Customer Reviews

U-571 BD [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(68)
4 star:		(85)
3 star:		(39)
2 star:		(32)
1 star:		(69)

 

 

This movie attempts to present itself as an historically based submarine adventure. Unfortunately, it is grossly inaccurate historically, to the point of being insulting;especially to the Brits. They seized an enigma device before we even entered the war. The submarine warfare is so over the top it's absurd. If you want to see crazy stunts and over the top action I'd recommend a good Bond film. If you want to see a great WW2 submarine flick, see Das Boot. Forget about this turkey.

This is a very ordinary (and no more than that) WW2 submarine film. In the 1950s it would have been a B-movie; special effects are better now, of course, so it's a 'blockbuster'. It barely merits one star, but the system won't allow none at all. But that's not the point, of course.

The worrying thing is the revisionist history it contains. We are getting used to it in Britain, but Hollywood constantly rewrites history to favour the Americans, and often at our expense. "The Patriot" was disgraceful enough in attributing to 1770s British troops atrocities committed by WW2 Germans against French civilians (at Orodour), but at least Hollywood was trying to establish in blatant terms who was "good" (Americans) and who "bad" (British) for the purpose of the film. "U 571" goes further than that, because it rewrites history to give credit to people who do not deserve it, and by implication to take credit from those that do.

It's the feeling that some people don't think this matters that worries me. Imagine the outcry in the US if anyone made a film showing the Royal Marines capturing Iwo Jima and raising the British Flag. Or how about how the British fought and won the Battle of the Bulge?

It does matter. Really.

I think the title of this review says it all. I lost count of the historical inaccuracies after the first ten minutes! Of course, the Germans were the brutal bunglers who cheated on zeir frauleins und vipped zeir dachsunds! No really, steer well clear of this disaster. If you wish to view a TRUE account of the Battle of the Atlantic as the sailors saw it, watch "Das Boot: The Director's Cut"...or better still, the unabridged version of the same movie.

In a nutshell; I will have to reinforce the comments of several previous reviewers. The film combined significant historical inaccuracy with a series of very clumsy rip offs of the dramatic high points of the film Das Boot. Viewing the original requires a three hour time commitment, but it is truly one of the best action/suspense flicks ever made. Watching this one consisted of boredom interspersed with moments of despair involving the poorly done "cut and paste" plagiarism.

Technically accurate? How much is technical accuracy worth when the whole story is a monsterous lie?

Firstly, I should like to pay tribute to the crew of HMS Bulldog, the British Navy vessel who actually did perform the heroic deeds portrayed in this insulting film. When Enigma really was captured, America hadn't even been forced into the war yet. Britain and her allies, on the other hand, had been fighting since the summer of 1939. I find it worrying when history is revised in this way. It happened with Pearl Harbour, Saving Private Ryan and The Patriot too. When and where does Hollywood/America stop? Your own history is sufficiently full of stirring deeds to make this theft of heroism unnecessary. In answer to those who have stated that us 'Limeys' need to lighten-up and the film is purely entertainment, I feel I have to disagree. It's naive to adopt this POV when one realises the well-documented effect of Cinema on society. Great Britain and a few staunch allies stood alone for almost 3 years before the Japanese attack on Pearl forced the US into the war. We too, fought on more than one front. North Africa and the Far East, for the benefit of the earlier critic who mentioned that the US Navy was fighting in two oceans as opposed to only one. As for the tiny sop at the end of the credits, well I ask you, who reads the credits? The damage has already been done. So, what comes next, one wonders? America triumphs at El Alamein? The USAF wins the Battle Of Britain? Oh, sorry, I forgot . . . Just read that's already happening, in a new film starring Tom Cruise!

historical accuracy aside,i think this is one great movie.the events take place during the second World War.it focuses on a small group of Americans with a very important mission,one that would eventually turn the tide of the War.virtually all the action takes place at sea,and i gotta say,the intensity in this one nearly wrecked me.there were times i could barely breathe and other times i thought i might explode.if you like nail biting down to the millisecond suspense,you will probably really enjoy this one.there's not a lot of room for character development,but that's a good thing in this case.in fact,i think it may have ruined the movie or at least lessened it's impact.this is one nerve shredding film.Jonathon Mostow directed the movie,and wrote the story and the screenplay.he also directed and wrote the story and screenplay for Breakdown,another great film.anyway,i could go on forever,but for sheer tension and suspense,this is,hands down the best movie of it's type that i have seen,and i've seen some great ones.if this seems like your type of movie,then i recommend you check it out.i also recommend The Hunt For Red October and Crimson Tide

The problem with this film is the story and not the special effects. The special effects on this one are great but the story is kinda screwed up. No matter how hard a director trys there will never be another Das Boot. I recommend getting Das Boot instead.

Leaving aside the MASSIVE AND GROSS historical inaccuracies which yet again fail to acknowlegde the fact that it was the UK not the US who got the first enigma machine - this is still a TERRIBLE film

Wooden acting, submarine film cliche after sumbarine film cliche, complete lack of suspense, obvious plot, boring direction and I have to say some rather weak special effects make this a truly painful experience to sit through.

What was Matthew Machonahy thinking off i ask you? If he wanted to make a war movie then surely there must have been a better script floating around hollywood than this? It feels as if the story was written committee style by a load of second rate writers who had no clear idea what they were trying to say!

Please I beg you don't waste your time or money on this film - it will leave you reaching for the bottle of jack daniels in a vain attempt to try and wipe your memory clean of this most excruciateingly dull film

That's right - don't be fooled by this revisionist film that lifts a few scenes straight out of the vastly superior "Das Boot". I hate movies that decide to make history fit their stupid plots, and "U-571" is no exception. No Americans were involved in the seizure of the enigma code, and this movie will only serve to misinform many people. Aside from that, this is a decent action movie that steals from all submarine movies to preceed it. Also of note: Jon Bon Jovi's cameo is very funny.