Why was U-571 so crap!

I have just this minute finnished watching U-571, what a piece of crap

I have many complaints but I will not begin to to list them because there are so many! Why do the Americans insist to produce crap like this? I know the layman would not know a U-boat from a torpedo but accuracy still counts! I think they should pull their act together! Also I would like to see European countries begin to produce films....films worthy of an audiance! Just look at what can be achieved......DAS BOOT! Now there is a film worth watching! Also films should have Germans that don't pop out from nowhere, surprising the Americans, only to get shot first! Realism makes a difference as well!

[ 16 August 2001: Message edited by: Madcap7 ]

 

U 571, was geared for younger viewers. I for one liked the film because of the (kid in me that likes the action) and also because I collect Kriegsmarine militaria, and I know many Uboat aces and men.

U 571 did have some outrageous moments, but all in all, it was not a bad film. Im going to buy a copy of it in DVD as soon as I can affod=rd to buy a player.

Next movie on the DVD list will be E.A.T.G, then Cross of Iron, then Stalingrad etc.

The only thing I was really irritated about that was in the film, was that on one mans uniform, they had the breast adler on the left side instead of the right side as per Kriegsmarine and the Wehrmachts regulations.

I can overlook a small detail like that and have.

 

I hated it also. My wife claims she wont go to war movies after 3 dogs in a row. U-5150 was so bad I was yellin at the screen. Enemy at My Pants was worse, and Pearl Harbor worst yet (loved the whole water tower scene, and Death Star like head on Japanese collision).
Captain Correlli is tomorrow, Im going, anyone else?

 

Carl, I understand you when you say you´ll buy copy of it in DVD of U-571, me too !

I was to see this movie with some friends and my girl who doesn´t have so history knowlegment, all they want to see is a war film with some action, for them was a great movie, perfect!!!
We all like to see the submarines, aircrafts, tanks and soldiers fighting of that last great war. I think that movie was something that not necessary, but the director or producer, I don´t know, thinks with his pocket (with a lot of money). Realistics films with some history authenticity becomes classics for us (I love Stalingrad, The Longest Day and A Bridge too Far).
But I still want to buy a copy of U-571 in DVD. Here it movie have another title: "U-571 A Batalha do Atlântico" (Atlantic Battle). If was only "U-571" here, nobody will be interessed, only the War fans like us.
I´m glad to have some space to share our ideas about it.

 

I hope they put Band Of Brothers out on DVD like they did the Soprano's

 

Why does it seem so hard to make a good war movie now, They used to make excellent ones
Zulu was one of my favourites. wounded soldier "Can I unbutton me tunic now Corp?"

 

Ah Good afternoon my Brazilian comrade and glad you also liked the movies mentioned. I guess maybe we saw it as something to watch for the enjoyment of it all and not the accuracy of it.

A few all-time favorite war movies are: Stalingrad, A Time To Love and A Time To Die, Alls Quiet On The Western Front (1930 version restored with additional footage) Dunkirk, The Longest Day, Bataan, The Password Is Courage, A Bridge Too Far, Decision Before Dawn, Tobruk, Dawn Patrol (Errol Flynn and David Niven version) Where Eagles Dare, Hannible Brooks and Kellys Heroes. I stop here as I could continue adding many titles. I like all of these titles for various reasons.

Well thank goodness, there are plenty of us around who do like war movies. Im still waiting for Sgt.Rock, to be made (My all-time favorite comic book) Im glad that this is a forum for anyone who likes to share their ides and thank Otto T, for it. He does one heck of a good job on maintaining these forums. Just wait till he gets the ranking system back up here. judging from the # of postings you already made, you would have at least one award by now.

The Sopranos on DVD? ugh, THATS a show I cant stand--no offense. If thats the case, then they also need to put The Man Show on DVD, and uncensored

I agree Zulu is a great movie, I love those all British and UK made films.

"Dieee...Death Awaits Youuu...Your All Going To Dieee...Dieee...Dieee..."

Little Joe: "Booze..We Aint Got No Booze?"

SS Oberscharfuhrer: "You..Ze Americain Army"
Oddball: "No Baby..We Aint" "You Know Whats In That Bank Sweetheart?" "16 Million in Gold umhmmm"
Big Joe: "Thats 65 MILLION Marks"
Kelly: "Sergeant, All You Have To Do To Get A Share Of That Gold, Is To Turn That Turret Around And Blow A Hole Through That Door."
Tiger Tank: "Boooooom!!"

 

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by talleyrand:
U-5150 was so bad I was yellin at the screen. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah, I know what you mean! I was also yellin at the screen! So much, that my dad and mum, on seperate occasions, had to come upstairs and ask me to be quiet because I was shouting so loud!

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by C.Evans:
Next movie on the DVD list will be E.A.T.G, then Cross of Iron, then Stalingrad etc. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

What is E.A.T.G? I want to get Cross of Iron next, its great! Especially, well, all of it!

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Billy Bones:
Why does it seem so hard to make a good war movie now, They used to make excellent ones Zulu was one of my favourites."<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yeah, Zulu is a great film.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Billy Bones:
I hope they put Band Of Brothers out on DVD like they did the Soprano's<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

When is the Band of Brothers to be aired in the UK? Does anyone know?

The Eagle has landed was good.

[ 17 August 2001: Message edited by: Madcap7 ]

 

E.A.T.G is short from Enemy At The Gates.

 

Though I wasnt yelling at an inanimate object (I possess the ability to control my inner thoughts ), U-571 was, IMO, a pre-teen's WWII flick that was only there to make a tidy profit. A joke and travesty to history, Im an American but I am mad that it wasnt based on the far more important British capture of an enigma machine and documents.

EATG was nonsense to me as well. Not only did it portray the average landser a ruthless thug who murdered that poor girl's parents, but it also made Russia out to be the victim when it was Stalinism that was the driving cause behind WWII!

Inaccuracy after inacuracy along with that 10 minute sex scene really made me give this one no more then 2/10 just for acknologing the battle existed.

For those who plan on purchasing CoI on DVD, I strongly recommend against it as all the reviews on any e-commerce site say the DVD transfer is crap and a 20 year old VHS got a better picture and sound (no joke, read reviews on DVD @ Amazon.)

As for Band of Brothers, in all likelihood it wont hold a candle to the old Combat! episodes which I still tape and watch today! Why? Because itll go for the 'realistic' Hollywood depiction of WWII and come off worse then SPR did. Instead of being a fun, action oriented film, Spielberg will ruin it and make the German soldier out to be a complete Nazi and again, as with SPR make them out to be the evil, ruthless killer's they werent...

Thank goodness Stephen Ambrose had nothing to do with the project!

 

There are war movies and there are war movies. I have to say Private Ryans success cursed us all to a few summers of bad WWII movies. U-571 wasnt terrible just because of its inaccuracy, which was great. Just because it sucked. I loved the lengths they had to go to, to get black guy on the boat, that was sweet. How many times does the Destroyer miss U-571 at what? 500 yards? 3 or 4 near misses? Then, how many times does it hit the Uboat and not sink it? 2? jeeeeeeeez
Enemy at the Gates was bad, but had a couple of scenes I liked. Scene with all the officers lined up in the beginning with Krushev, propaganda panzer.
Pearl Harbor was the worst of all of them. I was sick. I walked out, had a cigarette, went to the bathroom, bought a $3 soda, walked back in and couldnt tell I missed something. That boring. My wife LIKED it. She doesnt like war movies, She cant stand Kelly's Heroes and A Bridge to Far, She liked Pearl Harbor. ?????? This alone proves its stench factor.
The next few war movies look to be stinkers also. Windtalkers, Harts War, and Below will all lower the bar I think. Windtalkers is a movie about Navajo code speakers, starring Nic Cage, huh???
Harts War is a Stalag movie, Bruce Willis a shot down fighter pilot held in a stalag in '44 comes to terms with his captivity. Has epiphany when Tuskegee pilots are brought into the camp and the US-UK pilots treat them like the Germans do the prisoners, more sickly sweet PC drivel than Remember the Titans.
Below is a WWII sub movie with a Uboat and US sub dueling it out in the Atlantic and an alien attacks them both. Must join forces to defeat alien. They should have called it U-571 II, This Time its More Realistic!

 

Films I have seen and liked:

The Longest Day
A Bridge Too Far
Saving Private Ryan
The Cross of Iron
Kelly's heroes
Das Boot
When Trumpets Fade
Battle of the Bulge
The Eagle has landed
Where Eagles Dare
A Midnight Clear

I hated:
Thin Red Line
U-571

They should do a film about:
The a soldier on both sides had to go through; the film shows the experiences of two men going through training, An Allied soldier and a German soldier, kinda like full Metal Jacket. Then the two men meet up on a battlefield in Europe and they fight it out, weither hand-to-hand or with guns and grenades, the audiance would have to choose bewtwwen the two men, choose who they want to win, with DVD it would be possible to have two endings, one where the German is killed and another where the Allied soldier is killed.

 

Guys I'm going to have to take issue with those of you who feel Saving Private Ryan was a bad movie. I think it was a fine movie, perhaps the best war movie ever, certainly one of the best. As for the portrayal of German soldiers, well that would be a matter of perception, how do you think the average soldier perceived his enemy during WW II? Keep in mind both sides were fed on a steady diet of proaganda

 

Most films have faults, the portrayal of the German solders as zomified beasts was gastly, however the film is one of the best WW2 war films ever.

 

Tallyrand, great posting but FYI, Uboats could take alot of punishment. I have a large photo of U 181 which you can see some bomb damage on its deck. This photo was taken in 1943 by 2nd Watch Officer Otto Giese.

In the forground of the photo, you can make out a huge hole in the Uboats deck plating. This was the result of being attacked by RAF Spitfires and Hurricanes.

Otto will be posting this photo here sometime soon.

 

If you want to see good films where German Soldiers are portrayed very fairly, then watch: "A Time To Love And A Time To Die" "The Enemy Below","Decision Before Dawn" and "Stalingrad".

All are excellent movies and all give a correct perspective of how German really are. I wouldnt say so if I didnt believe it was so, but I am lucky enough to know many German vets, and are friends with many.

 

But you know the U-571 SHOULD have gone down. I know 20mm and 37mm aircraft guns could sink em though. There is a section of "Bombing Twins" devoted to B-25 sub hunters.

Billy, I loved SPR

We need to figure out some way to dub war movies for trading without violating copyright laws. (I could live without getting busted)

Not really a war movie buuuut, does anyone else like "Reilly, Ace of Spies"?

 

I hated U-571 as well.

Things that were odd: (other than the ones already mentioned)

U-boat crews armed to the teeth with SMG's?

When you fire a gun in an enclosed space, it should ricochet all over the place.

Was it normal practice to keep a shell chambered in the deck gun, even when submerged?

The German patrol aircraft pictured in the film looked very, err...non German. Can't remember what type it was.

Why go through all that mess of putting explosive charges in the German sub? Why not just sink it with a torpedo/deck gun?

That's just a couple of things I remember.

-Tim

 

actually I remember from reading about the capture of U-551 that there is some sort of hatch that can be opened from inside the vessel to fill and sink it.
The recon plane was a single engine fighter.
Real recon aircraft was the FOUR (4) engine FW-200. Single engine craft had too short of range.

 

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by SmokstakLightnin:
Was it normal practice to keep a shell chambered in the deck gun, even when submerged?

The German patrol aircraft pictured in the film looked very, err...non German. Can't remember what type it was.
-Tim<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

The deck gun being armed, that is when I yelled the most!