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Directed by: Wolfgang Petersen Starring: Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer "It is 1942 and the German submarine fleet is heavily engaged in the so called "Battle of the Atlantic" to harass and destroy English shipping. With better escorts of the Destroyer Class, however, German U-Boats have begun to take heavy losses. "Das Boot" is the story of one such U-Boat crew, with the film examining how these submariners maintained their professionalism as soldiers, attempted to accomplish impossible missions, while all the time attempting to understand and obey the ideology of the government under which they served." -IMDb.com Along with Band of Brothers, this is by far one of the best War (anti-war) movies I have ever seen. The film accurately depicts what it was like to serve on a U-Boat during World War 2... The sheer terror, the boredom, the filth of living in ones one waste for weeks on end. The set was exact down to the smallest detail, and because of the way it was designed, it could be tilted and shaken, making for effects in the film that could never be accomplished otherwise. When the sub shakes, everything that isnt tied down flies loose. The actors really are being tossed about... no faking it, ala "Star Trek." When the sub dives, hanging objects and dripping water change direction in unison as the floor and ceiling tip to precarious angles. Its the subtle things like this that the production crew spent so much time on making perfect that really make this movie great. The set is also so accurate that it is extremely cramped, it wasnt designed with room for the production crew in mind, which further adds to the feel. The camera work is also excellent. Shots are never held steady on a mounted camera, the view is always changing, always moving around inside the submarine, which gives you the feeling of actually being in the Submarine. Single shots can last several minutes without breaks. There is one particular shot that stands out above the rest... when the sub is undergoing an emergancy dive, the camera follows the crew from one end of the sub the other as they rush to their stations. It is one single shot detailing the entire U-Boat, and it is by far my favorite shot in the entire movie. In addition, the characters are not your traditional war movie heros... they are regular men. The main characters/officers are all very well developed, and not long into the movie you'll find yourself rooting for the German crew, which are not portrayed as Nazis, Germans, or even the good guys... but for what they really are, human beings. Sure there are a few members of the crew that would obviously follow Hitler's every command to the letter with die-hard loyalty, but there are no "evil" characters in this movie. The Captain of the boat even displays his displeasure with Hitler, Georing, and the Nazi party several times throughout the movie. The most powerful effect acting wise is the difference between the young crew at the beginning and the end of the film... pay close attention to their actions as the U-Boat sets out from port on its voyage at the beginning of the movie, and compare it to the scene towards the end when the sub returns. The difference is awe-inspiring... the way the crew has been more affected by a few months at see than most of us are during our entire lifetimes. The director also attempted to portray the boredom that U-Boats crews experienced. Serving on a U-Boat was described as 98% boredom and 2% absolute terror. There are a few expanses of the film where not much goes on (of course theres the occaisional manly booger/fart jokes that you get when women are not around). I personally think it works and doesnt detract from the film, but there are those who might disagree. If you do not have a good attention span, you might want to skip the directors cut and just watch the original version (if you can even find any copies of it). There is also a 6 hour mini-series version, but I have not had the pleasure of viewing it. There have been other Sub movies, U-571, K-19, Crimson Tide, Hunt for Red October, and they are all good in their own right, but none of them can compare to Das Boot. RATING: 5.5 PROS: Accurate, intense, emotional, excellent set design and camera work CONS: Might be a bit too long for people with short attention spans (the Directors Cut) ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: IMDb.com DSettahr fucked around with this message at 13:15 on May 5, 2004 |
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May 5, 2004 13:09
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| # ? Apr 16, 2024 19:59 |
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This movie is simply astonishing, and is the greatest submarine movie ever made. It captures the claustrophobia and the sheer terror of being on a U-boat so perfectly, and the ending...jesus, one of the greatest final shots in movie history. It's sort of like "Saving Private Ryan" in terms of having a strong underlying humanistic, anti-war message, told through a German viewpoint. Do yourself a favor and buy the DVD, it's excellent. The SE is only $10 at Wal-Mart.
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May 5, 2004 18:03
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One of the best war movies ever. It was also the first movie I listed to with a 5.1 surround system at full blast on DVD. I thought my living room was popping bolts all over. Huge thumbs up. I even liked the cheesey techno songs they made with the theme music, too!
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May 6, 2004 04:54
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The performances are very moving. Jurgen Prochnow still, for me, remains the yardstick for the laconic, moody, yet highly professional Commander. The characters are really fleshed out, and stereotypes avoided - the uptight, ideological and disciplinarian first Lieutenant (Hubertus Bengsch) proves to be totally dependable when the crunch comes. I get totally lost in the experience just watching this.
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May 10, 2004 20:51
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I highly recommend this film, especially the directors cut. No other submarine movie captures the enclosed feeling of a sub better than this film. All the more modern movies fail to make you feel trapped in a steel can. The ending was quite remarkable to me, having been accustomed to hollywood schlock.
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May 10, 2004 22:26
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This is a great anti-war movie, but I can only recommend seeing the mini-series if you can get ahold of it. See this and ignore subpar submarine movies like 'K-19: The Widowmaker' and the completely inaccurate and shoddy 'U-571'. 4.5/5
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May 10, 2004 22:39
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The Mini Series is scheduled for a DVD release soon. I'll try and get more details.
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May 10, 2004 22:48
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What an awesome post you worthless poo poo.
Somebody fucked around with this message at 06:23 on Jul 31, 2004 |
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May 14, 2004 15:44
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Aside from agreeing with most everything in the original post... This film has one of the most (if not THE most) depressing endings i've ever seen. The good kind of depressing though...its a fantastic ending. It wasnt so much sad...but just left me with this really deflated feeling for a while after seeing it for the first time. That said, any movie that can draw you into it enough to leave that kind of effect after gains a full 5.5 from me.
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May 14, 2004 17:07
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quote:natlampe came out of the closet to say: Hey man, I'm a huge fan of submarine movies. K-19 was great, and so was U-571. It wasn't inaccurate, except maybe historically, because it didn't happen. But then again the same with das boot. DON'T DISS SUB MOVIES!
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May 14, 2004 18:56
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quote:DSettahr came out of the closet to say: A friend of mine subjected me to the lenghty director's cut of this film, wherein we actually had to change discs. I could summarize it in about :20 seconds. Yes, I know that's the effect they were attempting to create, but that's not the sort of thing that makes for a good piece of cinema where I come from. I'm not a big fan of war movies in general, but this one was very much not for me. I would have to be paid a healthy sum of money to sit through it again. Despite its popularity, I am giving it an honest 1/5. Sorry.
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May 14, 2004 19:06
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I loved nearly every moment of this movie. 4.5/5
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May 17, 2004 06:54
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yay, great programme, on BBC2 atm too. The series DVD is out today here in England £17.99 on play.com. 5 hours long, instead of the film release version of just 3 hours. Toneh
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May 17, 2004 14:55
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This has been my favorite film for a long time now. One thing that really stands out about it is that watching it is an experience similar to being in a submarine: long stretches of tedium broken up by short bursts of pure panic. Not that it's a bad tedium; during the 'downtime', you get to know the characters, until eventually, you find yourself going 'oh leave those nazis alone already'.
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Jun 1, 2004 18:01
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about the only word you can describe das boot with is awesome, and that may not even be enough.
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Jun 2, 2004 00:23
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I've seen the director's cut, and wasn't sure how I'd feel about the prospect of a 3.5 hour movie that basically takes place on one submarine. Once things got rolling, I couldn't take my eyes off the screen -- absolutely gripping the whole way through. Great acting and directing, incredibly nerve-wracking tension half of the time -- the other half is character interaction which is just as interesting. One of the best war movies ever.
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Jun 27, 2004 20:47
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the best u boat film around. alot better than that in enemy hands crap
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Jun 29, 2004 09:32
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Das Boot. No matter how many times you watch it, it loses none of its power, and that is a real achievement for a film. I also love the way that you don't get the full message of the film until you see how it ends. Oh, and Jurgen Prochnow is the coolest officer ever. Bar none. (p.o.i. apparently the original cast learnt the English lines to make the dubbed version - but go with `titles anyway, dubbing ruins the immersion (no pun intended).
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Jun 29, 2004 20:35
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Try watching it with action junkies who expect the next Hunt For Red October. Should've never bought it for my father-in-law for Christmas. He completely missed out.
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Jul 6, 2004 20:31
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I have voted this movie a 5.5.quote:natlampe came out of the closet to say: I cannot stress this enough. cynosure fucked around with this message at 19:38 on Jun 16, 2021 |
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Jul 13, 2004 22:02
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Fantastic depiction of the harrowing experiences aboard a WW2 German submarine. 5.0/5.0 Judakel fucked around with this message at 04:56 on Nov 5, 2013 |
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Jul 30, 2004 05:56
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| # ? Apr 16, 2024 19:59 |
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I finally managed to get my hands on the book, and not only is it better than the movie, it increases your appreciation of the movie tenfold. I strongly suggest that fans of the movie read the book. And for the person who said that "Das Boot" didnt happen, you're only partially correct. From the forward of the book: "This book is a novel but not a work of fiction. The author witnissed all the events reported in it; they are the sum of his experiences aboard U-Boats."
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Jul 31, 2004 04:39
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