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	...	Lt. Andrew Tyler
Bill Paxton	...	Lt. Cmdr. Mike Dahlgren
Harvey Keitel	...	CPO Henry Klough
Jon Bon Jovi	...	Lt. Pete Emmett
David Keith	...	Maj. Matthew Coonan
Thomas Kretschmann	...	Capt.-Lt. Gunther Wassner
Jake Weber	...	Lt. Hirsch
Jack Noseworthy	...	Seaman Bill Wentz
Tom Guiry	...	Seaman Ted 'Trigger' Fitzgerald
Will Estes	...	Seaman Ronald 'Rabbit' Parker
Terrence 'T.C.' Carson	...	Steward Eddie Carson (as T.C. Carson)
Erik Palladino	...	Seaman Anthony Mazzola
Dave Power	...	Seaman Charles 'Tank' Clemens
Derk Cheetwood	...	Seaman Herb Griggs
Matthew Settle	...	Ens. Keith 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:

u boat | world war two | naval officer | nazi | 1940s | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Action | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for war violence

Details

Official Sites:

West Video / Videoguide Company (russian)

Country:

France USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

21 April 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

U-571: La batalla del Atlántico

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$62,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$19,553,310, 23 April 2000, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$77,086,030, 13 August 2000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$127,666,415, 30 June 2012

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the original script, the German prisoner broke free twice.

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Goofs

When the German destroyer explodes after being struck by the torpedo, large chunks of metal are shown through the periscope to be raining down as a result of the blast. These large pieces of metal make absolutely no splashes when they hit the water. In fact, the water around the destroyer is completely calm, despite the fact that there had just been a series of large explosions.

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Quotes

Lt. Commander Mike Dahlgren: If this thing goes south I will blow that Nazi boat right out of the water.

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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: A Submariner's WWII Experience (2000)

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Soundtracks

Lover, Come Back to Me
Written by Sigmund Romberg, Oscar Hammerstein II
(performed at the wedding reception while Dahlgreen is talking to Tyler)

User Reviews

Fairly entertaining action movie

Well I enjoyed this film. The plot line is absurd, but so what? So was Where Eagles Dare, The Dirty Dozen, Inglorious Basterds and many others.

No, it's a bit of all-action hokum set in a submarine. It doesn't compare well with Morning Departure, Above Us the Waves, We Dive at Dawn, and certainly not with the daddy of them all, Das Boot, but it's entertaining enough.

And to those fellow Brits who take umbrage at the notion that Hollywood is claiming that the US Navy did stuff that they didn't, well I say lighten up. It's just a movie, it's not pretending to be history, it's a story. My suggestion... save up your money and commission a film that shows the British SAS taking Iwo Jima, HMS Ark Royal winning the Battle of Midway and the Japanese surrender taking place on HMS King George V, after the dropping of The Bomb out of a Lancaster flown out of Burmah. Now THAT I'd like to see!