Das Boot
- 1981
- 2h 29m
A German U-boat stalks the frigid waters of the North Atlantic as its young crew experience the sheer terror and claustrophobic life of a submariner in World War II.A German U-boat stalks the frigid waters of the North Atlantic as its young crew experience the sheer terror and claustrophobic life of a submariner in World War II.A German U-boat stalks the frigid waters of the North Atlantic as its young crew experience the sheer terror and claustrophobic life of a submariner in World War II.
- Nominated for 6 Oscars
- 13 wins & 12 nominations total
- Hinrich
- (as Heinz Hönig)
- Frenssen
- (as Ralph Richter)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe cast was deliberately kept indoors continually during the shooting period in order to look as pale as a real submarine crew would on a mission at sea.
- GoofsIn the bordello sequence prior to the launch scene, swing music was being played. Under Hitler, swing or big band music was forbidden, and only German classical music could be played. However, popular music was common in such service clubs, especially outside Germany proper.
- Quotes
Lt. Werner: Captain?
Captain: I'm sorry.
Lt. Werner: You think it's hopeless now?
Captain: It's been 15 hours. He'll never do it. I'm sorry.
Lt. Werner: They made us all train for this day. "To be fearless and proud and alone. To need no one, just sacrifice. All for the Fatherland." Oh God, all just empty words. It's not the way they said it was, is it? I just want someone to be with. The only thing I feel is afraid.
- Alternate versionsThe 5.1 remix for the 209-minute director's cut (for both the English and German dubs) contains entirely new sound effects in place of the sound effects from the original stereo mix. In addition to that, the original Columbia Pictures logo from 1981 featured in the opening is plastered with a silent version of the 1997 Columbia logo instead. The Blu-ray release contains both the original 149-minute theatrical version and the 1997 director's cut on two separate discs, making this release the first time in the US since the VHS and Laserdisc days that the theatrical version has been made available. However, on the disc containing the theatrical version, despite being listed as a 5.1 remix on the case and the menu, it instead contains only the original stereo mix for both the German and English tracks (in addition to restoring the original 1981 Columbia Pictures logo to the opening).
- ConnectionsEdited from Battle of Britain (1969)
- SoundtracksLa Paloma
(uncredited)
Written by Sebastian Iradier (as Sebastian de Yradier) and Michael Jary
Performed by Rosita Serrano
Published by Edition Cinema
Widely considered the most impressive submarine movie ever made, I'll go so far as to say it's easily the most accurate that I've seen. The action scenes, the sense of doom, the eerie quiet and then explosive depth charges, the grime and the crowded conditions, all of this is palpable.
But more impressive, I think, is how the movie works as a German movie about Germans in a war where the Germans were painted as evil. American movies to this day still glorify and make heroic their roles in WWII (unlike the willingness, at times, to show the problems of Americans involved in Viet Nam, say), especially in the European side. But in movie after movie, the German film industry has confronted the real problem of being aggressors, and of being under the Nazi sway. "Das Boot" is typical, and key. The captain goes so far as to openly make fun of the German propaganda coming in on their radio. It isn't just that war is bad, but that the Nazis are bad.
Nevertheless, there they are, and they have a job to do, and they're going to do it well. So a small group of men in a small underwater tin can try to survive the boredom as much as the British, who come very close to getting them several times. It's a great movie, one of the best at capturing the feeling of being there.
What is less impressive, at times, is the more ordinary character development that seems inevitable in a movie this long--2 ½ to 4 hours depending on the version you have, I saw the long one, the director's cut. I think the acting is superb, and so it's easy to go along with the conversations and interactions, but they aren't always compelling in themselves, more just creating some space before the next conflict arises. Maybe, in some honest sense, this is exactly how it would have been. Life for most people is pretty ordinary.
But this movie is not. Or it makes what is ordinary in war--the nostalgic to the profound and deadly--believable, and not simply big and dramatic, which it also is.
For full German effect, I suggest seeing it with the original German language track on and subtitles if you need them, though I tested the dubbed version in English and it's really well done. I also suggest, if you have doubts about such an involved war movie, trying to find the older, shorter release. The visuals are not enhanced, but some of the character development sections are left out and I don't think you'll miss them. Then, of course, if you want the whole kit and caboodle, try to find the 5 hour version released in sections for British and German television.
- secondtake
- Dec 18, 2010
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- The Boat
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- DEM 32,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $11,487,676
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $26,994
- Feb 14, 1982
- Gross worldwide
- $11,488,778
- Runtime2 hours 29 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Dolby Stereo(original release)
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