U-571 | | Cast : | Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton, Harvey Keitel | | Director : | Jonathan Mostow | | Studio : | Universal Studios | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, DTS Surround Sound, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | April 21, 2000 | | DVD Released Date : | February 08, 2005 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), English (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 11, 2005 | | Summary | Only propaganda | Content
 | Okay. Hollywood-movies are to entertain and not to give an detailed account of what happened in the past. But the plot of this movie is simply ridiculous. Same style as in the war-movies of the 50s and 60s. The Nazis let themselves be slaughtered like cattle by the valiant Americans.
Also, the SF are far off the standards which were already achieved by "das boot" 20 years ago.
This movie does not transport anything like e.g. claustrophobia; of the fear being trapped in a cigar made of iron in the middle of the Atlantic. It is simply about American heroism, not about the cruelties of war.
In this movie the Americans achieve, what in reality was achieved by the Royal Navy.
This is not just another war-movie like "Saving Private Ryan" with a fictional story in a historical setting, just another "change of reality"-style-movie.
I do not want to know how many people run around now, truelly believing that the Americans cracked "Enigma".
The whole Movie is not about action, u-boats, a part of the liberation of Europe or valiant deeds in war, it's just about "good guy" against "bad guy", in a manner that is called American "hurra patriotism" in Europe. Nothing against patriotism, especially the Americans often paid the folly of others in blood, and they have a right to be proud of what they achieved. But do the Americans have to be reminded of this right in such a crude (cineastic) manner? I hope, they don't.
Shame on You, Hollywood! |
| Rating | | | Date | June 29, 2005 | | Summary | u - 571 | Content
| this is one of the worse propaganda war films ever esp. about sub warfare. its so unbelievable and just some hollywood garbage. i would watch das boot which is 100% better and much more realistic.
all and all this movie bites big time. bad! |
| Rating | | | Date | June 24, 2005 | | Summary | A submarine movie in the grand tradition | Content
| This film went under the waves fairly quickly without earning especially high marks from either critics or audiences. After watching it more than once, and enjoying it more with each viewing, I have come to the conclusion that any picture about submarines made after Das Boot is going to seem short of the mark at first blush. Wolfgang Petersen's masterwork has left such massive footprints that simply making a submarine movie becomes an act of courage.
I urge you to view this film on its own merits, which are many. It has a wonderfully tight script by Jonathan Mostow, which has many simple things to say about leadership and courage. Mostow makes his points cleanly without a lot of sugar. The characters develop in a very natural and believable way, particularly the character of Lieutenant Andrew Tyler (Mathew McConaughey), who begins the film in a snit over a missed promotion and through the course of events has to mature greatly under fire. Helping him to learn about command is Lieutenant Commander Mike Dahlgren (Bill Paxton in a refreshingly earnest performance). With a few simple lines of great dialogue, Dahlgren explains to Tyler the elements of command he has not yet understood, which leaves the young and struggling officer like a deer in the headlights. I won't quote dialogue here. It is much better to let the film speak for itself. You will recognize it when it comes. It really made me think about the character of a true leader in a new way, and I think that is the ultimate praise for a great piece of script writing.
The film-makers also took tremendous care with the technical aspects of this movie, which I greatly appreciated, being a fan of submarine films. They truly did it right from bow to stern, and their care really shows. The special effects are tremendous as well. No CGI here, as the explosions nearly jump off the screen in real-time reverberations.
Finally, the movie is full of wonderful performances with standouts being Harvey Keitel playing old salt, Chief Klough (who is also a player in teaching the young officer Tyler a thing or two about commanding a ship in the navy); and surprise of the day goes to Bon Jovi as Lieutenant Pete Emmet (yet hasn't this guy turned in enough good screen performances yet to rate being more than a "surprise"?). I also enjoyed the performance of Jake Weber, who plays Lieutenant Hirsch. It's a shame this actor doesn't appear in more big pictures. He perfectly captures the undercurrent of discipline and quiet steel necessary to bring his Navy intelligence officer to life.
This is a powerful, satisfying film, well done in nearly every respect. I recommend it to fans of submarine warfare and anyone who enjoys an action film done in the grand, Hollywood style. -Mykal Banta
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| Rating | | | Date | June 18, 2005 | | Summary | Some of these reviewers need to watch the special features.. | Content
| A lot of reviewers have been saying what can or can not be done by people on a submarine. I wonder if any of them have ever been on one, or are even old enough to have been.
There is an interview with a retired U.S. Admiral who was on S-boat submarines in WW2 (fighting the Japanese), and then after the war took command of a german U-boat that was surrendered so they could see how the technology compared with that of the allies. He sat there and explained that it was very easy to pilot the german sub without knowing german. He said that they didn't even put different labels on it. This is a hollywood movie, so there are bound to be dumb things done in it, but that was not one of them, so people need to calm down a bit. This man was the technical consultant on the film.
It is actually really impressive, they made this movie as accurate as possible, physically building a sub for it, and designing it according to original drawings and plans where possible. There were actual submariners working with the actors, teaching them what buttons to push, which levers to pull, and instructing them in the correct termanology. I was very impressed by that.
Yes, I do certaintly agree that there is no way the sub would have been able to take that much punishment, but that is hollywood, and is to be expected in almost any action movie (so stop complaining). That is the genre.
Some complain that the sailors look like boy scouts and not soldiers. Most enlisted personnel *were* just out of high school. Late in the war, the average age of a captain got as low as 26. This is accuracy, just like the boat, the levers and the uniforms.
There have been criticims leveled because it portrays an American crew when the first two captures of enigmas were made by the British, and so they dismiss it as 'propaganda' which is trying to 're-write history'. Well, again, watch the special features (and the ending credits). They don't deny that it was first the British, infact, they have an interview with the Lt. Commander of the Royal Navy who was the man who first boarded a U-boat and retrieved the first enigma. It is interesting, HE didn't seem to be offended.
Remember, this is fiction. If you watch the interviews with the writer/director, you will see that the movie really was a personal, and somewhat emotional, inquiry into just who these people were who did such amazing acts, whether they are somehow super-human, or just like everybody else. The reason I say personal is that he spends time talking about how he wonders whether he would have been able to rise to it like all of these kids did, and concludes that while he hopes so, he doesn't know. So, my point is this: of course it is going to be a story about Americans. He is American, and he is trying to relate somehow, to understand in some small degree. That is much easier when the culture is the same. It is not American 'imperialistic propiganda' or anything else that made it an American crew - it likely just facillitated his inquiry. (That said: there was an enigma that was captured by the us navy later on, so having an American crew is not that bad anyway)
Some people were offended that the German crew murders survivors of a wreck, and thus state that this is supposed to make us hate the Germans, wave our US flags, and be more into the film. I could not disagree more. What it showed is that they were human too. They did not want to do it, and only did it on their Captain's orders, who says that it is a standing order from the Fuhrer. Even after he gives the order they are hesitating, and looking at each other uncomfortably, and only do it after he yells again. That humanizes the German crew, not the other way around. Honestly, it makes them seem like victims of the war, just like all the kids in the allied military were.
I liked the movie a fair bit, but it wasn't a 5-star. I defend it here because what people are saying about it is so unthinking and ludicrous. I don't know, it seems like people want to be offended and are just looking for excuses. And in that case, nothing that I say, and not truth itself, would make a difference. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 25, 2005 | | Summary | This movie is very smart. | Content
| It's about submarines and World War II. I enjoyed it alot. It shows some of the real story behind critical intelligence missions during World War II. |
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