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 | submarine movie | world war two | battle | crew | 

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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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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 Germans did introduce a new, four-rotor version of their Enigma machine in February 1942, and the code was practically unbreakable by the Allies until the capture of associated code books from a submarine, in October 1942. "Shark" (as the Naval Four Rotor Enigma cipher was know by Bletchley Park) was broken regularly from December of that year (sources include Bletchley Park. But in real-life, this was a British operation, and did not involve a deception like that depicted in the film. The sub itself, the U-559, sank shortly after the code books were removed.

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Goofs

When the shipyard is working on the 33 boat, one of the shipyard workers is clearly seen using a present day yellow DeWalt grinder.

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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 German version has a title card at the beginning, saying the movie is completely fictitious.

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Connections

Featured in U-571: Britain Captures the U-110 (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

Offensive & revisionist, it should not have been made.

I have only one comment about the movie and it isn't about its suspense, direction, acting or musical score. It's about deceit. Reading through user comments, I see that many are in touch with the idea that this is a British story, not American. But do they grasp how much more ignorance this is fostering?

People are saying that the supply lines between America and Britain were being threatened by the U-Boats and that America had to come to the rescue. This folks, is simply untrue, revisionist garbage. And people are buying it. It offends me, because as a Canadian, I am painfully aware of the fact that America risked nothing at all to supply Britain in its hour of need - that was Canada's great claim to fame, and America's claim to shame. The British captured the enigma first, the Canadians caught another later and the U.S. WASN'T EVEN IN THE WAR YET!

This is beyond "just entertainment" as Americans are now laying quasi-historical claim (and we all know how many will take some or all of it as true - most) to victories and sacrifices purchased by people of other nations. If you want to spit on someone else's flag, just spit on it, don't steal their histories and dishonor their heroes and their fallen soldiers. Nobody can fall back on "it's just a movie," unless they already feel at home with a British movie about how the Brits won the Battle of Midway and saved the Americans.

Americans have plenty to be proud of, plenty of heroes from that war, plenty of stories they could bring out to show their pride and grit without resorting to such theft.

This movie should have been made as British or not at all. Another sad day for film.