Explosive
Summary
It may not be historically accurate, but U-571 is a movie not a documentary so I just enjoy it as the old-school, boy’s own, action adventure tale that it is. It has solid performances from the cast, awesome explosions and a near relentless pace. The 4K is the best the film has ever looked or sounded making this a worthy addition to your collection.
Plot: When a German U-571 submarine with a sophisticated encryption machine onboard is sunk during a World War II battle at sea, the Allies send an American Navy force led by Lieutenant Andrew Tyler (Matthew McConaughey) to retrieve it for study. Boarding the German ship, the Americans’ cover as a rescue force is quickly blown. Forced to take the crew hostage, the Americans lay their explosives and prepare to destroy the German vessel before the Nazis can send naval backup.
Review: What a quest I had to endure to get this movie; I picked it up in Walmart in Mississauga a while back and then I sat down to watch it a few weeks later. I opened the case… and it was empty. Walmart sold me an empty case. I went in and the staff were as unhelpful as you’d expect telling me that they do not refund or replace already opened items and to contact the distributor. I contacted Universal Pictures as I had paid for a movie I didn’t receive and thankfully (unlike Walmart) the customer service was fantastic. I emailed them to let them know I had an empty case and was needing the 4K; they very kindly sent me a replacement to which I am incredibly grateful. I’ve never had anything like that happen to me before but I’m glad I finally got the movie, so i watched it this weekend to make sure everything was working and thankfully it worked perfectly.
Anyway, I remember seeing U-571 in the cinema when it first came out 26 years ago and was blown away by the sound design; it has some of the best use of surround sound I’ve seen especially during the depth charge scenes making you feel like you are in the thick of the action.
Is it historically accurate? Probably not but it’s an old-fashioned boy’s own wartime adventure like the kind we watched growing up (usually starring the likes of Roger Moore) and it’s packed with action and tension.
It has a great cast including Matthew McConaughey, David Keith, Harvey Keitel, Jon Bon Jovi, Bill Paxton and many more.
I wish Matthew McConaughey did more action movies as I really like him in roles like this as well as Reign of Fire and Sahara.
In U-571 he plays Tyler, a submarine Exo who is popular with the crew but got turned down to captain his own ship; fate has decided now is the time he will be tested as he and his men are called upon to join a mission to take over a German sub and rescue an Enigma coding machine. Throughout the mission his authority is questioned by the crew but as the story progresses, they realise he knows exactly what he is doing and is born to be a sea captain.
This is edge of your seat stuff and no matter how many times I watch it the tension never diminishes. It wastes no time getting going either, rarely letting up; it captures the claustrophobia of being cooped up in a submarine underwater while evading the enemy, so it’s always a relief by the time you reach the end credits.
The score by Richard Marvin is exciting and bombastic really making the action even more thrilling.
There are plenty of awesome explosions and shoot-outs and the visual effects never fail to impress making it a movie I come back to regularly.
The 4K was worth the hassle I went through to get it and the picture and sound were fantastic and a definite upgrade from my old DVD (which admittedly always had great sound too).
- Audio Commentary: New commentary featuring Director Jonathan Mostow.
- Spotlight on Location: A behind-the-scenes look at the production.
- Creating and Constructing U-571: Featurette on the making of the sub interiors and sets.
- Inside the Enigma: Exploration of the code-breaking machine.
- Britain Captures the U-110: Historical documentary.
- US Naval Archives: Capturing the U-505: Historical documentary.
- Technical Details: Dolby Vision/HDR10, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, and includes a 4K disc, Blu-ray disc, and digital code.
It may not be packed with features, but what we get are fascinating as it goes into the real story behind the movie featuring interviews with the men who were there at the time.
Overall, U-571 is an exciting old-school action adventure movie with a fantastic cast, near-constant action and nail-biting tension. The 4K looks and sounds practically faultless and there are enough special features to make this worth adding to the collection especially if you have a good surround sound setup.