U-571 (2000)

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

Director:

Jonathan Mostow

Writers:

Jonathan Mostow (story), Jonathan Mostow (screenplay)

Stars:

Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton, Harvey Keitel

Won 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matthew McConaughey	...	Tyler
Bill Paxton	...	Dahlgren
Harvey Keitel	...	Chief
Jon Bon Jovi	...	Emmett
David Keith	...	Coonan
Thomas Kretschmann	...	Wassner
Jake Weber	...	Hirsch
Jack Noseworthy	...	Wentz
Tom Guiry	...	Trigger
Will Estes	...	Rabbit
Terrence 'T.C.' Carson	...	Eddie (as T.C. Carson)
Erik Palladino	...	Mazzola
Dave Power	...	Tank
Derk Cheetwood	...	Griggs
Matthew Settle	...	Larson

Storyline

In the midst of World War II, the battle below the seas rages. The Nazis have the upper edge as the Allies are unable to crack their war codes. That is, until a wrecked U-boat sends out an SOS signal, and the Allies realize this is their chance to seize the 'enigma coding machine'. But masquerading as Nazis and taking over the U-boat is the smallest of their problems. The action really begins when they get stranded on the U-boat.

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Plot Keywords:

submarine movie | u boat | world war two | naval officer | nazi | 

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Taglines:

Heroes are ordinary men who do extraordinary things in extraordinary times.

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Genres:

Action | War

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Certificate:

14

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Enigma machine used in the movie was genuine and not a prop. It was obtained from a collector for use in the movie.

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Goofs

Many of the G7e/T2 German torpedoes of World War 2 were notoriously marginal in performance, having a top speed of about 30 miles per hour and a maximum range of barely 3,000 meters and a failure rate of about 30%. Knowing this, no German submarine commander would have ever wasted four precious torpedoes firing blindly, submerged, the periscope useless, at another submarine (the captured U-571), especially since the torpedoes were incapable of changing course after being fired. The same is true of the U-571, which fired back with four torpedoes of their own, and the chances of hitting a submerged submarine, without any corrections for depths or attack angles, would have been less than 1%.

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Quotes

Lt. Commander Mike Dahlgren: Relax gentlemen. She's old... but she'll hold.

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Alternate Versions

The theatrical version contained some captions before the end credits, explaining that the Enigma was, in real-life, recovered by the British Royal Navy, and not by the American Navy as portrayed in this movie. The captions have been removed on the R2 DVD.

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Connections

Featured in U-571: Inside the Enigma (2000)

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Soundtracks

Dein ist mein ganzes Herz
from "Das Land des Lächelns"
Written by Franz Lehár, Fritz Löhner-Beda, Ludwig Herzer
Performed by Benny Goodman

User Reviews

A Good Utilization of Sound

As far as thrillers go, U-571 is a well made film. Although it's historical inaccuracies are awful, it still serves as a great theater experience. It won a well deserved Oscar for it's sound, which, in the right theater, makes the film well worth the admission. Sound is the key essential to U-571.

The characters are simple, the plot is simple, and the film probably won't haunt you long after you've seen it, but that's OK. Just sit back and enjoy the claustrophobic sets, the deafening sound effects, and the non-stop action for what it's worth.

Details

Official Sites:

West Video / Videoguide Company (russian)

Country:

France USA Italy

Language:

English German

Release Date:

21 April 2000 (Canada)

Also Known As:

U-571

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$62,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$19,553,310, 23 April 2000

Gross USA:

$77,122,415

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$127,666,415

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Canal Plus Image International, Dino De Laurentiis Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS (8 channels)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1