World War II · Film · 2000
U-571
An American submarine disguised as a German supply boat is sent to seize an Enigma machine from a crippled U-boat in the North Atlantic, and the boarding party ends up stranded aboard the enemy sub.
Where it happened
Follow the story across 1 places.
Stop 1: North Atlantic
Key location
In a storm, the disguised S-33 reaches the damaged U-571, and after the boarding the survivors must sail a German submarine they barely understand.
What really happened
Capturing Enigma material intact was one of the Allies' great prizes in the Battle of the Atlantic. The real breakthroughs were British: on 9 May 1941 HMS Bulldog's boarding party seized an Enigma machine and codebooks from U-110 south of Iceland, and in October 1942 sailors from HMS Petard recovered codebooks from the sinking U-559, two of them drowning in the attempt.
The film's American capture is invented; the US Navy's only boarding of a U-boat, U-505, came in June 1944. The change angered veterans and British politicians, and the film ends with a note crediting the real British captures. It won the Academy Award for Best Sound Editing.
Where to watch
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Full details
- Original title
- U-571
- Directed by
- Jonathan Mostow
- Countries
- United States, France
- Languages
- English, German
- Released
- 2000
- Period
- –
- Theaters of war
- Atlantic & Arctic
- Themes
- Naval
- Combat
- Espionage
