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:

u boat | fight | prisoner of war | meningitis | chess | 

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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

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

19 February 2005 (Japan)

Also Known As:

U-Boat

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Few U.S. subs fought in the Atlantic in World War II.

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Goofs

Early in the film Chief of Boat Nathan Travers asks the men "Wanna talk some trash?". Of course, the term "talk trash" did not exist during WW II but is of more recent coinage (1981, according to Miriam-Webster).

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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

Battle of wits among the US and German crews sub in the Atlantic Ocean

The film is based on historic deeds,thus the construction of new U-boats continued at a record -breaking during WWII. In 1942-43 Hitler raised enormously his U-boat strength,the German submarines sank numerous ships,in early 1943 the called ¨Wolf packs¨sank 90 ships in 20 days.Then,suddenly ,between March and June 1943,an exceptional change took place .The Allies began to win the war against Hitler's underwater in the Battle of the Atlantic.By this time the technique of submarines warfare had advanced far beyond that used in the beginning the war.The Allies pitted thousands of boats,seamen,destroyers,cruisers,subs,cannons and billion of dollars against the undersea craft .As early as December 1943 Karl Doeniz ,the architect and designer of U-boat campaign,admitted the grave turn in events.The cost was great on both sides .In the six years of war ,the Germans,by their own statistics,destroyed more than 2000 British,Allied ships in the sea.Hitler had built 1162 subs ,of which 783 were lost.Of the 41000 men recruited into the underwater service ,between 28000 and 32000 lost their lives and 500 were taken prisoners.

The picture narrates as the USS Swordfish underwater commanded by Cmdr Randall(Scott Caan) and the sergeant(William H. Macy)and with the crew(Jeremy Sisto,Sam Huntington among others)is sunk ,then they are captured by a Nazi U-Boat 424 commanded by a captain(Til Schweiger) and officer(Thomas Kretschman). The Americans led by the sergeant try to take over the German sub and to make their way back home confronting against Nazis sailors ,through enemies destroyers they manage to arrive at three hundred miles US coast.The movie contains nail-biting action,drama,suspense in a claustrophobic atmosphere although complemented with some of archive stock footage.

The film provides a realistic detailing of life aboard and a portrait about the crews subjected to stressful and psychological tensions.In fact the sailors had sleep in shifts.For months they were lodged in close quarters because every inch the space was needed for machinery,supplies and torpedoes.The air was heavy with odors from bilges,diesel oil and unwashed bodies.The men faced sudden death from depth charges ,aerial bombing attacks or the sharp bow of a swift destroyer as happen in this film.