DVD Review: U-571

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 they 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)

DVD 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)

DVD-ROM Review:
After installing the PCFriendly components for this title, you are brought to the DVD-ROM main menu, which is nicely done. From this menu, you are given seven links to other sections, Mission Objective, Personnel, DVD Newsletter, Below the Deck, Features, Reconnaissance, and Historical Specs. The Mission Objective is a very small section telling why they decided to create this film. There is a neat little Flash intro, with an equally nice layout once into the section.

Biographies for 15 of the cast and 12 of the crew can be found in the Personnel section. This has the same great theme ass the Mission Objective, with an easily legible font. The only downside to this section is the scroll method used for the text: slow. Why these newer Universal titles have been released with this feature is beyond my knowledge. An online Web link can be found in the DVD Newsletter section. This link sends you to a page where you can sign up to receive emails telling about upcoming Universal DVD and home video releases.

Below the Deck is where you can find all the information about the behind the scenes efforts that occurred during the filming of U-571. This has the same easy to read font, with the same slow as ever scrolling.

In the Features section, you can find links to each of the special features available on the DVD-Video side of the disc. These features work well transferring over, and can be exited any time by clicking anywhere on the viewable screen. Ten photos from scenes in the film can be found in the Reconnaissance section. Each of these can be enlarged into your favorite Web browser by simply clicking on the fingernail image.

My favorite part of the DVD-ROM features, Historical Specs, includes diagrams and information on 10 of the more prominent German and American submarines used in World War II. Each has a small description of their more famous missions, and also includes the fate of each after the war ended.

Playing the film from the PCFriendly software loads through the usual Universal advertising on to the start of the movie. This title has a great theme throughout, and is complete in every aspect except the script. Even without it, I really enjoyed the features found here. U-571 is definitely worth trying out.

Picture: 4.5
Dolby Digital Sound: 5
DTS Sound: 5+
Critics' Composite Score: 4

Stars:Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton, Harvey Keitel, Jon Bon Jovi, Jake Weber, Dave Power, Derk Cheetwood, Matthew Settle

This review courtesy of www.widescreenreview.com