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The Enemy Below | 
| Director: Dick Powell
Actors: Frank Albertson, David Bair, Theodore Bikel, Russell Collins, Jeff Daley
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Category: DVD
List Price: CDN$ 16.98
Buy New: CDN$ 11.62
You Save: CDN$ 5.36 (32%)
New (12) Used (3) from CDN$ 9.50
Rating:  41 reviews
Sales Rank: 7652
Format: Ntsc, Widescreen
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.1
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: D2221551D
UPC: 024543115519
EAN: 0024543115519
ASIN: B0001NBMH6
Theatrical Release Date: 1957
Release Date: May 25, 2004
Availability: Usually ships within 1 - 2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW items direct from the USA. Please allow 8 to 12 business days for delivery. Customs charges may apply.
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| Editorial Reviews:
From Amazon.com
In IThe Enemy Below/I Robert Mitchum and Curt Jurgens are respectively captains of a U.S. destroyer and a German U-boat whose vessels come into conflict in the South Atlantic. Both are good men with a job to do, the script noting Jurgens' distaste for Hitler and the Nazis and engaging our sympathy with the German sailors almost as much as the Americans. Made at the height of the cold war of the 1950s, the film delivers a liberal message of co-operation wrapped inside some spectacular action scenes and a story which builds to a tense and exciting, moving finale. I--Gary S. Dalkin/I
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| Customer Reviews: Read 36 more reviews...
 Enemy Below July 19, 2004
Steven Hellerstedt
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Dick Powell had to have had one of the most interesting careers in Hollywood history. He started out as a golden-throated pretty boy actor, made a successful mid-career shift to hard boiled roles like Philip Marlowe and then, for good measure, directed a handful of movies, including the submarine action picture THE ENEMY BELOW.br THE ENEMY BELOW is a 100% action movie, without any distracting romantic sub-plot or comic relief crew members. Robert Mitchum and Curt Jurgens are excellent as the American destroyer commander and U-boat commander who cross paths in the Atlantic Ocean and engage in a deadly hunt. With a few exceptions the models are realistically rendered and convincing. This is one of the best war movies out there, and maybe the best navy movie available. I strongly recommend it to action fans.
great cat and mouse game by two great actors! July 17, 2004
Deborah MacGillivray (US UK)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is not the average sub-film that centers on the crews of the sub and the sub-chaser. This is a two-man cat and mouse film, marvelously done with style and incisive insight.pRobert Mitchum is the man who rises to do what is needed. Not a superhero, but a very human man who goes into war and does what is required. He is the Captain of a U.S. destroyer sent out to track U-boats. Curt Jurgens is his mirror reflection - below - a Captain of the U-Boat that becomes the target of Mitchum's search. He is not a product of the Nazi war-machine, but again, a very likable man just defending his country. This is demonstrated with deft humor when Jurgens very deliberately hangs his jacket over the plaque of Hitler's propaganda.pThe script eschews the stereotypical "Nazi monsters", and portrays a German crew with very real - and universal - emotions. They, too, were just men doing their job and what is required. Instead of having us root for the Americans to blow up the evil Germans, you are put in the position of caring equally for both sides. You comprehend that they are men, offering their lives for their command, not in a political way, but in a time-honoured fashion of a man going to war. You understand both sides REALLY do not want to be here, to kill or be killed; they would rather home. No rousing stereotypical propaganda. In the end, they will kill each other if they must, but given the choice, they would rather not. Very different for that period of war films.pA little dated appearance on the boat scenes by today's standards. It's obvious toy models when the boats crash, but easily overlooked and dismissed when balanced with the very impressive lack of finger-pointing and flag-waving for either nationality. Both Mitchum and Jurgens are dead-bang on target in their lead roles, with David Hedison, Theodore Bickel and Doug McClure round out a super cast
 Terrific, tense war thriller with strong performances July 11, 2004
Wayne Klein (My Little Blue Window, USA)
The Enemy Below benefits from an unconventional performance and writing that makes it stand out from the pack of World War II films produced int he same era. Robert Mitchum plays the commander of an American destroyer and Curt Jergens as the commander of a German U-boat. They're stalking each other at sea playing a high stakes game of chess with each man carefully considering each move and countermove. Mitchum's commander may be a bit layed back compared to some but it's what keeps his men devoted him to him. Jergens plays his captain as someone who is doing his duty but doesn't believe in the Nazi cause. pDirector Dick Powell's first film(who also did the well regarded The Hunters also featuring Mitchum and Robert Wagner about Korean War pilots stranded in enemy territory)keeps things suspenseful and taunt by confining his action sequences to the ships. Since we don't really see the outside world beyond the commanders' worlds, we feel as if we're on the boats with them. The Oscar winning optical effects involving the miniatures for both ships (as well as live action footage shot on very, very convincing sets)still looks pretty convincing even in our digital age. Water is one of the most difficult things to shot in miniature because the water beading up on the surface or the wakes generated by the ships don't get any smaller, hence it tends to give away the illusion if you're not careful. pThere's no notable extras beyond some previews but the glorious widescreen presentation and Deluxe color vividly reproduces the original theatrical experience. There's few of the analog blemishes one might expect. The use of a dual layered disc means the film looks natural with few of the pixel problems when a film is compressed incorrectly.
The Defining Submarine Movie. Taut and plenty of action! June 30, 2004
Roger J. Buffington (Huntington Beach, CA United States)
This is the movie that sets the standard for submarine movies. Made in the late 1950s, "The Enemy Below" has aged very nicely, and is still just as enjoyable as it was when it first came out.pThis is a tough, taut film of warfare at sea. Robert Mitchum puts in a superb performance as the no-nonsense, competent American destroyer skipper. Kurt Jurgens is excellent as the thoughtful and professional German U-Boat commander. The story is simple. In the South Atlantic, the American destroyer detects the German U-Boat, and has a mission to destroy it. The U-Boat has a mission which requires it to slip away from its American pursuer. The two highly experienced captains must seek to read the mind and guess the intentions and actions of the other in a complicated chess game. All of this makes for an excellent story.pThe German commander (Jurgens) is shown to be a non-Nazi and a humane thoughtful man. He fights because he is a professional, despite his belief that he is fighting "...a bad war." Since this film was made at the height of the cold war, one suspects that there is an element of reconciliation in the story--the notion that although Americans and Germans were enemies in WW2, they were going to be able to reconcile once the war was over. The story has this thread throughout. I don't wish to give away the story, and more would be telling. Suffice to say that this is an absorbing flick that achieves its goal: it entertains.pThis is one of the classic submarine flicks. Enjoy.
Top notch war movie! June 30, 2004
Hiram Gomez Pardo (Valencia, Venezuela)
This is much more than a simply war film. Both fighters play hard in a huge chess game sea stage.brThe different logistic strategies and attack in the stunning minds of both leaders in every side . Curt Jurgens and Robert Mitchum are first rate . A fine script and cult movie that deservedly won an Academy Award by best special effects in 1957!brThis movie even will work out as a magnificent example of leadership and management ; the movie didn't age a bit. brA must in your collection!
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