In Enemy Hands (2004)

Director:

Tony Giglio

Writers:

John E. Deaver (screenplay)
John E. Deaver (story)

Release Date:

19 February 2005 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller | War | Action

Tagline:

Courage, trust and honor. In a time when ordinary men had no choice but to become extraordinary heroes.

Plot:

At the height of Hitler's infamous U-boat war, the crew of the U.S.S. Swordfish were heading home after months at sea...

Plot Keywords:

U Boat | Prisoner Of War | Mutiny | Vomit Scene | Sonar

Cast

Til Schweiger	...	U 429: Kapitän Jonas Herdt
Thomas Kretschmann	...	U 429: 1st Watch Officer Ludwig Cremer
Connor Donne	...	U 429: Lt. Bauer (as Conner Donne)
Matt Lindquist	...	U 429: Friedrich
Andy Gatjen	...	U 429: Christophe
Rene Heger	...	Quartermaster Klause
Alex Prusmack	...	U 429: Andreas
Sascha Rosemann	...	U 429: Lars
Justin Thomson	...	U 429 - Wilhem (as Justin Thompson)
Sven-Ole Thorsen	...	U 429: Hans
Scott Caan	...	U.S.S. Swordfish: Lt. Cmdr. Randall Sullivan
Clark Gregg	...	U.S.S. Swordfish: Executive Officer Teddy Goodman
A.J. Buckley	...	U.S.S. Swordfish: Medical Officer
William H. Macy	...	U.S.S. Swordfish: Chief of Boat Nathan Travers
Jeremy Sisto	...	U.S.S. Swordfish: Jason Abers

Also Known As:

U-Boat (Europe: English title) (DVD box title)

MPAA:

Rated R for some violence and language.

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Color

Certification:

Malaysia:U | Netherlands:12 | Finland:K-11 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | USA:R | Australia:M | Italy:T

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Artisan Entertainment

Trivia:

The real USS Swordfish was lost with all hands in the waters around Okinawa. The real U-429 was transferred to the Italian Navy (where it was dubbed the S 4), then served as a training boat for the German Navy following Italy's surrender.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The German sub is always shown submerged, even during its voyage to the American coast. However submarines of that time were not able to travel long distances submerged (about 30 nautical miles at 15 Knots), after that they had to surface and travel on diesel to reload its batteries.

Were we watching the same movie? This is an EXCELLENT film!

I couldn't figure out why there were so many bad reviews on this film until I found out that the film was first released in Europe and that version was terrible. Then, Lion's Gate picked it up and I watched it again and there was no comparison. The biggest problem is that most of the DVD's out there are the old version and therefore, bad, bad bad.

Now the good news. If you can get hold a copy of the new version, you are going to be pleasantly surprised. "In Enemy Hands" is an excellent film about the Americans and the Germans inside a U-Boat. It is very well made, in terms of both acting and directing, and doesn't disappoint.

There were some scenes that held the movie up, longer than they needed to be, or were just pointless, but still, "In Enemy Hands" is a very good film. There were some great scenes involving some black humor and there were scenes that were very touching and powerful. Its very enjoyable from start to finish and will not fail to impress.

The acting is top-notch - William Macy gives his best performances as does Lauren Holly. They couldn't have done a better job. Til Schweiger also gives a great performance. There were times where he could have done better, but all in all, he was very good.

Ton Giglio does a good job directing this. I haven't seen much of his work, but what I did see were excellent movies - although nowhere near as good as this. He is able to give this film the dark atmosphere it needs and couldn't have been better.

If you haven't seen this version yet, you should definitely rent this when you get the chance. The newest version of "In Enemy Hands" is a well-made film that won't disappoint. It combines very good acting and directing, clever black humor, and very touching moments, which all make a brilliant movie.

Like I said, this version is sooooo much better, and shouldn't be missed.