U-571 (2000) [Blu-ray]
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close  U-571 (2000) [Blu-ray]
Rated:  PG-13 
Starring: David Keith, Harvey Keitel, Bill Paxton, Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Settle, Jake Weber, Jon Bon Jovi.
Director: Jonathan Mostow
Genre: Action | Drama | Thriller | War
DVD Release Date: 08/26/2008

A U.S. Navy Captain and his crew are just beginning to enjoy 48 hours of leave when they receive word to immediately return to duty. On a top secret assignment, they must disguise themselves as Nazis and infiltrate a severely damaged Nazi U-boat. Once on board, they are to steal the Nazi's top secret decoding device and sink the sub before the Germans catch on to what's really happening. Their mission is more dangerous and frightening than anything they could have ever imagined, but one which has the power to turn the tide of the battle.

Storyline: In the midst of World War II, the battle below the seas rages. The Nazi's have the upper edge as the Allies are unable to crack their war codes. That is, until a wrecked U-boat sends out an SOS signal, and the Allies realise this is their chance to seize the 'enigma coding machine'. But masquerading as Nazi's and taking over the U-boat is the smallest of their problems. The action really begins when they get stranded on the U-boat. Written by Filmtwob

Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman on August 29, 2008 -- Our inability to decipher their messages is costing us this war.

Wartime movies set on submarines always make for fascinating material, be they World War II-based classics like Run Silent, Run Deep and Das Boot, or more modern dramas like Crimson Tide and The Hunt For Red October. These four films are classics of the genre, and it takes a skilled filmmaker to keep our interest in these styles of films because, at the end of the day, there simply isn't much you can do to set one submarine movie apart from the pack. One thing's for sure when it comes to sub movies, and that is the fact that we're generally treated to some incredibly similar scenes, themes, and perils, and it's the way the movie handles such scenes that plays an important role in whether it's any good. Generally, the natural tension that accompanies such movies overrules any shortcomings in the repetitive nature of such scenes or covers up bad acting, for example, but we can only watch so many scenes of characters in near dead-silence looking above them as a surface ship hunts them, as a radio operator cries out the time and distance to impact of a torpedo, or crews frantically dealing with a broken pipe or a flooding compartment. Despite the similarities, filmmakers have a knack for keeping this sort of material fresh and exciting, and U-571 is no different. This is a film that's rightfully knocked for its terrible historical accuracy, but for sheer entertainment value, it's a serviceable watch for fans of wartime cinema (especially this Blu-ray edition that features standout audio and video), but it pales next to Das Boot or Red October in submarine film lore.

The setting is World War II, only months after the United States entered the War. A German submarine has been severely damaged in battle, leaving her crippled and adrift. She radios Berlin for help, and the radio transmission is intercepted by the Allies. Lt. Andrew Tyler (Matthew McConaughey, Fool's Gold), recently passed over for promotion to Captain, and his crew are assigned the mission of intercepting the damaged German submarine in the guise of a German rescue team, board the damaged ship, and capture the "Enigma Machine," an advanced device that is capable of encrypting messages that have proven unbreakable by the allies. Of course, such a daring and dangerous mission is not without plenty of action and unfortunate turns of events on the Allied side. No matter the situation, the Allied task force must complete their mission, one that will undoubtedly save numerous lives in the weeks and months to come, all the while preventing the Germans from believing their code has been compromised.

The historical inaccuracies of U-571 are well-documented and not worth delving into in this review. Interested readers will find plenty of material around the Internet on the subject, though one thing is worth mentioning. I found it rather ironic that at film's end, the filmmakers saw fit to acknowledge their fudging of the truth by telling audiences that it was indeed the British Navy (their vessels designated by the "HMS" prefix) that secured the majority of captured Enigma Machines, citing cases in both May 1941 (months before the U.S. entered the War) and October 1942, though one instance of a U.S. capture two days prior to the landing at Normandy by U.S. Navy Task Force 22.3 is listed. Why the decision was made to inform audiences that they had been lied to for the past hour and fifty minutes is mind-boggling, though it was probably in the best interest of assuaging the inevitable outrage from our British allies. Nevertheless, from a purely technical and entertainment perspective, for war film fans U-571 is a brisk, fun picture to watch. If we can suspend disbelief and lose ourselves in the relentless action of the film, it makes for a decent time killer. Featuring plenty of gunfire and explosions, the mindless-action-movie-loving-crowd (myself included) should be able to easily settle into this one during a rainy Saturday afternoon. The acting is sufficient in the film, too. McConaughey doesn't really impress, but he doesn't disappoint, either. Bill Paxton and Harvey Keitel also appear as primary cast members, and they're always worth watching. Jonathan Mostow's (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines) direction is by-the-book, but the film's relentless action and engaging sound design (in fact, the film won the 2001 Oscar for Sound Editing, and was nominated for Best Sound) steal the show and take our attention away from the pedestrian direction. If there is one real reason to watch U-571 today, however, it's to revel in the stunning quality of the Blu-ray release, so without further ado, let's move on to the video and audio quality portion of the review.

U-571 makes for decent entertainment but is definitely not the film you want to show to a history class. In the end the movie even admits to being phony. For wall-to-wall action and to hear Academy Award-winning and nominated sound, however, the movie is a success. Likewise, Universal's Blu-ray release is technically impeccable. Featuring first-class video quality and one of the finest soundtracks to date, Blu-ray owners in search of another disc to round out a collection of demonstration-worthy discs need not miss U-571. The overall quantity of the supplemental material is disappointing, but the quality of what we do have is sufficient. U-571 isn't close to being even the best submarine movie on Blu-ray, but it's a fun, quick-paced, action-packed watch that shines on this format. Recommended for the strong A/V quality.

Some of the notable D-Box explosive effects are:
  • 0:47:50-0:48:20
  • 0:55:50-0:56:10
  • 1:12:40-1:13:00
  • 1:17:15-1:17:50
  • 1:19:30-1:20:45
  • 1:28:00-1:29:50
  • 1:42:30-1:45:00
This is a very enjoyable rainy Saturday afternoon popcorn movie!

Cast Notes: Matthew McConaughey (Lt. Andrew Tyler), Bill Paxton (Lt. Cmdr. Mike Dahlgren), Harvey Keitel (CPO Henry Klough), Jon Bon Jovi (Lt. Pete Emmett), David Keith (Maj. Matthew Coonan), Thomas Kretschmann (Capt.-Lt. Gunther Wassner), Jake Weber (Lt. Hirsch), Jack Noseworthy (Seaman Bill Wentz), Tom Guiry (Seaman Ted 'Trigger' Fitzgerald), Will Estes (Seaman Ronald 'Rabbit' Parker), Terrence 'T.C.' Carson (Steward Eddie Carson), Erik Palladino (Seaman Anthony Mazzola), Dave Power (Seaman Charles 'Tank' Clemens), Derk Cheetwood (Seaman Herb Griggs), Matthew Settle (Ens. Keith Larson).

IMDb Rating (07/31/14): 6.6/10 from 58,012 users
IMDb Rating (07/10/12): 6.5/10 from 42,665 users
IMDb Rating (06/03/01): 6.9/10 from 6,224 users

Additional information
Copyright:  2000,  Universal Studios
Features:  • This movie is known as a "BASS Classic"
• Feature Commentary With Director Jonathan Mostow
• Picture In Picture -- This title is also U-Control enabled. Accessing the feature places a "U" button on the bottom right hand corner of the your display and from that comes a series of pop-up windows that feature behind-the-scenes looks at the making of the movie, interviews with cast and crew, and more. It serves as a more impressive method of bringing viewers the behind-the-scenes material, inserting them into the appropriate places in the movie, and it heightens the impact of the material.
Subtitles:  English, Spanish, French
Video:  Widescreen 2.35:1 Color
Screen Resolution: 1080p
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Audio:  ENGLISH: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
SPANISH: DD-PLUS 5.1
FRENCH: DD-PLUS 5.1
Time:  1:57
DVD:  # Discs: 1 -- # Shows: 1
UPC:  025195041775
Coding:  [V4.5-A5.0] VC-1
D-Box:  Yes
Other:  Producers: Martha De Laurentiis, Dino De Laurentiis; Directors: Jonathan Mostow; Writers: Jonathan Mostow, David Ayer, Sam Montgomery; running time of 117 minutes; Packaging: HD Case.
Rated PG-13 for war violence.
The excellent soundtrack and the great DBox motion makes this a perfect 2D demo movie.

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