U-571
The spring of 1942, the third year of the Second World War and following the attack on Pearl Harbour the United States has joined the conflict, offering support to Allied shipping in the Atlantic which has been devastated by German U-boats; damaged by depth charges and with the main engines inoperative following the sinking of a cargo vessel, U-571 is adrift and awaiting assistance from a resupply submarine.
The distress message sent by Kapitänleutnant Günther Wassner intercepted by American intelligence, the S-33 is sent to intercept the stricken vessel under the command of Lieutenant Commander Mike Dahlgren, a covert operation which will see his boat pose as the German resupply vessel in order to gain access to the U-571, overpowering the crew and seizing the Enigma machine onboard, allowing the Allies to decode enemy transmissions and anticipate their military operations.
A key asset which could change the course of the war, the events depicted in Jonathan Mostow’s 2000 film U-571, now restored in 4K for StudioCanal, are entirely fictional, the British Royal Naval vessel HMS Bulldog having captured an Enigma machine in May 1941, the film instead better taken simply as an entertainment along the lines of the great war adventure movies such as Where Eagles Dare or, perhaps more appropriately, Run Silent, Run Deep, battles between unseen combatants mediated by gauges and echoes.
Starring Aliens’ Bill Paxton as Dahlgren, Interstellar‘s Matthew McConaughey as executive officer Lieutenant Andrew Tyler and Saturn 3‘s Harvey Keitel as Chief Gunner’s Mate Henry Klough with Vampires: Los Muertos‘ Jon Bon Jovi and Event Horizon‘s Jack Noseworthy in supporting roles, the stars of the film are the submarines, the seaworthy exteriors built full size in an Italian soundstage tank with wave and towering rain machines providing the stormy conditions of the Atlantic.
The opening scenes aboard the U-571 emphasising how primitive the technology is, prone to leaks and with torpedo bay doors operated by manual cranking, soon after it is apparent how deadly they are yet also vulnerable, their pressurised metal hulls holding back the ocean and ready to crumple in a second, the characters and their stock dilemmas and heroic sacrifices secondary to the gears, turbines, valves, pumps and batteries of the already antiquated technology.
A film whose tone changes with the turn of the tide, time is taken to mourn the losses of a single American enlisted man while the sinking of a German destroyer by a single torpedo aimed at just the right place is heralded with triumphant fanfare, the ship most often seen from the underside, the enemy rendered faceless other than the presence of Thomas Kretschmann’s captive captain who is portrayed as a monosyllabic fanatic, U-571 a disingenuous fantasy in its depiction of war and biased ideas of heroism when more honestly it should be seen as a tragedy for all.
U-571 is available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD and digital download from StudioCanal now
