U- 571 (DVD) History re-written or just a good film? (U-571 (DVD))

Member Name: brittle1906

Product:	U-571 (DVD)
Date:	06/10/09 (22 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fast paced action film.

Disadvantages: Historical inaccuracies may offend some.

Review of U-571, an action/adventure DVD.
About The DVD


Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton, Harvey Keitel, Jon Bon Jovi and Jake Weber.
Director: Jonathon Mostow.
Writers: Jonathan Mostow, David Ayer, Sam Montgomery
Producers: Dino De Laurentiis, Hal Lieberman, Lucio Trentini, Martha De Laurentiis
ASIN: B0000505IM

The DVD has a run time of 116 minutes. It carries a 12 rating which I feel is justified given the strong language and scenes of war. The movie was feted as a No1 US Box office smash when it was first released in 2000.

The DVD cover shows a picture of the Submarine emerging from a fiery red ocean. To be honest, it was the cover that attracted me to this DVD as it is very eye catching and dramatic in appearance, the DVD 'blurb' read well, so into the shopping trolley it went!
This DVD comes with 155 minutes of extras which include the story of U-571, The Directors commentary and the Capture of U-110. A veritable feast of special features!


U-571 has some superb special effects and the photography is truly remarkable, the sort of movie that has you jumping at the explosions and so on!

As you would expect, given the subject matter, much of the movie is set inside both the US submarine and the German U boat. Careful editing and camera angles give a good impression of the cramped quarters submariners live in and the cheek by jowl crowded atmosphere has been caught extremely well indeed.


I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the acting ability of musician, Jon Bon Jovi in his role as Lieutenant Pete Emmett in this DVD, he gave a very credible performance.
The Plot


Set in the Spring 1942, during the Second World War, U-571 follows the story of the crew of a US submarine. The submarine crew are on a much needed 48 hour leave, when they are suddenly called together and given their orders for a mission.

The crew are tasked with the job of seeking out a German Nazi U boat and capturing a top secret German Enigma encrypting device and it's code book from the boat. The German vessel is sunk and to be totally destroyed, the US submariners are warned that none of their number must be captured by the Germans for fear of them revealing the details of their mission, should they be taken prisoner and tortured.


The crew's mission is secret and very dangerous, the outcome of the war may depend on their success or failure. The crew are mainly young, they are scared and unsure of their ability to make a success of the mission.

The burden of their task is one that hangs heavily with some of the crew. The team is headed by Lieutenant Andrew Tyler (Matthew McConaughey), who is supportive and earnest as he leads his crew and he personally has to come to grips with the reality and consequences of being officer in command of the mission.


The pace of the plot is fast and gripping, as for the outcome, sorry, I am not giving that away, no spoilers here!
Price and Availability

My copy came from Tesco and was priced at £3.99, a very reasonable cost in my opinion. The DVD is available from various online stores such as www.priceminister.co.uk from £2.99 or www.amazon.com from £4.98.


My Thoughts and Conclusion

I enjoyed this DVD for what it is, a piece of fiction. From an historical aspect this is movie has some glaringly obvious errors. The facts are that America had not even entered the Second World War when the events contained in the film took place and it was British servicemen from HMS Bulldog, who captured the Enigma machine from the German U boat 'U110' in May 1941.

I accept that his DVD is a piece of 'Hollywood' , a film which I personally enjoyed, however I can appreciate that some people may be offended by the impression of fictitious US submariners claiming British war successes as their own.


If you can overlook the inaccuracies, U-571 is a DVD that I feel I can recommend to others.

Thank you for reading.


©brittle1906 October 2009

NB My reviews may be found on other review sites under the same user name, brittle1906.

Summary: Action, adventure and great special effects.