U-571

Cast View all

	Matthew McConaughey	Tyler
	Bill Paxton	Dahlgren
	Harvey Keitel	Chief
	Jon Bon Jovi	Emmett
	David Keith	Coonan
	Thomas Kretschmann	Wassner
	Jake Weber	Hirsch
	Jack Noseworthy	Wentz
	Tom Guiry	Trigger
	Will Estes	Rabbit
	Terrence Carson	Eddie
	Erik Palladino	Mazzola
	Dave Power	Tank
	Derk Cheetwood	Griggs
	Matthew Settle	Larson
	Rebecca Tilney	Mrs. Dahlgren
	Carolyna de LAURENTIIS	Prudence Dahlgren
	Dina de LAURENTIIS	Louise Dahlgren
	Burnell Tucker	Admiral Duke
	Rob Allyn	Ensign
	Carsten Voigt	German Chief
	Gunter Würger	Kohl
	Oliver Stokowski	German Chief
	Arnd Klawitter	German Hydrophone Operator
	Kai Maurer	German Planesman

Crew View all

Director	Jonathan Mostow
Writer	Jonathan Mostow, Sam Montgomery, David Ayer
Producer	Alan Collis, Dino De Laurentiis, Martha De Laurentiis, Hal Lieberman, Lucio Trentini
Musician	Richard Marvin
Photography	Oliver Wood

Personal

Notes

Story Synopsis:
Based loosely on actual events, U-571 tells the story of a German submarine sinking during World War II. The ship is carrying an Enigma Machine, a device for sending and decoding secret messages. The allied forces are anxious to get their hands on one to enable them to intercept enemy transmissions. They call on a crack tream of Navy men who are just about to enjoy 48 hours of shore leave, instead the must reboard their submarine, disguise themselves as Nazis, and infiltrate the U-boat with the hope that these men can steal the device and finish sinking the sub before the Germans catch on to their plan and recover the device themselves. (Laurie Sevano)

DVD Picture:
The anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 DVD exhibits a picture that is quite pleasing in all aspects. Set in the '40s, colors are warm and nicely balanced with an occasionally stylized, dated look. Images are sharp, with nicely rendered fine detail and background definition. Inside the submarine, images are quite natural, with a smooth, solid appearance and good shadow delineation. However, exterior scenes outside the sub are quite hard-edged with apparent enhancement. Overall, the picture should surely please with naturally balanced colors and minimal distractions. (Suzanne Hodges)

Soundtrack:
The Dolby® Digital and DTS® Digital Surround™ 5.1-channel soundtracks deliver an incredible sonic assault in almost every aspect, including frequency range, dynamics and dimension. This is truly superlative film sound and a testament to the achievement of re-recording mixers Steve Maslow, Gregg Landaker and Rick Kline, as well as supervising sound editor Jon Johnson. While either soundtrack version will definitely excel in your home theatre, the DTS is preferred for having a low-end that is slightly yet noticeably fuller and with greater depth. The DTS audio also delivers subtle spatial details that allow for smoother panning between channels and more refined low-level dimensional resolution. The fidelity is absolutely clean and is definitely one of the best encountered to date. This is a loud, powerful audio mix, but also one that is devoid of excessive harshness. The soundfield is consistently spacious throughout, with all dimensions active for the majority of the duration of the film. Creative opportunities always exist with a 5.1-channel soundfield, whether the setting is inside a sub, out on the sea or any general indoor setting. For U-571, these opportunities seemed to have been optimally exploited. The split surrounds are engaged, not only liberally, but extremely effectively in many scenes to dramatically heighten the perception of direction, as well as emotional intensity. The soundstage particularly delivers with emotional depth and involvement when the principal sonic vectors collectively produce subtle but detailed sonic imagery, such as the many uneasy moments underwater, within the claustrophobic confines of the sub. Dynamic range is absolutely incredible with the gunshots and the explosion of the depth charges. Dialogue is generally well produced throughout, with natural-sounding voices and convincing spatial integration, though in certain scenes there is some inconsistency with the on-screen action. The music, composed by Richard Marvin and recorded/mixed by Dennis Sands, is a first-rate recording and is incorporated into the sound mix as a layer which not only projects a compelling surround sound presence, but also dutifully conveys the dramatic momentum. Last but not least, the very clean-sounding low-end is a substantial factor throughout the majority of this film, whether it be to render the rumbles of the sub engines, the many, many explosions or even the subtle layer of low frequencies at the beginning of the film to set the "serious" emotional tone for the story. It's almost redundant to say for this film that extension will be well below 25Hz in all channels, with occasional system threatening pulses. (Perry Sun)



This Disc Contains The Following WSR-Rated Superb Qualities:
Reference Quality
Superb Sound Effects Recording Quality
Superb Music Score Recording Quality

Tags

Links