Das Boot

seems like everything is right about this movie/series. the actors are all really good & the camera-work is excellent. great use of colors also... you know it's war, but still you have all the sympathy in the world for the crew. it's like a world of its own inside "das boot". you can't help but feeling claustrophobic when you watch it, especially when the boat dives deeper & deeper to shake of the enemy...then the attack from above starts & you really start holding your breath, it sucks you in, in ways only movies of very high quality can. i watched the long version, but it felt like it was not that long at all, because it was such a thriller. amazing film, a classic.

Das Boot is considered by many one of the best war films ever made. They have been a number of versions, the theatrical cut and the director's cut. The film was financed by German television and the director Wolfgang Petersen converted it into a 6 hour mini-series. The DVD is an epic 4 hour 42 minutes, cut in a seamless fashion.

Das Boot is a rare film, a film that tells a story of World War II from the German perspective. It shows the mission of U-96 in the winter of 1941 when the Battle of the Atlantic is turning towards Britain's favour. Britain is using the convoy system, having more supplies from the American merchant navy and the Britain navy is getting better armed, so starving the nation seems hopeless. The crew are on a simple mission of trying to sink as many British ships as possible whilst avoiding British patrol planes and destroyers, a very tough think to do. The focus of Das Boot is on the experienced war weary captain (Jürgen Prochnow) and Lieutenant Werner (Herbert Grönemeyer), a young war corespondent for the German military and an outside to their world. All the characters are individuals, treated with respected, even the only character who is a Nazi is treated like a human being. This is a complex drama about the moral of warfare and the collective spirit of serving in a submarine. It is a tough world where young men are serving in one of the most dangerous fields of war during World War II. This a conflict where they are long moments of boredom in a close environment. This can lead to conflict within the crew. Whilst when the U-Boat does find a convoy it can be a massive struggle between life and death for the whole crew.

Das Boot is clearly Wolfgang Petersen best work. He shows the claustrophobic environment of what a U-Boat would have been like. It is a noisy environment, and it can lead to conflict within the crew, but also the crew are also close and have to be because they depend on each other. As well as the moments of boredom to show character development and debate the war, Petersen also knew when to add the tension and made Das Boot an instance experience. He also showed his skill with action. Wolfgang Petersen focused on character development, unlike his Hollywood films. He does not villainize either the British or German navies, or the people who fought in the war. Despite Das Boot is based on a fictional novel, it is one of the most accurate portrayal of naval warfare during World War II.

Das Boot has a very 80s score to it, using modern instruments, which surprisingly works, adding to the imagines. I personally would have gone for a more classical score, but that's just me.

A must see.

As good as "Das Boot" is in it's original theatrical form,and in an director Peterson's extended version in the re-release,the TV version,coming in at close to five hours long shows so much more of the day to day life on the boat.The claustriphobic nature of life on a WWII submarine is opened up for us. It delves far more deeply into the personalities and lives of the crew,both on and off the boat.They become real human beings,and we see how hard their lives are while on patrol.As with "All Quiet on the Western Front",the senselessness of war is brought home when see from the losing side. Highly moving

Das Boot is my favorite war film. It shows war through the eyes of Germans. It is so realistic and intense that I live it every time I see it. It is one war film where I consider Germans to be the "good guys"! Their humanity and fight for survival touch me in such a way that I cannot help but be totally for them. It does indeed prove that beneath every uniform their lies a human being with hopes and dreams for the future.

It makes me realize that war is terrible for everyone involved. It makes me realize that our common humanity is much more important than politics. We all should recognize this fact of life. God bless the people who made this film. They not only opened my mind but also my heart! So I'd like to say to them: Vielen Dank!

If you want an action movie, watch something else. Das Boot reflects what war must really be like, showing not just the 1% of terror and confusion, but also the 99% sitting around waiting for things to happen. It is also the best if not only explanation I know, of how honourable men could have fought for the Nazis.

I have now seen "Das Boot" 4 times. The first time was the "Director's Cut" with subtitles. Since then I have learnt German, so each time I watch the film I understand it better. It is still very difficult to follow, and a great deal passes me by; I think this film probably has the hardest German of any of the 50 or so German-language films I've seen. This is part of its authenticity; you don't expect people to speak Standard High German when they think they may die horribly in the next five minutes.

The original mini-series has about the same amount of action as the Director's Cut, but a great deal more explanation and character development. For example, the Captain gets to comment on his actions towards the English sailors from the sinking oil-tanker. I think the sound of the Director's Cut was redone for Dolby-7, so the noises seem to come from all around and at times make you want to hide under the seat. However in all other respects, I think the mini-series is very much better than the Director's Cut, brilliant though that is.