U-571 (2000)
Action, War
U-571 is a submarine film directed by Jonathan Mostow and starring Matthew McConaughey, Harvey Keitel, Jon Bon Jovi, Jake Weber, and Matthew Settle. The plot concerns a World War II German submarine boarded by American submariners to capture her Enigma cipher machine.
Although the film was financially successful and reasonably well received by critics, the plot attracted substantial criticism. British sailors from HMS Bulldog captured the first naval Enigma machine from U-110 in the North Atlantic in May 1941, months before the United States entered the war and three years before the US Navy captured U-505 and its Enigma machine. The anger over these inaccuracies reached the British Parliament, where the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, agreed that the film was an “affront” to British sailors. The film was also criticized for portraying German U-boat crews in a negative light by showing them gunning down Allied survivors instead of giving them assistance or taking them aboard as prisoners.
During the Battle of the Atlantic, after sinking a merchant ship from an Allied convoy, German U-boat U-571 has her engines badly damaged by depth charges from a British destroyer. U-571’s skipper Kapitänleutnant Günther Wassner makes a distress call that is intercepted by American intelligence. The US Navy has its submarine S-33 modified to resemble a German resupply U-boat, to try to steal the Enigma machine coding device and sink the U-571. Before the crew of S-33 receives its assignment, the submarine’s executive officer Lieutenant Tyler is unhappy about a recommendation for command of his own submarine being blocked by his commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Dahlgren.
Director: Jonathan Mostow
Writers: Jonathan Mostow (story), Jonathan Mostow (screenplay), Sam Montgomery (screenplay), David Ayer (screenplay)
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton, Harvey Keitel, Jon Bon Jovi, David Keith, Thomas Kretschmann, Jake Weber
Cast:
| Matthew McConaughey | … | Lt. Andrew Tyler |
| Bill Paxton | … | Lt. Cmdr. Mike Dahlgren |
| Harvey Keitel | … | CPO Henry Klough |
| Jon Bon Jovi | … | Lt. Pete Emmett |
| David Keith | … | Maj. Matthew Coonan |
| Thomas Kretschmann | … | Capt.-Lt. Gunther Wassner |
| Jake Weber | … | Lt. Hirsch |
| Jack Noseworthy | … | Seaman Bill Wentz |
| Tom Guiry | … | Seaman Ted ‘Trigger’ Fitzgerald |
| Will Estes | … | Seaman Ronald ‘Rabbit’ Parker |
| Terrence ‘T.C.’ Carson | … | Steward Eddie Carson (as T.C. Carson) |
| Erik Palladino | … | Seaman Anthony Mazzola |
| Dave Power | … | Seaman Charles ‘Tank’ Clemens |
| Derk Cheetwood | … | Seaman Herb Griggs |
| Matthew Settle | … | Ens. Keith Larson |
| Rebecca Tilney | … | Mrs. Dahlgren |
| Carolyna De Laurentiis | … | Prudence Dahlgren |
| Dina De Laurentiis | … | Louise Dahlgren |
| Burnell Tucker | … | Adm. Duke |
| Rob Allyn | … | Ensign |
| Carsten Voigt | … | German Chief Hans |
| Gunter Würger | … | Lt. Kohn (as Gunther Wuerger) |
| Oliver Stokowski | … | German E-Chief |
| Arnd Klawitter | … | German Hydrophone Operator |
| Kai Maurer | … | German Planesman |
| Robert Lahoda | … | German Engineer |
| Peter Stark | … | German Lookout |
| Erich Redman | … | German Bosun |
| William John Evans | … | Marine Sergeant (as Sergeant William John Evans) |
| Robin Askwith | … | British Seaman |
| Jasper Wood | … | Petty Officer |
| Martin Glade | … | Gunner Officer |
| Oliver Osthus | … | Depth Charge Officer |
| John William Falconer | … | Other Sergeant (as Corporal John William Falconer) |
| Cory Glen Mathews | … | Other Sergeant (as Corporal Cory Glen Mathews) |
| Valentina Ardeatini | … | Mrs. Peggy Larson (as Valentina Adreatini) |
| Mauro Cerminara | … | Soldato (uncredited) |
| Norman Campbell Rees | … | Military Police Sergeant (uncredited) |
Sources: imdb & wikipedia