U-571 (film)
Encyclopedia
U-571 is a 2000 film directed by Jonathan Mostow
, and starring Matthew McConaughey
, Bill Paxton
, Harvey Keitel
, Thomas Kretschmann
, Jon Bon Jovi
, Jack Noseworthy, Will Estes
, and Tom Guiry
. In the film, a World War II
German
submarine
is boarded in 1942 by disguised United States Navy
submariners, seeking to capture her Enigma cipher machine
.
The film was financially successful and generally well received by critics in the USA and won an Academy Award.
The real U-571 was never involved in any such events, was not captured, and was in fact sunk in January 1944, off Ireland
, by a Short Sunderland
flying boat
from No. 461 Squadron
, Royal Australian Air Force
. The real U-570
was captured almost intact by the Royal Navy in 1941, although not before her crew had destroyed almost all the secret materials on board.
U-571 was filmed in the Mediterranean Sea
, near Rome
and Malta
.
are struggling to stop U-boat
s from sinking their freighters. The scene transfers to U-571, which torpedo
es and sinks a freighter
. The crew is happy with the kill but seconds later the sonar
man reports to have detected high speed screws
. The captain turns the periscope
to sight a destroyer
moving in, forcing U-571 to dive. The destroyer drops depth charge
s; unfortunately for the submarine, the depth charging snaps a fuel line which ignites while the engineers attempt to patch it, setting them all on fire. Due to the amount of damage sustained, the captain orders U-571 to resurface. The captain learns from his chief who extinguished the fire in the engine room that their batteries are practically flat, both diesel engines are inoperable, and all of their engineering crew are dead. After passing word to conserve electricity, he has his radioman send an Enigma-encoded SOS
to Berlin for aid.
Meanwhile, the crew of a United States Navy
submarine, S-33 are celebrating the wedding of crewman Larson and leave for 48 hours. During the party, Executive Officer Lt. Tyler enters looking solemn, having been denied his own command. After complaining to Lieutenant Commander Dahlgren (Tyler's commanding officer and captain of the S-33), he is rebuffed and upset to learn that Dahlgren voted against him receiving the promotion. While talking to the Chief of the Boat
, Chief Gunner's Mate Klough, military policemen suddenly arrive to announce the end of their shore leave for a secret mission. All the men arrive at the base to find their boat, the S-33, being modified to resemble a German U-boat. The crewmen are given German uniforms to wear as well. Hirsch, a Naval Intelligence officer who is fluent in German, orders Tyler to locate Radioman Wentz, who is fluent in German due to his immigrant parents. At the same time, a Marine named Coonan arrives in a convoy loaded with high explosives. After the S-33 sails, Hirsch explains that the Allies intercepted the disabled U-571's SOS. They are going to masquerade as the resupply ship U-571 called for, board the ship, capture her Enigma coding device and then scuttle
the U-571. Tyler is skeptical about the scheme working, but goes along. Wentz privately asks Tyler to not tell the rest of the crew that his family is German.
Back on U-571, attempted repairs fail and the captain is alerted that survivors from the merchant ship he sank have been spotted on a lifeboat
asking for asylum. He orders his men to shoot them, as their orders are not to spare any survivors. His men reluctantly do so.
During a rainstorm, the S-33 comes across U-571 and sends her boarding
party over, led by Coonan. Hirsch temporarily freezes and Wentz is forced to speak German in front of his friends in order for the group to retain their cover until their rafts are tied up. At first, the Germans openly welcome the S-33, but when a midshipman looks through his binoculars, he immediately identifies the weapons as American. He alerts the rest of the Germans, and they exchange fire with the S-33 crewmen. The Americans are able to take the boat by force, capture the Enigma and begin rounding up the prisoners, including the captain. As the prisoners are transferred between ships and the scuttling charges are laid, Dahlgren, standing on the upper deck of the S-33, notices the sound of a detonation. He turns around in horror to see a streak coming towards the S-33 underwater. The ship is torpedoed and sunk by the real German resupply sub. CO Dahlgren, wounded in the water, orders his men on the captured U-boat to submerge and save themselves. (This scene was based on an actual incident in World War II: Commander Howard W. Gilmore
, USN, after being seriously wounded in an encounter with a Japanese destroyer, ordered his men to abandon him on deck and submerge to save the ship and crew. Gilmore was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor
for his sacrifice. The movie quotes Gilmore's last recorded words: "Take her down.") Coonan, Larson and many others are lost, forcing XO Tyler to take command and dive the captured U-boat. There is a desperate scramble to disarm the charges they placed. With only Hirsch and Wentz able to read German, after struggling with interpreting the controls they fire a salvo of torpedoes, destroying the enemy U-Boat, draining the last of the sub's batteries and spending all but the last torpedo, loaded in the malfunctioning aft torpedo tube. Surfacing, Tyler and his men search for survivors and find two: the African-American cook from the S-33, Eddie, and a German sailor claiming to be an electrician
, but who is actually the captain of U-571.
After repairing one of the diesel engines, thus restoring power and propulsion, Tyler decides to take the disabled submarine to England. Some of the men disagree with Tyler's decision, and Tyler replies with "I don't know," to their questions. Chief Klough privately rebukes Tyler, saying "A captain always knows what to do, whether he does or not," and also rebukes Mazzola in front of others for openly disagreeing with Tyler. They spot an aircraft, and Mazzola tries to convince Rabbit to fire on the plane with the deck gun against Tyler's orders, which appears to be coming in for an attack, but is only scouting for a German destroyer
named the Anschluss. Tyler punches Mazzola for ignoring the Chain of Command
and his stupidity, yelling at him that "What do you think this is, huh?! This is not a god damn democracy!" The captured German captain breaks free, attacks Tank and kills Mazzola before being subdued. Unaware that the U-571 has been commandeered by Americans, the Anschluss sends over a small contingent to meet and greet with their 'German comrades'. Right before boarders arrive, Tyler has Rabbit fire a shot from the deck gun right into the ship's radio tower and dives underneath her. The destroyer begins to drop depth charge
s to try to sink U-571.
Tyler plans to trick the destroyer into stopping by ejecting debris and Mazzola's corpse out of an empty torpedo tube, faking their own destruction. The younger men balk at using their crewman's body this way, but Tyler states that Mazzola is saving their lives. U-571 will then surface and hit the ship with their last torpedo.
The German destroyer continues dropping depth charges. U-571, hiding at great depth of below 200 meters, is damaged by the high water pressure. In preventing the submarine from sinking, control of the main ballast tank
s are lost and the ship ascends uncontrollably. Tyler orders the Chief to order Trigger to soak himself in the bilge
underwater to repressurize the torpedo tubes. During the ascent the German prisoner tries to warn the destroyer in Morse Code
that they're not dead yet. Wentz translates the message in German, "I am U-571. Destroy me." Enraged, Hirsch grabs a large crescent wrench and kills the prisoner. Trigger manages to close the air valve for the tubes, but a second leak and valve is unexpectedly revealed, both behind a wall of pipes; Trigger's arm can't reach, and his jury-rigged air hose is too short. When Tank reports this, Tyler rushes to the engine room himself. Tyler tells him that they need him to do this, and unequivocally orders him to get the job done. U-571 surfaces without a torpedo to fire. The destroyer fires on the ship, which runs using its diesel engine, but takes heavy damage from the destroyer's deck guns and starts to flood. Trigger leaves behind the air hose and closes the second valve, but the damage causes pipes to collapse, trapping his leg and he drowns. The second the pressure is available, Tyler orders Tank to fire the final torpedo. The German ship is destroyed; in front of everyone, Chief Klough tells Tyler that if he ever needs a Chief of the Boat, he would gladly go to sea with him anytime. Tank reports Trigger's death while carrying out his order, but U-571 has taken severe damage and will not stay afloat for long - the crew abandons ship with the Enigma in tow and watches her sink, seemingly mourning both for their lost crewmates and also for the German sub which ironically saved their lives. Floating aboard an inflatable lifeboat, they are eventually spotted by a US Navy
PBY Catalina
flying boat
.
giving the film positive reviews.http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/u571/. The movie performed well at the box office.
and the Attack on Pearl Harbor
, but the history of capturing Enigma machines and breaking their codes had already begun in Europe.
An earlier military Enigma machine had been captured by Polish Intelligence
in 1928; Polish intelligence broke the Enigma code in 1932 and gave their findings to Britain and France in 1939, just before the German invasion of Poland.
The first capture of a Naval Enigma machine and associated cipher keys from a U-boat was made on May 9, 1941 by HMS Bulldog of Britain
's Royal Navy
, commanded by Captain Joe Baker-Cresswell
. The U-boat was U-110. In 1942, the British seized U-559, capturing additional Enigma codebooks. "The captured codebooks provided vital assistance to the British cryptographers, led by Alan Turing
, at the code-breaking hothouse of Bletchley Park
, near Milton Keynes
."
The capture, rather than sinking, of U-570 – the only ship to be captured by an aircraft – on 27 August 1941 by a Lockheed Hudson from RAF Coastal Command
was important for determining the fighting capacity of U-boats, although her crew destroyed the Enigma and cipher information. The boat was towed to port and commissioned into the Royal Navy
as HMS Graph
.
Out of some 15 captures of Naval Enigma material during World War II, all but two were by the British – the Royal Canadian Navy
captured U-774, and the U.S. Navy seized U-505 in June 1944. By this time the Allies were already reading Naval Enigma routinely.
The film caused irritation and anger in Britain. At Prime Minister's Questions
, Tony Blair
agreed with questioner Brian Jenkins MP
that the film was "an affront" to British sailors.
In response to a letter from Paul Truswell
, MP
for the Pudsey
constituency (which includes Horsforth
, a town proud of its connection with HMS Aubretia), U.S. president Bill Clinton
wrote assuring that the film's plot was only a work of fiction.
A written acknowledgment does appear on-screen that the Royal Navy captured the first, and subsequently the vast majority, of the Naval Enigma devices.
David Balme, the British Naval officer who led the boarding party aboard the U-110, called U-571, "a great film" and said that the movie would not have been financially viable without being Americanised. The film's producers did not agree to his request for a message making it clear that the film was a work of fiction, but agreed to include a message at the film's end mentioning the Royal Navy's role in the capture of U-110.
In 2006, screenwriter David Ayer
admitted that U-571 distorted history and stated that he would not do it again.
Ayer told BBC Radio 4
's The Film Programme that he "did not feel good" about suggesting Americans captured the Naval Enigma cipher rather than the British:
. She was hit by depth charges, dropped from a Short Sunderland
Mk III flying boat, EK577, callsign "D for Dog", belonging to No. 461 Squadron
, Royal Australian Air Force
(RAAF). The aircraft's commander, Flt Lt
Richard Lucas, reported that most of the U-boat's 52 crew managed to abandon ship, but all died from hypothermia
. "D for Dog", which was crewed partly by Royal Air Force
(RAF) personnel, was based at RAF Pembroke Dock, in Wales
.
The presence of the German destroyer
in the Atlantic Ocean
is a likely inaccuracy, as most of the surface fleet of the Kriegsmarine
never ventured that far west, and none did so from 1942 onwards. The few exceptions were their capital ships, such as the Admiral Graf Spee, Scharnhorst, and Bismarck
.
During the destroyer's depth charge
attack more than 80 depth charges are detonated in the film, despite the fact that German destroyers rarely carried more than 30 depth charges during the war.
Although the American submariners crewing U-571 successfully sink the German resupply U-boat in an undersea battle, in reality this was extremely difficult for any World War II submarine to achieve. The only instance of a submerged submarine sinking another submerged vessel was in February 1945 when HMS Venturer
sank the U-864 with torpedoes.
Additionally German Type XIV supply U-boats
didn't have torpedo tube
s and thus could not have attacked S-33.
The real S-33
was stationed in the Pacific Ocean
from June 1942 till the end of the war. She was not sunk during World War II and was sold for scrap in 1946. The S-26
did not sink in a test dive, instead sinking in a collision with a patrol combatant, PC-460, in January 1942.
) is decapitated
by flying debris. To get a "PG-13", the shot was redone with Emmett this time knocked overboard by flying debris. This left many audience members not knowing what happened to his character. A death scene was also filmed for Maj. Matthew Coonan (David Keith
), but the effect did not work well so it was cut from the film.
: Best Sound Editing
and Best Sound Mixing (Steve Maslow
, Gregg Landaker
, Rick Kline
and Ivan Sharrock
). It won the sound editing award.
movie (spoken by Jürgen Prochnow
), and are even delivered using the very same intonation. Example: "Tja meine Herren, dem haben wir das Rückgrat gebrochen" - "Well, Gentlemen, we broke her (the ship's) backbone there".
Jonathan Mostow
Jonathan Mostow is an American film director, writer and producer.-Biography:A graduate of Hopkins School in New Haven, Connecticut and Harvard, Mostow also trained at the American Repertory Company and New York City's Lee Strasberg Institute...
, and starring Matthew McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey
Matthew David McConaughey is an American actor.After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s, McConaughey gained notice for his breakout role in Dazed and Confused . He then appeared in films such as A Time to Kill, Contact, U-571, Tiptoes, Sahara, and We Are Marshall...
, Bill Paxton
Bill Paxton
William "Bill" Paxton is an American actor and film director. He gained popularity after starring roles in the films Apollo 13, Twister, Aliens, True Lies, and Titanic...
, Harvey Keitel
Harvey Keitel
Harvey Keitel is an American actor. Some of his most notable starring roles were in Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets and Taxi Driver, Ridley Scott's The Duellists and Thelma and Louise, Ettore Scola's That Night in Varennes, Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, Jane Campion's The...
, Thomas Kretschmann
Thomas Kretschmann
Thomas Kretschmann is a German actor best known for playing Leutnant Hans Von Witzland in the 1993 film Stalingrad, Hauptmann Wilm Hosenfeld in The Pianist, Hermann Fegelein in Der Untergang, and Captain Englehorn in the 2005 remake of King Kong.-Early life:Kretschmann was born in Dessau, former...
, Jon Bon Jovi
Jon Bon Jovi
Jon Bon Jovi is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as the founder, occasional rhythm guitarist, and lead singer of rock band Bon Jovi, which was named after him...
, Jack Noseworthy, Will Estes
Will Estes
Will Estes is an American actor best known for his role as JJ Pryor, on the NBC drama American Dreams. In 2010, he joined the cast of Tom Selleck's new CBS police drama Blue Bloods...
, and Tom Guiry
Tom Guiry
Thomas John Guiry is an American actor.Guiry was born in Trenton, New Jersey and attended St. Gregory the Great school in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey from kindergarten through eighth grade, and then high school at Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey...
. In the film, a World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
is boarded in 1942 by disguised United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
submariners, seeking to capture her Enigma cipher machine
Enigma machine
An Enigma machine is any of a family of related electro-mechanical rotor cipher machines used for the encryption and decryption of secret messages. Enigma was invented by German engineer Arthur Scherbius at the end of World War I...
.
The film was financially successful and generally well received by critics in the USA and won an Academy Award.
The real U-571 was never involved in any such events, was not captured, and was in fact sunk in January 1944, off Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, by a Short Sunderland
Short Sunderland
The Short S.25 Sunderland was a British flying boat patrol bomber developed for the Royal Air Force by Short Brothers. It took its service name from the town and port of Sunderland in northeast England....
flying boat
Flying boat
A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...
from No. 461 Squadron
No. 461 Squadron RAAF
No. 461 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force maritime patrol squadron of World War II which operated under Royal Air Force control flying in Europe and over the Atlantic. The Squadron was formed in 1942 and was disbanded in 1945.-Squadron history:...
, Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
. The real U-570
HMS Graph (P715)
HMS Graph was a German Type VIIC U-boat used by the British Royal Navy during World War II.Commissioned as the U-570 in the German Kriegsmarine in mid-1941, she was attacked and captured on her first patrol....
was captured almost intact by the Royal Navy in 1941, although not before her crew had destroyed almost all the secret materials on board.
U-571 was filmed in the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
, near Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
.
Plot
The film begins with a summary on how the AlliesAllies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
are struggling to stop U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
s from sinking their freighters. The scene transfers to U-571, which torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...
es and sinks a freighter
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
. The crew is happy with the kill but seconds later the sonar
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
man reports to have detected high speed screws
Propeller
A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's...
. The captain turns the periscope
Periscope
A periscope is an instrument for observation from a concealed position. In its simplest form it consists of a tube with mirrors at each end set parallel to each other at a 45-degree angle....
to sight a destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
moving in, forcing U-571 to dive. The destroyer drops depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
s; unfortunately for the submarine, the depth charging snaps a fuel line which ignites while the engineers attempt to patch it, setting them all on fire. Due to the amount of damage sustained, the captain orders U-571 to resurface. The captain learns from his chief who extinguished the fire in the engine room that their batteries are practically flat, both diesel engines are inoperable, and all of their engineering crew are dead. After passing word to conserve electricity, he has his radioman send an Enigma-encoded SOS
SOS
SOS is the commonly used description for the international Morse code distress signal...
to Berlin for aid.
Meanwhile, the crew of a United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
submarine, S-33 are celebrating the wedding of crewman Larson and leave for 48 hours. During the party, Executive Officer Lt. Tyler enters looking solemn, having been denied his own command. After complaining to Lieutenant Commander Dahlgren (Tyler's commanding officer and captain of the S-33), he is rebuffed and upset to learn that Dahlgren voted against him receiving the promotion. While talking to the Chief of the Boat
Chief of the boat
Chief of the Boat is an enlisted sailor on board a U.S. Navy submarine or Cyclone Class Coastal Patrol Ships, who serves as the senior enlisted advisor to the commanding officer and executive officer, and assists with matters regarding the good order and discipline of the crew. The Chief of the...
, Chief Gunner's Mate Klough, military policemen suddenly arrive to announce the end of their shore leave for a secret mission. All the men arrive at the base to find their boat, the S-33, being modified to resemble a German U-boat. The crewmen are given German uniforms to wear as well. Hirsch, a Naval Intelligence officer who is fluent in German, orders Tyler to locate Radioman Wentz, who is fluent in German due to his immigrant parents. At the same time, a Marine named Coonan arrives in a convoy loaded with high explosives. After the S-33 sails, Hirsch explains that the Allies intercepted the disabled U-571's SOS. They are going to masquerade as the resupply ship U-571 called for, board the ship, capture her Enigma coding device and then scuttle
Scuttling
Scuttling is the act of deliberately sinking a ship by allowing water to flow into the hull.This can be achieved in several ways—valves or hatches can be opened to the sea, or holes may be ripped into the hull with brute force or with explosives...
the U-571. Tyler is skeptical about the scheme working, but goes along. Wentz privately asks Tyler to not tell the rest of the crew that his family is German.
Back on U-571, attempted repairs fail and the captain is alerted that survivors from the merchant ship he sank have been spotted on a lifeboat
Lifeboat (shipboard)
A lifeboat is a small, rigid or inflatable watercraft carried for emergency evacuation in the event of a disaster aboard ship. In the military, a lifeboat may be referred to as a whaleboat, dinghy, or gig. The ship's tenders of cruise ships often double as lifeboats. Recreational sailors sometimes...
asking for asylum. He orders his men to shoot them, as their orders are not to spare any survivors. His men reluctantly do so.
During a rainstorm, the S-33 comes across U-571 and sends her boarding
Boarding (attack)
Boarding, in its simplest sense, refers to the insertion on to a ship's deck of individuals. However, when it is classified as an attack, in most contexts, it refers to the forcible insertion of personnel that are not members of the crew by another party without the consent of the captain or crew...
party over, led by Coonan. Hirsch temporarily freezes and Wentz is forced to speak German in front of his friends in order for the group to retain their cover until their rafts are tied up. At first, the Germans openly welcome the S-33, but when a midshipman looks through his binoculars, he immediately identifies the weapons as American. He alerts the rest of the Germans, and they exchange fire with the S-33 crewmen. The Americans are able to take the boat by force, capture the Enigma and begin rounding up the prisoners, including the captain. As the prisoners are transferred between ships and the scuttling charges are laid, Dahlgren, standing on the upper deck of the S-33, notices the sound of a detonation. He turns around in horror to see a streak coming towards the S-33 underwater. The ship is torpedoed and sunk by the real German resupply sub. CO Dahlgren, wounded in the water, orders his men on the captured U-boat to submerge and save themselves. (This scene was based on an actual incident in World War II: Commander Howard W. Gilmore
Howard W. Gilmore
Howard Walter Gilmore was a submarine commander in the United States Navy who received the Medal of Honor posthumously for his heroic self-sacrifice during World War II.-Early Life and Career:...
, USN, after being seriously wounded in an encounter with a Japanese destroyer, ordered his men to abandon him on deck and submerge to save the ship and crew. Gilmore was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
for his sacrifice. The movie quotes Gilmore's last recorded words: "Take her down.") Coonan, Larson and many others are lost, forcing XO Tyler to take command and dive the captured U-boat. There is a desperate scramble to disarm the charges they placed. With only Hirsch and Wentz able to read German, after struggling with interpreting the controls they fire a salvo of torpedoes, destroying the enemy U-Boat, draining the last of the sub's batteries and spending all but the last torpedo, loaded in the malfunctioning aft torpedo tube. Surfacing, Tyler and his men search for survivors and find two: the African-American cook from the S-33, Eddie, and a German sailor claiming to be an electrician
Electrician
An electrician is a tradesman specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, stationary machines and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the maintenance and repair of existing electrical infrastructure. Electricians may also...
, but who is actually the captain of U-571.
After repairing one of the diesel engines, thus restoring power and propulsion, Tyler decides to take the disabled submarine to England. Some of the men disagree with Tyler's decision, and Tyler replies with "I don't know," to their questions. Chief Klough privately rebukes Tyler, saying "A captain always knows what to do, whether he does or not," and also rebukes Mazzola in front of others for openly disagreeing with Tyler. They spot an aircraft, and Mazzola tries to convince Rabbit to fire on the plane with the deck gun against Tyler's orders, which appears to be coming in for an attack, but is only scouting for a German destroyer
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
named the Anschluss. Tyler punches Mazzola for ignoring the Chain of Command
Chain of Command
Chain of Command may refer to:* Chain of command, in a military context, the line of authority and responsibility along which orders are passed* "Chain of Command" , the fifth episode of the first season of Beast Wars...
and his stupidity, yelling at him that "What do you think this is, huh?! This is not a god damn democracy!" The captured German captain breaks free, attacks Tank and kills Mazzola before being subdued. Unaware that the U-571 has been commandeered by Americans, the Anschluss sends over a small contingent to meet and greet with their 'German comrades'. Right before boarders arrive, Tyler has Rabbit fire a shot from the deck gun right into the ship's radio tower and dives underneath her. The destroyer begins to drop depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
s to try to sink U-571.
Tyler plans to trick the destroyer into stopping by ejecting debris and Mazzola's corpse out of an empty torpedo tube, faking their own destruction. The younger men balk at using their crewman's body this way, but Tyler states that Mazzola is saving their lives. U-571 will then surface and hit the ship with their last torpedo.
The German destroyer continues dropping depth charges. U-571, hiding at great depth of below 200 meters, is damaged by the high water pressure. In preventing the submarine from sinking, control of the main ballast tank
Ballast tank
A ballast tank is a compartment within a boat, ship or other floating structure that holds water.-History:The basic concept behind the ballast tank can be seen in many forms of aquatic life, such as the blowfish or argonaut octopus, and the concept has been invented and reinvented many times by...
s are lost and the ship ascends uncontrollably. Tyler orders the Chief to order Trigger to soak himself in the bilge
Bilge
The bilge is the lowest compartment on a ship where the two sides meet at the keel. The word was coined in 1513.-Bilge water:The word is sometimes also used to describe the water that collects in this compartment. Water that does not drain off the side of the deck drains down through the ship into...
underwater to repressurize the torpedo tubes. During the ascent the German prisoner tries to warn the destroyer in Morse Code
Morse code
Morse code is a method of transmitting textual information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment...
that they're not dead yet. Wentz translates the message in German, "I am U-571. Destroy me." Enraged, Hirsch grabs a large crescent wrench and kills the prisoner. Trigger manages to close the air valve for the tubes, but a second leak and valve is unexpectedly revealed, both behind a wall of pipes; Trigger's arm can't reach, and his jury-rigged air hose is too short. When Tank reports this, Tyler rushes to the engine room himself. Tyler tells him that they need him to do this, and unequivocally orders him to get the job done. U-571 surfaces without a torpedo to fire. The destroyer fires on the ship, which runs using its diesel engine, but takes heavy damage from the destroyer's deck guns and starts to flood. Trigger leaves behind the air hose and closes the second valve, but the damage causes pipes to collapse, trapping his leg and he drowns. The second the pressure is available, Tyler orders Tank to fire the final torpedo. The German ship is destroyed; in front of everyone, Chief Klough tells Tyler that if he ever needs a Chief of the Boat, he would gladly go to sea with him anytime. Tank reports Trigger's death while carrying out his order, but U-571 has taken severe damage and will not stay afloat for long - the crew abandons ship with the Enigma in tow and watches her sink, seemingly mourning both for their lost crewmates and also for the German sub which ironically saved their lives. Floating aboard an inflatable lifeboat, they are eventually spotted by a US Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
PBY Catalina
PBY Catalina
The Consolidated PBY Catalina was an American flying boat of the 1930s and 1940s produced by Consolidated Aircraft. It was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft of World War II. PBYs served with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other...
flying boat
Flying boat
A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...
.
Cast
- Matthew McConaugheyMatthew McConaugheyMatthew David McConaughey is an American actor.After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s, McConaughey gained notice for his breakout role in Dazed and Confused . He then appeared in films such as A Time to Kill, Contact, U-571, Tiptoes, Sahara, and We Are Marshall...
as Lieutenant Andrew Tyler, Executive OfficerExecutive officerAn executive officer is generally a person responsible for running an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization.-Administrative law:...
, S-33 - Bill PaxtonBill PaxtonWilliam "Bill" Paxton is an American actor and film director. He gained popularity after starring roles in the films Apollo 13, Twister, Aliens, True Lies, and Titanic...
as Lieutenant Commander Mike Dahlgren, Commanding OfficerCommanding officerThe commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
, S-33 - Harvey KeitelHarvey KeitelHarvey Keitel is an American actor. Some of his most notable starring roles were in Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets and Taxi Driver, Ridley Scott's The Duellists and Thelma and Louise, Ettore Scola's That Night in Varennes, Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, Jane Campion's The...
as Chief Gunner's Mate Henry Klough, Chief of the BoatChief of the boatChief of the Boat is an enlisted sailor on board a U.S. Navy submarine or Cyclone Class Coastal Patrol Ships, who serves as the senior enlisted advisor to the commanding officer and executive officer, and assists with matters regarding the good order and discipline of the crew. The Chief of the...
, S-33 - Jon Bon JoviJon Bon JoviJon Bon Jovi is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as the founder, occasional rhythm guitarist, and lead singer of rock band Bon Jovi, which was named after him...
as Lieutenant Pete Emmett, Chief Engineer, S-33 - David KeithDavid KeithDavid Lemuel Keith is an American actor and director. He received Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actor and New Star of the Year – Actor for his performance in An Officer and a Gentleman.-Career:...
as Major Matthew Coonan, Office of Naval IntelligenceOffice of Naval IntelligenceThe Office of Naval Intelligence was established in the United States Navy in 1882. ONI was established to "seek out and report" on the advancements in other nations' navies. Its headquarters are at the National Maritime Intelligence Center in Suitland, Maryland... - Thomas KretschmannThomas KretschmannThomas Kretschmann is a German actor best known for playing Leutnant Hans Von Witzland in the 1993 film Stalingrad, Hauptmann Wilm Hosenfeld in The Pianist, Hermann Fegelein in Der Untergang, and Captain Englehorn in the 2005 remake of King Kong.-Early life:Kretschmann was born in Dessau, former...
as Kapitänleutnant Gunther Wassner, Commanding Officer, U-571 - Jake WeberJake WeberJake Weber is an English actor, known in film for his role as Michael in Dawn of the Dead and for his role as Drew in Meet Joe Black...
as Lieutenant Hirsch, Office of Naval IntelligenceOffice of Naval IntelligenceThe Office of Naval Intelligence was established in the United States Navy in 1882. ONI was established to "seek out and report" on the advancements in other nations' navies. Its headquarters are at the National Maritime Intelligence Center in Suitland, Maryland... - Jack Noseworthy as Radioman Seaman Bill Wentz, Radioman, S-33
- Tom GuiryTom GuiryThomas John Guiry is an American actor.Guiry was born in Trenton, New Jersey and attended St. Gregory the Great school in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey from kindergarten through eighth grade, and then high school at Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey...
as Radioman Seaman Ted 'Trigger' Fitzgerald, Radioman, S-33 - Will EstesWill EstesWill Estes is an American actor best known for his role as JJ Pryor, on the NBC drama American Dreams. In 2010, he joined the cast of Tom Selleck's new CBS police drama Blue Bloods...
as Torpedoman Third Class Ronald 'Rabbit' Parker, Torpedoman, S-33 - T. C. Carson as Officer's Cook Seaman Eddie Carson, Officer's Cook, S-33
- Erik PalladinoErik PalladinoErik Palladino is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of Dr. Dave Malucci in the NBC drama series ER. He was also a series regular on the critically praised FX Television series Over There.-Early life:...
as Seaman Anthony Mazzola, Planesman, S-33 - Dave Power as Motor Machinist's Mate Second Class Charles 'Tank' Clemens, Motor Machinist, S-33
- Derk CheetwoodDerk CheetwoodDerk Cheetwood is an American actor who appears on the soap opera General Hospital on a recurring basis as mob enforcer Max Giambetti, who works for mob boss Sonny Corinthos. He is the cousin of Tyler Christopher who plays Nikolas Cassadine on General Hospital, and has a younger brother, Drew...
as Seaman Herb Griggs, HelmsmanHelmsmanA helmsman is a person who steers a ship, sailboat, submarine, or other type of maritime vessel. On small vessels, particularly privately-owned noncommercial vessels, the functions of skipper and helmsman may be combined in one person. On larger vessels, there is a separate officer of the watch,...
, S-33 - Matthew SettleMatthew SettleJeffrey Matthew Settle is an American actor best known for playing Captain Ronald Speirs on the HBO show Band of Brothers and Rufus Humphrey on Gossip Girl.-Career:...
as Ensign Keith Larson, Torpedo Officer, S-33 - Rebecca Tilney as Mrs. Dahlgren
- Carolyna De Laurentiis as Prudence Dahlgren
- Dina De Laurentiis as Louise Dahlgren
- Burnell Tucker as Rear Admiral Duke
- Carsten Voigt as Oberbootsmann Hans, Chief Boatswain, U-571
- Gunther Würger as Oberleutnant zur See Kohn, Executive Officer, U-571
Critical reception
The film was generally well received by critics, with 63 out of the 93 critics tallied by review aggregating website Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
giving the film positive reviews.http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/u571/. The movie performed well at the box office.
Historical events
United States' direct participation in World War II commenced in 1941 with Lend-LeaseLend-Lease
Lend-Lease was the program under which the United States of America supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, China, Free France, and other Allied nations with materiel between 1941 and 1945. It was signed into law on March 11, 1941, a year and a half after the outbreak of war in Europe in...
and the Attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
, but the history of capturing Enigma machines and breaking their codes had already begun in Europe.
An earlier military Enigma machine had been captured by Polish Intelligence
Biuro Szyfrów
The Biuro Szyfrów was the interwar Polish General Staff's agency charged with both cryptography and cryptology ....
in 1928; Polish intelligence broke the Enigma code in 1932 and gave their findings to Britain and France in 1939, just before the German invasion of Poland.
The first capture of a Naval Enigma machine and associated cipher keys from a U-boat was made on May 9, 1941 by HMS Bulldog of Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, commanded by Captain Joe Baker-Cresswell
Joe Baker-Cresswell
Captain Addison Joe Baker-Cresswell DSO RN , was a Royal Navy officer, aide-de-camp to King George VI and High Sheriff of Northumberland...
. The U-boat was U-110. In 1942, the British seized U-559, capturing additional Enigma codebooks. "The captured codebooks provided vital assistance to the British cryptographers, led by Alan Turing
Alan Turing
Alan Mathison Turing, OBE, FRS , was an English mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst, and computer scientist. He was highly influential in the development of computer science, providing a formalisation of the concepts of "algorithm" and "computation" with the Turing machine, which played a...
, at the code-breaking hothouse of Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park is an estate located in the town of Bletchley, in Buckinghamshire, England, which currently houses the National Museum of Computing...
, near Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
."
The capture, rather than sinking, of U-570 – the only ship to be captured by an aircraft – on 27 August 1941 by a Lockheed Hudson from RAF Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force . Founded in 1936, it was the RAF's premier maritime arm, after the Royal Navy's secondment of the Fleet Air Arm in 1937. Naval aviation was neglected in the inter-war period, 1919–1939, and as a consequence the service did not receive...
was important for determining the fighting capacity of U-boats, although her crew destroyed the Enigma and cipher information. The boat was towed to port and commissioned into the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
as HMS Graph
HMS Graph (P715)
HMS Graph was a German Type VIIC U-boat used by the British Royal Navy during World War II.Commissioned as the U-570 in the German Kriegsmarine in mid-1941, she was attacked and captured on her first patrol....
.
Out of some 15 captures of Naval Enigma material during World War II, all but two were by the British – the Royal Canadian Navy
Canadian Forces Maritime Command
The Royal Canadian Navy , is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the unified Canadian Forces. Operating 33 warships and several auxiliary vessels, the Royal Canadian Navy consists of 8,500 Regular Force and 5,100 Primary Reserve sailors, supported by...
captured U-774, and the U.S. Navy seized U-505 in June 1944. By this time the Allies were already reading Naval Enigma routinely.
The film caused irritation and anger in Britain. At Prime Minister's Questions
Prime Minister's Questions
Prime minister's questions is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom that takes place every Wednesday during which the prime minister spends half an hour answering questions from members of parliament...
, Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
agreed with questioner Brian Jenkins MP
Brian Jenkins (politician)
Brian David Jenkins is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for Tamworth from 1997 until 2010, and has lived in the constituency for over 50 years...
that the film was "an affront" to British sailors.
In response to a letter from Paul Truswell
Paul Truswell
Paul Anthony Truswell is an English Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Pudsey from 1997 to 2010.He is a graduate of the University of Leeds and a former Leeds City Councillor....
, MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for the Pudsey
Pudsey (UK Parliament constituency)
Pudsey is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...
constituency (which includes Horsforth
Horsforth
Horsforth is a town and civil parish within the metropolitan borough of the City of Leeds, in West Yorkshire, England, lying to the north west of Leeds. It has a population of 18,928....
, a town proud of its connection with HMS Aubretia), U.S. president Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
wrote assuring that the film's plot was only a work of fiction.
A written acknowledgment does appear on-screen that the Royal Navy captured the first, and subsequently the vast majority, of the Naval Enigma devices.
David Balme, the British Naval officer who led the boarding party aboard the U-110, called U-571, "a great film" and said that the movie would not have been financially viable without being Americanised. The film's producers did not agree to his request for a message making it clear that the film was a work of fiction, but agreed to include a message at the film's end mentioning the Royal Navy's role in the capture of U-110.
In 2006, screenwriter David Ayer
David Ayer
David Ayer is an American screenwriter, film producer and film director.-Early life:David Ayer was born in Champaign, Illinois in 1968. He grew up in Bloomington, Minnesota and Bethesda, Maryland, where he was kicked out of his house by his parents as a teenager...
admitted that U-571 distorted history and stated that he would not do it again.
Ayer told BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
's The Film Programme that he "did not feel good" about suggesting Americans captured the Naval Enigma cipher rather than the British:
Falsely negative portrayal of U-boat sailors
The movie portrays a scene in which the U-boat sailors kill the Allied merchant crewmen who have survived their ship's sinking, in compliance with naval policy and so that the survivors do not report the U-boat position. Out of several thousand sinkings of merchant ships in World War II, there is only one documented case of a U-boat crew deliberately attacking the ship's survivors: that of the U-852, whose crew attacked survivors of the Greek ship Peleus.General inaccuracies
The real U-571, captained by Oberleutnant zur See Gustav Lüssow, was lost with all hands on 28 January 1944, west of IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. She was hit by depth charges, dropped from a Short Sunderland
Short Sunderland
The Short S.25 Sunderland was a British flying boat patrol bomber developed for the Royal Air Force by Short Brothers. It took its service name from the town and port of Sunderland in northeast England....
Mk III flying boat, EK577, callsign "D for Dog", belonging to No. 461 Squadron
No. 461 Squadron RAAF
No. 461 Squadron was a Royal Australian Air Force maritime patrol squadron of World War II which operated under Royal Air Force control flying in Europe and over the Atlantic. The Squadron was formed in 1942 and was disbanded in 1945.-Squadron history:...
, Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
(RAAF). The aircraft's commander, Flt Lt
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
Richard Lucas, reported that most of the U-boat's 52 crew managed to abandon ship, but all died from hypothermia
Hypothermia
Hypothermia is a condition in which core temperature drops below the required temperature for normal metabolism and body functions which is defined as . Body temperature is usually maintained near a constant level of through biologic homeostasis or thermoregulation...
. "D for Dog", which was crewed partly by Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
(RAF) personnel, was based at RAF Pembroke Dock, in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
The presence of the German destroyer
German World War II destroyers
At the outbreak of the Second World War, the German Navy, the Kriegsmarine, had 21 destroyers . These had all been built in the 1930s, making them modern vessels...
in the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
is a likely inaccuracy, as most of the surface fleet of the Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
never ventured that far west, and none did so from 1942 onwards. The few exceptions were their capital ships, such as the Admiral Graf Spee, Scharnhorst, and Bismarck
German battleship Bismarck
Bismarck was the first of two s built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the primary force behind the German unification in 1871, the ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1936 and launched nearly three years later...
.
During the destroyer's depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
attack more than 80 depth charges are detonated in the film, despite the fact that German destroyers rarely carried more than 30 depth charges during the war.
Although the American submariners crewing U-571 successfully sink the German resupply U-boat in an undersea battle, in reality this was extremely difficult for any World War II submarine to achieve. The only instance of a submerged submarine sinking another submerged vessel was in February 1945 when HMS Venturer
HMS Venturer (P68)
HMS Venturer was a Second World War British submarine.-Construction:Venturer was the lead boat of the British V class submarine, a development of the successful U-class...
sank the U-864 with torpedoes.
Additionally German Type XIV supply U-boats
German Type XIV submarine
The Type XIV U-boat was a modification of the Type IXD, designed to resupply other U-boats. They were nicknamed "Milchkuh/Milchkühe " . They had no torpedo tubes or deck guns, only anti-aircraft guns. Due to its large size, the Type XIV could resupply other boats with 400 tons of fuel, four...
didn't have torpedo tube
Torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units installed aboard surface vessels...
s and thus could not have attacked S-33.
The real S-33
USS S-33 (SS-138)
USS S-33 was a first-group S-class submarine of the United States Navy. Her keel was laid down on 14 June 1918 by the Union Iron Works in San Francisco, California. She was launched on 5 December 1918 sponsored by Mrs. Thomas M. Searles, and commissioned on 18 April 1922 with Lieutenant George P...
was stationed in the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
from June 1942 till the end of the war. She was not sunk during World War II and was sold for scrap in 1946. The S-26
USS S-26 (SS-131)
USS S-26 was an S-class submarine of the United States Navy. Her keel was laid down on 7 November 1919 by the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation of Quincy, Massachusetts. She launched on 22 August 1922 sponsored by Mrs. Carlos Bean, and commissioned on 15 October 1923 with Lieutenant Edmund W...
did not sink in a test dive, instead sinking in a collision with a patrol combatant, PC-460, in January 1942.
Deleted scenes
The movie was originally (in the USA) rated "R" due to a scene where Lt. Pete Emmett (Jon Bon JoviJon Bon Jovi
Jon Bon Jovi is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as the founder, occasional rhythm guitarist, and lead singer of rock band Bon Jovi, which was named after him...
) is decapitated
Decapitation
Decapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
by flying debris. To get a "PG-13", the shot was redone with Emmett this time knocked overboard by flying debris. This left many audience members not knowing what happened to his character. A death scene was also filmed for Maj. Matthew Coonan (David Keith
David Keith
David Lemuel Keith is an American actor and director. He received Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actor and New Star of the Year – Actor for his performance in An Officer and a Gentleman.-Career:...
), but the effect did not work well so it was cut from the film.
Awards and nominations
The film was nominated for two awards at the 73rd Academy Awards73rd Academy Awards
The 73rd Academy Awards honored the best films of 2000 and was held on March 25, 2001. It was the last Academy Awards to take place at the Los Angeles Shrine Auditorium...
: Best Sound Editing
Academy Award for Sound Editing
The Academy Award of Merit for Best Sound Editing is an Academy Award granted yearly to a film exhibiting the finest or most aesthetic sound editing or sound design...
and Best Sound Mixing (Steve Maslow
Steve Maslow
Steve Maslow is an American sound engineer. He won three Academy Awards for Best Sound and has been nominated for four more in the same category...
, Gregg Landaker
Gregg Landaker
Gregg Landaker is an American sound engineer. He won three Academy Awards for Best Sound and has been nominated for four more in the same category...
, Rick Kline
Rick Kline
Rick Kline is an American sound engineer. He has been nominated for eleven Academy Awards in the category Best Sound. He has worked on over 200 films since 1978.-Selected filmography:* Terms of Endearment * Silverado * Top Gun...
and Ivan Sharrock
Ivan Sharrock
Ivan Sharrock is a British sound engineer. He won an Academy Award for Best Sound and has been nominated for three more in the same category...
). It won the sound editing award.
Trivia
In the beginning of the movie - which shows the German submarine attacking a convoy - all the dialogue is in German. Some lines were taken out of the Das BootDas Boot
Das Boot is a 1981 German epic war film written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen, produced by Günter Rohrbach, and starring Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, and Klaus Wennemann...
movie (spoken by Jürgen Prochnow
Jürgen Prochnow
Jürgen Prochnow is a German actor. His most well-known roles internationally have been as the sympathetic submarine captain in Das Boot , Duke Leto Atreides I in Dune , the minor, but important role of Neo-Stalinist dictator General Ivan Radek in Air Force One and the villain Maxwell Dent in...
), and are even delivered using the very same intonation. Example: "Tja meine Herren, dem haben wir das Rückgrat gebrochen" - "Well, Gentlemen, we broke her (the ship's) backbone there".
See also
- Das Boot
- Submarine films
- History of cryptology — World War II cryptology
- First seizure of EnigmaBiuro SzyfrówThe Biuro Szyfrów was the interwar Polish General Staff's agency charged with both cryptography and cryptology ....
- Enigma (2001 film)Enigma (2001 film)Enigma is a 2001 British film about the Enigma codebreakers of Bletchley Park in World War II. The film, directed by Michael Apted, stars Dougray Scott and Kate Winslet. The film's screenplay was by Tom Stoppard, based on the novel Enigma by Robert Harris...
External links
- Independent Movie Review by www.enigmahistory.org
- Imperial War Museum description of the capture of the Enigma machine
- American Histories - How The War Wasn't Won by Ben Falk, BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
- U-571: You give historical films a bad name by Alex von Tunzelmann, GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- Virtual Enigma Machine