Refreshingly unpretentious (U-571 (DVD))

Member Name: Marechal_Ney

Product:	U-571 (DVD)
Date:	28/10/01 (73 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: realistic, action-packed, brilliantly directed

Disadvantages: if it were to be 100% fair, a British crew would feature as the heroes

Once again it is up to the British public to overcome any prejudices they may have as to the way “history has been re-written” by Hollywood to make the Americans look as heroic as possible. This has been done somewhat at the expense of the “Tommies”, who made by far the most valuable contributions to cracking the Enigma code machine (the central focus of this submarine scenario).

“U-571” is much like “The Patriot”, in that many people who end up going to see it actually enjoy it. This theory is strengthened by the fact that, at the time of writing this review, most of the top opinions in the “U-571” sub-category are positive. Indeed, I have heard by far the most scathing criticisms of this movie from those who have not even seen it.

The bottom line is that “U-571” does not actually re-write history, as it is a work of pure historical fiction. It is unwarranted to expect American filmmakers to portray a British submarine crew as the heroes of a fictional war movie - even if, apart from the very end of the movie (when rolling text clarifies that the Royal Navy captured two Enigmas as opposed to the less-important one acquired by the Americans in 1944), the Brits do get precious little credit.

The story opens as a German U-boat, the U-571, is critically damaged by a British destroyer in the Atlantic. Its distress signals are intercepted by the Americans, who send out the S-33 submarine, which has undergone an ad-hoc transformation to look like a rescue U-boat from the Kriegsmarine. The mission of the S-33 is to use this deception to successfully board the U-571, and capture the on-board Enigma machine. This is as much as I am going to reveal about the storyline; after this, the audience is treated to the classic elements that one would expect in a World War II submarine movie, with depth charge sequences, tense torpedo shootouts, and even surface firefights.


The “stellar cast” - as is proudly proclaimed on the DVD cover - includes Matthew McConaughey, Harvey Keitel, and Jon Bon Jovi. McConaughey, as Lieutenant Tyler (soon to be promoted in the heat of the action), and Harvey Keitel, as the Chief, are especially strong performers. In the end, though, I would have to nominate the director and screenwriter, Jonathan Mostow, as the star of the picture.

Mostow was not only the one responsible for the entire plot, but was also able to promote a sense of deep realism in the shots, especially when inside the submarine. “U-571” is, in my opinion, just short of a cinematic masterpiece.

Aiding the sense of realism, of course, are the impressive special effects, and the fact that a nearly life-sized submarine model was actually used for some of the external shots, as opposed to the cheaper, but less realistic miniatures system.

Mostow’s commentary on the DVD is among the most informative I have heard, and only confirms my impression of his having directed a memorable movie. One objective, he says, was to make a submarine movie in the mould of classics such as “Destination Tokyo”, but of course with the added benefit of CGI and other advanced special effects to enhance the overall experience. He certainly appears to have achieved that goal.

Mostow has, in addition, managed to produce a picture that, like him, is honest and unpretentious. He freely admits in the DVD commentary, for instance, that some of his scenes are very “Hollywood”, and, as for the movie itself, it never tries to be anything other than a fun, action-packed, and realistic (if not entirely historically accurate) submarine movie. I highly recommend it, in particular the DVD version, which includes an impressive director’s commentary, and interviews with World War II submariners that only confirm the movie’s accuracy.

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