In Enemy Hands (2004)

When American submarine Swordfish is torpedoed the survivors are picked up by a passing German U-boat but an outbreak of meningitis threatens all aboard.

Director:

Tony Giglio

Writers:

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

Stars:

William H. Macy, Til Schweiger, Thomas Kretschmann

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William H. Macy	...	Chief of Boat Nathan Travers
Til Schweiger	...	Kapitän Jonas Herdt
Thomas Kretschmann	...	1st Watch Officer Ludwig Cremer
Clark Gregg	...	Executive Officer Teddy Goodman
Scott Caan	...	Lt. Cmdr. Randall Sullivan
Rene Heger	...	Quartermaster Klause
Carmine Giovinazzo	...	Buck Cooper
Jeremy Sisto	...	Jason Abers
A.J. Buckley	...	Medical Officer
Sam Huntington	...	Virgil Wright
Connor Donne	...	Lt. Bauer (as Conner Donne)
Ian Somerhalder	...	Danny Miller
Branden Morgan	...	Benny Romano
Andy Gatjen	...	Christophe
Gavin Hood	...	Achilles Captain

Storyline

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. They never made it. Now prisoners of war aboard U-boat 429, a small group of American survivors will find their loyalties put to the ultimate test when they're forced to join their German captors to fight for their very lives.

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Plot Keywords:

bare chested male | underwater scene | u boat | fight | prisoner of war | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller | War | Action

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Interesting coincidence that William H Macy, Lauren Holly, and the U.S.S. Swordfish also appear in Down Periscope (1996) as well.

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Goofs

Several times men are shown smoking inside a submarine, which wouldn't happen in WWII due to the fire hazard it presents. The air in a diesel/electric-powered sub (US or German) would be full of oil vapor and/or hydrogen from the batteries and extremely flammable. Smoking was allowed only on the upper deck for this reason.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Kapitän Jonas Herdt: [narrating] At the outbreak of World War II, Germany increased its U-boat production by 1,000%, mass-producing 17 new U-boats a month. Hitler knew the key to winning the war in Europe was to control the Atlantic. And control it he would. By 1942, German U-boats, working in groups called wolf packs, sunk over 1,000 Allied ships. Their success gave Germany a decisive advantage. They were winning the war. And if this trend continued, all of Europe would fall.

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Connections

Edited from U-571 (2000)

User Reviews

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.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

19 February 2005 (Japan)

Also Known As:

In Enemy Hands

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$5,400,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$64,236

Company Credits

Production Co:

Artisan Entertainment, Splendid Pictures, John Brister Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1