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

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

Several scenes show depth charges dropping and exploding within a few feet of the submerged U-571. Detonations anywhere near this close would cause catastrophic hull damage and the boat would be sunk.

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Quotes

Ens. Keith Larson, Chief Torpedoman: They wouldn't give me five minutes to consumate my marriage. Five minutes!

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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

Referenced in 72 Meters (2004)

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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

It was an action movie, not a historic recount so for what it was I enjoyed it.

A lot of movies use historical events such as wars or tragedies as backdrops for their movies. "Titanic" for instance was completely untrue for the most part. This movie for some reason had lots of people complaining about how Americans were not the first to find the decoder depicted in the film. So what? Really, some people are just so anal. If England wishes for the true story to be told make a documentary on the subject with their money. This is an action movie made with American dollars, this is not to be confused with fact, seriously did you look up the Titanic's manifest and see if that poor Jack or his love Rose was on it. The decoder was just a way to get some guys on a German U-boat so we could have a pretty good action movie. It was nothing to ponder or for historians to dissect, I mean did we believe that Forrest Gump was real too and that he was a very important person in American History too or what? The main problem I had with this one is that Matthew McConaughey is the lead in this one. I think someone else would have been better, though he was not to bad in this one. Just when I see him I usually think chick flick, though I did like him in "Sahara" too. So a nice action movie, with some good submarine battles, I preferred "The Hunt Red October" and I have heard the German film "Das Boot" is the superior submarine film of all of them, but have never seen that one. Would like to though, until then though I enjoyed this one and I realize the English were the first to find said decoder.