Blah, blah, blah - I'm bored and etc. Anybody got a car they want washing?
Blah, blah, blah - I'm bored and etc. Anybody got a car they want washing?
Member since:03.10.2000
Reviews:231
Members who trust:70
The premise for this film is good. They'd made some great factually based war films in the past. With modern effects and film making techniques this should be a winner...shouldn't it?
With their 'unbreakable' codes, the German forces are winning the war - their navy rules the waves and their armies are battering Europe. When u-boat 571 is crippled in an attack, the US navy seizes it's opportunity to capture one of the prized Enigma cypher machines. With a combination of luck, subterfuge, and cunning, the Americans seize the stricken sub but can do nothing when their own vessel is destroyed by the German's rescue team. Stranded in the north Atlantic in a damaged, enemy submarine, can the 9 plucky heroes make it home with their valuable cargo?
The story is fundamentally good and the fable that ends up on screen is dynamic, exciting and great entertainment, so what's the problem? Fact is the simple answer. Once again the Hollywood history writers have been busy unearthing long forgotten tales so that we can find out the 'real' story. How foolish of us to think that anyone other than the US actually won the war. What naivity to believe that the rest of the Allied countries actually did anything. Ok so I'm going off on a freaky rant but the main problem here is the same problem that we encounter in Saving Private Ryan and just about every other second world war film that's come out of the states. American audiences may love this view of how they saved the world and won the war single handedly but for the rest of us it kinda grates.
Over-patriotism aside we still have a major problem and many liberties are taken in the facts and events. I could list them but you'd get bored and I'd sound like a geek so I won't - suffice to say you should take everything with a huge sack of salt.
So we have a load of utter rubbish? Well no actually. If you can get past the patriotism and mistakes then this is a very solid and enjoyable war film. Ok so it's not in the same league as Das Boot, the submarine battles were better handled in Hunt For Red October, and Crimson Tide is still the number one tension/drama sub flick but this is a very good action/adventure film that will keep you entertained.
The cast do a good job but their characters are very one dimensional and the clumsy attempts to flesh them out do jar a little. The effects and production are first rate and lift things tremendously even if the story does lack drama and tension.
A little lacking in the story department? Certainly. Historically incorrect? Without a doubt. An entertaining film? You got it. Put your brain into neutral and sit back, and you have a good way to spend one hundred and five minutes
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
I agree with you, but I have ranted enough myself so I won't do it here, but how can you say - if you look passed the patrotism, and one dimensional characters and factual innaccuracy you have a good film. That's like saying "Cancer" is great apart from the sickness, hospitals and death. It ain't a good film, and that's an end on it.
pauljm 19.09.2001 11:07
I think that it was probably a misjudgement by the producers to claim it to be factually based and then to simply write their own story. Far better, on the whole, to allow this yarn to stand or fall on its own merits. Paul.
htanaka 20.05.2001 03:02
Well put! An entertaining movie but a bit of British recognition would not have gone amiss!
If you've never seen a submarine drama before, thenU-571will probably make a good ... more
impression as a tautly choreographed piece of entertainment. A strong cast led by Matthew McConaughey's sympathetic Lt. Tyler undertakes a perilous mission to seize a Ger...
Postage & Packaging: Check Site. Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
If you've never seen a submarine drama before, thenU-571will probably make a good ... more
impression as a tautly choreographed piece of entertainment. A strong cast led by Matthew McConaughey's sympathetic Lt. Tyler undertakes a perilous mission to seize a Ger...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
From the creators of the hit thriller 'Breakdown', comes Canal+ and Universal Pictures' ... more
U-571. A white-knuckle World War II suspense drama, about an American submarine crew as they battle against time, danger and their own fears. Their mission: a darin...
If you've never seen a submarine drama before, thenU-571will probably make a good ... more
impression as a tautly choreographed piece of entertainment. A strong cast led by Matthew McConaughey's sympathetic Lt. Tyler undertakes a perilous mission to seize a Ger...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
![U-571 [DVD] [2000]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78522839.jpg "U-571 [DVD] [2000]")
![U-571 [DVD] [2000] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/69887853.jpg "U-571 [DVD] [2000] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]")
Feb 12th, 2001
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