Das Boot

I taped the original Swedish airing of "Das Boot" in the late 80's,and thought it was amazing. Now I own the DVD,and I still think it's amazing! Fortunate enough, this film lack the big special effects,which makes it stand excellent against time.

I prefer the mini over the feature movie. The slower pace and the closeness to the characters really gets to me. Over the years I must have seen this film more than 50 times,and it's still great! The casting is excellent and so is the directing. Wolfgang Petersen have done really well with a great novel. He captures the boredom and the fear in war in a superb way.

Perhaps the labeling of this film as a "war movie", has scared off many viewers from a great piece of art. Both those who dislike war movies and those who like war action.

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

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.

Despite the extra length, I would *strongly* recommend the mini-series version. I first watched this when it came out on TV as a mini-series (293 min, 1985), then recently as the movie version (149 min, 1981), and then the mini-series again.

In cutting the length down for the movie version, what largely remains are action scenes. Retained in the mini-series version are the quieter more reflective, atmospheric scenes, which in my opinion are what most make Das Boot truly AWESOME. These scenes gradually and subtly develop the characterizations of the crew members: their divergent political beliefs, the tensions among them, their cynicism or honor, their bravery or fragility. The submarine itself is a central character too: emerging through the depths like a great lethal whale, or plowing through the spray in rough weather, or floating calmly across the placid ocean surface, all to the backdrop of the haunting and memorable theme music. These subtle atmospheric aspects are what most stayed with me for 30 years. I would also suggest watching it in German with subtitles - one of the things that makes this an unusual WWII movie is that it is from the German perspective, and hearing it in German gives a more intense feel for that Germanic aspect and its special qualities (even if you don't understand German). Das Boot is an amazing experience, and it is well worth immersing yourself in the original full length miniseries version for a memorable and unique experience.

I watched this movie the very first time as a kid in 1985 on TV and was stoked right away. I had not even been allowed to stay up late at that age but I was able to persuade my parents to let me watch it. Since then I must have watched this five hour version at least seven times and I would be very happy to see it again but unfortunately I do not own it.

Do not let the genre "war movie" keep you away from watching this because it is far from being one of those typical "war movies". It is not only the story which makes this one great but also the acting, the lack of special effects and the authenticity. And of course Jürgen Prochnow is king!