Post by ronnierocketago on Mar 26, 2006 4:48:20 GMT
U-571
Jonathan Mostow
2000 France/USA
Some people call him a hired gun, a hack, an overrated journeyman, and other insults usually reserved for real losers like say Michael Bay, Rob Cohen, Renny Harlin, and the other Hack Auteur All-Stars. However, I think Jonathan Mostow is a pretty decent director that is not worthy of the IMDB-inspired scorn. I mean he dished out the pretty thrilling and somewhat underrated suspense film “Breakdown” with Kurt Russell (arguably his last good movie) and hell, Mostow actually somehow made the James Cameron-less 3rd “Terminator” film from being quite expectedly terrible to being actually watchable. I mean, could someone say the same about Harlin’s god-forsaken “Exorcist” prequel?
Mostow continues his consistently solid good directing career with this financially successful torpedo of a film, which itself harkens back to the World War 2-era action/adventure movies that Hollywood produced by the truckloads back in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Much like “Where Eagles Dare” and “The Great Escape,” Jonathan Mostow’s “U-571” has a premise and execution to which honors those days of which Hollywood tough men like Clint Eastwood and Charles Bronson graced the silver screen by beating up those dastardly Nazis.
“U-571” involves the Allied forces struggling to break Germany’s all-elusive Enigma secret code system, until luck turns to their side. A wrecked German U-boat submarine sends out a S.O.S. signal, to which the Allies intercept and quickly assemble a commando squad to hijack the Nazi sub, steal their Enigma machine, and get out.
Well, that good plan was sunk when another German submarine sinks to the American convoy ship, which leaves the Allied commandos stranded on the German boat. Stuck in trying to command an enemy ship, especially one designed to Germanic expectations in terms of operations and language, these troopers must try to pilot themselves away from other German subs lurking about, survive Allied forces who mistake them for the adversaries, and successfully keep the knowledge that they have the Enigma machine to themselves without alerting the Germans to this fact.
Many outcries were shouted after the release of this film, from people questioning if such an operation could have successfully been pulled off in reality, to the fact that despite what the movie originally hints at, the British, not the Americans, actually intercepted and broken the Enigma codes.
Certainly I do understand the first complaint, but again, did the entire premise of “Where Eagles Dare,” as in a very complicated operation of intrigue and espionage conducted simply to unveil the true Allied traitors, actually seem to be plausible? Better yet, what about the hippie Donald Sutherland in “Kelly’s Heroes,” a good decade before the Beatniks arrived? Understandably, let’s not even get started on that whole mess about Steve McQueen outrunning the Nazis in a super cool fashion on a classy motorcycle.
As for the British complaint, I certainly feel their anger. However, Mostow’s flick is a fictional adventure thriller that just simply used some historical truths as the foundation of its set-up. Sadly, Americans only want to see the British on film only when evil but enjoyable villains, boy wizards, or costumed Victorian-era stiffs show up. Unfair, but that is my observation from this observatory in the heartland of America. Speaking of which, I propose a heart attack.
However, “U-571” is still presented with a compelling premise-lock which hooks many people into watching it, much like a Larry Cohen film. I am not saying that “U-571” is a great motion picture, nor am I writing that it is a very good movie. However, I think it is an entertaining and solid action movie that actually deserves the much-abused banner of “popcorn entertainment,” a term that many of you have probably heard the supporters of both Michael Bay and other terrible movies try to push this “popcorn defense” as an excuse for the crap that they somehow and for some reason like.
Besides,”U-571” is an extension to the great under-appreciated Hollywood institution, in that a character played by Bill Paxton is submerged into the great beyond once again. Just remember that when you watch "Big Love" on HBO.
CREDITS
Director
Jonathan Mostow
Producers
Dino De Laurentiis
Hal Lieberman
Martha Schumacher
Lucio Trentini
Writers
Jonathan Mostow
Sam Montgomery
David Ayer
Cinematographer
Oliver Wood
Composer
Richard Marvin
Production Designers
William Ladd Skinner
Götz Weidner
Editor
Wayne Wahrman
CAST
Matthew McConaughey
Lt. Andrew Tyler, Executive Officer
Bill Paxton
Lt. Cmdr. Mike Dahlgren
Harvey Keitel
CPO Henry Klough
Jon Bon Jovi
Lt. Pete Emmett, Chief Engineer
David Keith
Maj. Matthew Coonan, USMC, Office of Naval Intelligence
Thomas Kretschmann
Capt.-Lt. Gunther Wassner
Jake Weber
Lt. Hirsch, USNR
Jonathan Mostow
2000 France/USA
Some people call him a hired gun, a hack, an overrated journeyman, and other insults usually reserved for real losers like say Michael Bay, Rob Cohen, Renny Harlin, and the other Hack Auteur All-Stars. However, I think Jonathan Mostow is a pretty decent director that is not worthy of the IMDB-inspired scorn. I mean he dished out the pretty thrilling and somewhat underrated suspense film “Breakdown” with Kurt Russell (arguably his last good movie) and hell, Mostow actually somehow made the James Cameron-less 3rd “Terminator” film from being quite expectedly terrible to being actually watchable. I mean, could someone say the same about Harlin’s god-forsaken “Exorcist” prequel?
Mostow continues his consistently solid good directing career with this financially successful torpedo of a film, which itself harkens back to the World War 2-era action/adventure movies that Hollywood produced by the truckloads back in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Much like “Where Eagles Dare” and “The Great Escape,” Jonathan Mostow’s “U-571” has a premise and execution to which honors those days of which Hollywood tough men like Clint Eastwood and Charles Bronson graced the silver screen by beating up those dastardly Nazis.
“U-571” involves the Allied forces struggling to break Germany’s all-elusive Enigma secret code system, until luck turns to their side. A wrecked German U-boat submarine sends out a S.O.S. signal, to which the Allies intercept and quickly assemble a commando squad to hijack the Nazi sub, steal their Enigma machine, and get out.
Well, that good plan was sunk when another German submarine sinks to the American convoy ship, which leaves the Allied commandos stranded on the German boat. Stuck in trying to command an enemy ship, especially one designed to Germanic expectations in terms of operations and language, these troopers must try to pilot themselves away from other German subs lurking about, survive Allied forces who mistake them for the adversaries, and successfully keep the knowledge that they have the Enigma machine to themselves without alerting the Germans to this fact.
Many outcries were shouted after the release of this film, from people questioning if such an operation could have successfully been pulled off in reality, to the fact that despite what the movie originally hints at, the British, not the Americans, actually intercepted and broken the Enigma codes.
Certainly I do understand the first complaint, but again, did the entire premise of “Where Eagles Dare,” as in a very complicated operation of intrigue and espionage conducted simply to unveil the true Allied traitors, actually seem to be plausible? Better yet, what about the hippie Donald Sutherland in “Kelly’s Heroes,” a good decade before the Beatniks arrived? Understandably, let’s not even get started on that whole mess about Steve McQueen outrunning the Nazis in a super cool fashion on a classy motorcycle.
As for the British complaint, I certainly feel their anger. However, Mostow’s flick is a fictional adventure thriller that just simply used some historical truths as the foundation of its set-up. Sadly, Americans only want to see the British on film only when evil but enjoyable villains, boy wizards, or costumed Victorian-era stiffs show up. Unfair, but that is my observation from this observatory in the heartland of America. Speaking of which, I propose a heart attack.
However, “U-571” is still presented with a compelling premise-lock which hooks many people into watching it, much like a Larry Cohen film. I am not saying that “U-571” is a great motion picture, nor am I writing that it is a very good movie. However, I think it is an entertaining and solid action movie that actually deserves the much-abused banner of “popcorn entertainment,” a term that many of you have probably heard the supporters of both Michael Bay and other terrible movies try to push this “popcorn defense” as an excuse for the crap that they somehow and for some reason like.
Besides,”U-571” is an extension to the great under-appreciated Hollywood institution, in that a character played by Bill Paxton is submerged into the great beyond once again. Just remember that when you watch "Big Love" on HBO.
CREDITS
Director
Jonathan Mostow
Producers
Dino De Laurentiis
Hal Lieberman
Martha Schumacher
Lucio Trentini
Writers
Jonathan Mostow
Sam Montgomery
David Ayer
Cinematographer
Oliver Wood
Composer
Richard Marvin
Production Designers
William Ladd Skinner
Götz Weidner
Editor
Wayne Wahrman
CAST
Matthew McConaughey
Lt. Andrew Tyler, Executive Officer
Bill Paxton
Lt. Cmdr. Mike Dahlgren
Harvey Keitel
CPO Henry Klough
Jon Bon Jovi
Lt. Pete Emmett, Chief Engineer
David Keith
Maj. Matthew Coonan, USMC, Office of Naval Intelligence
Thomas Kretschmann
Capt.-Lt. Gunther Wassner
Jake Weber
Lt. Hirsch, USNR