U-571 is a 2000 American war film directed by Jonathan Mostow and starring Matthew McConaughey, Harvey Keitel, and Bill Paxton. The film is set during World War II and follows a group of American submariners as they undertake a dangerous mission to capture a German Enigma machine from a German U-boat.
The film begins with the crew of the American submarine USS Stingray being ordered to intercept and capture a German U-boat carrying the Enigma machine. The Enigma machine was a code-making device used by the Germans to encrypt their communications, and the Americans believed that capturing it would give them a significant advantage in the war.
As the Stingray approaches the U-boat, they discover that it has already been damaged by a British submarine and is in the process of being abandoned by its crew. The Americans decide to take advantage of this opportunity and board the U-boat, posing as a German rescue team.
As the Americans try to find and secure the Enigma machine, they face numerous challenges, including the need to repair the damaged U-boat and evade detection by the Germans. The tension and danger of the mission are heightened by the fact that the Americans are deep behind enemy lines and have no way to communicate with their own forces.
Despite these challenges, the Americans are ultimately able to find and capture the Enigma machine, allowing them to decipher German communications and gain a significant advantage in the war. The film ends with the Stingray returning to base and the crew being celebrated as heroes.
Overall, U-571 is a thrilling and action-packed war film that tells the story of a daring and risky mission undertaken by a group of brave American submariners. It showcases the bravery and determination of the men who fought in World War II and the sacrifices they made in the name of freedom and victory.
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Seizing the Enigma: The Race to Break the German U-Boat Codes, 1933-1945. . Retrieved August 18, 2006. In reality, even if the Americans did get inside in under 40 secs, the sub would have dived before they could take full control of the sub, but never did. In reality, U-boat crewmen are far more often known to have assisted survivors with food, directions and occasionally medical aid. The Torpedo hit the bow of the ship, the strongest part of a warship, and the explosive techs on the movie "blew" it as well, notice when the torpedo hits, the deck of the destroyer blows up first, what is in the bow that can explode that explosively and then ignite the whole ship to go like that? There was no tension or suspense to speak of, the depth-charge plumes weren't as believable as those in The Enemy Below, and the scenes in which the depth charges would all of a sudden barrage U-571 just became chaotic and incomprehensible without being scary. The Destroyer fires upon the now surfaced U-571, damaging it further, but the damages allowed the doomed sailor in the torpedo room to finally complete his task, allowing the U-571 to fire a single torpedo at the destroyer, sinking the unlucky ship.
Tank was the guy that stayed behind in The Matrix and took care of the people while they were in the matrix. Retrieved March 9, 2013. The beginning was the only redeemable factor in the movie because it followed the Das Boot format with the subtitles and realism firing on Allied merchant ships bringing supplies over to Europe. The movie makers were highly criticized by historians and especially British observers that bitterly pointed out the misappropriation of the glory of having been the first to capture a German U-boat. Goofy Hollywood strikes again. . Right off the bat, the premise of the film is pretty fantastic, with the idea that such a mission could be planned and executed quickly enough to actually happen.
Every movie has to get rid of some correct information. How about the Germans bombing Pearl Harbor?? It sounded much more like an Allied gun than the much faster firing guns the Germans used. Beyond that, the movie was spectacular, and I loved the camera work. Were the British right to be offended by the movie? I did however find one scene more disturbing than the part where the U-boat men gunned down the survivors of a sinking. There were hundreds of REAL stories from WWII that are just as exciting or even more dramatic than Hollywood's fictional representations of WWII dramas.
A long range German recon fighter which was a poorly disguised P-51. What about the torpedoes? Retrieved August 18, 2006. I could go on for hours. . It was the part where the black guy opened the door to the forward compartment where all the crew was and called them "Marys".
One technical criticism I had was when the Germans machined gunned the Allied lifeboat. Goebeler, Hans, and John Vanzo. Maybe that was the point, but rather tacky as far as I was concerned. It goes to show that this is the only country in the world that still has a strong propaganda ministry alive, which is Hollywood. A boarding party from the Chatelain went aboard the sub and found the only German fatality from the action.
Tank and Trigger, both members of the submarine crew, and both members in the rebellion the people in the matrix are doing. They Shall Not Pass Unseen. Plus it looked like the destroyer was using a heavy machine gun or oerlikon-type of weapon which would have left a definite "impression" on that conning tower! Retrieved November 19, 2011. As if this scenario is not lucky enough for every American sailor on board the U-571 to win the Mega Million AND the Power Ball lottery 2 or 3 times in a row, the situation takes a turn for the worse! I admit, it's pretty bad, but the movie should be viewed as a form of entertainment, and as noted in the end of the movie, is just a dedication even though it should also be dedicated to all the Germans that died in the submarine war; it's not like they didn't have a share in the losses. The Los Angeles Times. Like the depth charges they didn't really shake a ship that much.
Retrieved December 16, 2006. A lot of it seemed like an episode of Star Trek, with McConnaughey as Kirk and Keitel as Scotty: "Take her down to 200 meters. Das gefallt mir nicht wenn die KRIEGSMARINE STIRBT DIE ANGLISCHES SEEMAN IN THE LIFEBOAT! It is good to see that the interest in WWII has not yet disappeared. . Who is Hollywood kidding, Me and my brother-in-law both feel that U-571 should have been scuttled.
Another scene that was a little on the overkill was when the torpedo hit the German destroyer it went up like an inferno. While the cat and mouse battle continued, the German skipper has the presence of mind to be tapping out Morse code messages to the German destroyer. They had a lot of gall calling these men "Marys" when there was only a 1 in 4 survival rate. The wily Americans quickly disguise their own submarine, S-33, to appear as a German resupply and maintenance sub for the express purpose of stealing the Enigma code machine on board the U-boat. The best part was when the Americans boarded the sub and when that mystery U-boat torpedoed the S-33. To see what I mean, you need look no farther than the premise of the main plot. Depth charging severely damaged the U-559, killing 4 crewmen and forcing the sub to the surface.
German U-boats of WWII - uboat. Media links German U-Boat Losses During World War II Niestle, Axel Hitler's U-boat War, Vol II Blair, Clay U-Boat Operations of the Second World War - Vol 2 Wynn, Kenneth Hitler's U-boat War Blair, Clay They Shall Not Pass Unseen Southall, Ivan As an Amazon Associate uboat. U-559 sunk to the bottom and the whole matter was hush-hush. As for the German destroyer being torpedoed in the bow. PS The destroyer practically exploding into a million pieces after being torpedoed was a little overly dramatic! That was my summation of the movie before I learned of the website uboat.
