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:

underwater scene | u boat | fight | prisoner of war | meningitis | 

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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

The U-429 is a real boat that was made by the Germans in World War II, but was transferred to the Italian Navy after being produced. The boat, however, never saw combat.

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Goofs

Mrs. Travers' LaSalle in the final scene did not have an A, B or C gasoline rationing sticker on the passenger's side of the windshield.

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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

Not bad for entertainment value, poor for historical value

It has an interesting story executed poorly. I couldn't figure out if this was supposed to be a serious drama or light camp. Acting was average with standouts William H Macy carrying the film as well as the German executive officer. Still it actually moved well for me and I was entertained by it. I have a keen interest in U-boats having traveled the world to see them as well as the US fleet subs. The feats performed in this movie by the submarines underwater is essentially science fiction in pre-1945 submarine warfare. Loads of other technical errors as well in the production, but in a quick and dirty film who cares. It was made on a budget and that's that. So if you want to really see reality, Das Boot still stands alone. I give it 5 starts, for sloppy production, but still recommend it over most of the garbage on Netflix.

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