Das Boot

While it has been a very long time since I have seen this movie, it is one of the very few that I own. Wolfgang Petersen's magnificent accomplishment in "Das Boot" is reiterating the dictum that "war is hell", no matter which side you look at it from and no matter where the battlefield is located.

*** Minor spoilers ***

The plot has been well described by other viewers so I won't rehash it again. But my personal observations, as an ex-submarine sailor, are that Petersen probably portrayed life on board the sub pretty accurately. I say "probably" because todays subs are hotels compared with the German U-boats and American submarines. The commonality between yesterday and today is how the crew deals with being closed up in a "sewer pipe" for weeks at a time. More importantly, you as a viewer become an invisible crew member as the crew lives in very cramped conditions (American WW2 subs used to be called "pig boats"), deals with an unfortunately believable political officer, deals with drills, actual torpedo firings, actual ships casualties, and deals, most frighteningly, with retribution from the "enemy". My own experience watching the depth charging of the U-boat was such that I was thinking "stop it, Stop It, STOP IT, STOPITSTOPITSTOPIT...!!!!!" That's how real it felt to me. For the rest of you, I feel certain you will too be dragged in and know what it is like to live on board a WW2 U-boat.

This movie also shows how leadership is so important in keeping the crew (and ultimately the sub) together. Petersen's direction for Captain Lehmann-Willenbrock was masterful because it didn't portray the captain as a god. It showed him as a man who knows how to lead, knows his submarine as if he were married to it (and in many ways he is) but isn't perfect at the job. It also shows that even with great leadership qualities, Captain Lehmann-Willenbrock can not do the job alone: he must have both officers and enlisted men who have the knowledge and skill to not just do their jobs, but to also advise the captain. Petersen also managed to give each member of the crew their own separate personalities instead of the predictable cookie-cutter personalities that Hollywood feels is needed.

I could go on and on. So I will close by saying that with the plot, direction, cinematography, acting, sound, music, editing all being top notch, this is one of the few movies that I can truly rate a 10 out of 10. I also preferred the German version with subtitles.

------------------------------------

I believe that this movie was either the first or one of the first to use Steadicam technology. It was truly amazing for me to see a camera zip its way through a submarine, specifically through the open watertight doors, without a break in the filming. Up until I heard what Steadicam was, I was always wondering how Petersen managed to hide the camera dolly track or the wires the camera hung from.

(It turns out I was wrong: "Bound For Glory" was the first.)

EDIT (12 OCT, 2006): I have been corrected by an observant viewer. Wikipedia has the following comment on what I thought was Steadicam usage:

"Most of the interior shots were filmed using a hand-held Arriflex of cinematographer Jost Vacano's design to convey the claustrophobic atmosphere of the boat. It had a gyroscope to provide stability, a reinvention of the Steadicam on a smaller scale, so that it could be carried throughout the interior of the mock-up. Vacano wore full-body padding to minimize injury as he ran and the mock-up was rocked and shaken."

So, literally, a Steadicam was NOT used in the filming of "Das Boot". However, a camera that resembled Steadicam in function (in the way it gyroscopically leveled the filming platform) was used.

------------------------------------

Even though todays submarines are far cleaner then their predecessors, and we have refrigerators, freezers, air conditioning, are able to take showers, etc., there is one aspect of living in an enclosed space that still lives on: the smell. While the smell of the "pig boats" of WW2 was truly atrocious, even with todays ability to clean the atmosphere, you can not escape the fact that any smell that is created, from burned toast in the galley, from the smell of the "sanitary gasses" (to be kind), to gasified hydraulic oil and diesel fuel, all these particulates will eventually become absorbed in your clothing. You, as a sailor, may get used to it, but when you get home, your wife will most likely declare that you smell like a submarine and demand that whatever you are wearing get thrown in the wash ... immediately!

"Das Boot" is a classic. This film couldn't be more intense and emotionally draining. It is a work of genius. Jurgen Prochnaw gives a spectacular performance as the German U-Boat Captain. The acting is first rate as the cast of characters is as realistic and believable as it gets. Don't watch this film unless you are absolutely prepared to immerse yourself into the drama of life as a crewman aboard a German submarine during war. This is a very rare portrayal of battle through the eyes of our enemy and will actually have you cheering for the "bad guys" at times. This is a one of a kind movie that must be seen to be believed. Words in a review cannot describe the experience of "Das Boot." A tremendous film! A 12 on a scale of 10!

My late father served in the Royal Navy in WWII and was torpedoed by a U Boat, so when I sat with him to watch this in 1986, I fully expected him to be filled with hatred for them. Nothing could have been further from the truth. He told me that seamen, even those on opposite sides, share something unique. He told me that his ship picked up some U Boat survivors from a ramming. They were just ordinary men doing the bidding of their masters, just like he was. They were put down at Scapa Flow as POW's after being at sea for 5 weeks. Many of them had formed friendships with the Royal Navy men, including my father. He formed a friendship with a submariner called Gotz Stiffel and they remained friends until Gotz passed away. My father attended his funeral in Duisburg and he was welcomed as an old friend by the survivors of that U Boat sinking. My father said that film bought tears to his eyes. They were just ordinary men caught up in extraordinary times and this film captured everything from fear to boredom and relief. He said, and I utterly agreed with him this was just about the finest anti-war film ever made.

Das Boot is one of the most emotionally involving movies I have ever seen. The characters are developed richly, without those awkward moments in movies when you realize that the director is doing so. You sympathize with the crew, and FEEL their plight as they struggle, cramped in a rickety U-boat against the odds. At times the movie grows slow and drawn out, but that is intentional- to make you feel like you are trapped in an underwater coffin with nothing to do, no where to go. The directing is great, the sound is fabulous! I've never heard faint noises tell a story like this before.

on modern "boats" life isn't easy- but compared to the living hell that the German U-Boats were, modern submariners have nothing to complain about. People in certain professions don't like to watch movies about those professions (Doctors and Nurses shy away from hospital dramas, for example). Submarine sailors are different. We love to watch every submarine movie ever made, from "Run Silent, Run Deep" and "Destination: Tokyo" to "The Hunt For Red October", "Crimson Tide" and "U-571". Why? Because we can always use a good laugh. For those in the know, submarine movies are usually absolutely hilarious. Except this one. After being in the Navy for four years, serving with around 350 different men, and being acquainted with a further 200-300, all of them submarine sailors, I think that I can state with absolute certainty that this film is the ONLY submarine movie that ALL submariners take seriously. And that is the highest praise a movie like this can possibly get.