wins the Vietnam War really? The US actually invented pennicillin (it was Dr Flemming, he was born in Darvel, just down the road from me)? The US wins the Battle of Britain?

Hollywood needs a kick up the pants for this film. Sadly most will go & see it & believe it's true. Ignorance is bliss, I suppose, but for the Americans killed & the families bereived, it is not the case.