Das Boot (1981)

The claustrophobic world of a WWII German U-boat; boredom, filth, and sheer terror.

Director:

Wolfgang Petersen

Writers:

Lothar G. Buchheim (novel), Wolfgang Petersen

Stars:

Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, Klaus Wennemann

Top 250 #72 | Nominated for 6 Oscars. Another 13 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jürgen Prochnow	...	Capt.-Lt. Henrich Lehmann-Willenbrock - Der Alte
Herbert Grönemeyer	...	Lt. Werner - Correspondent
Klaus Wennemann	...	Chief Engineer Fritz Grade - Der Leitende-Der LI
Hubertus Bengsch	...	1st Lieutenant - Number One-1WO
Martin Semmelrogge	...	2nd Lieutenant - 2WO
Bernd Tauber	...	Kriechbaum - Chief Quartermaster-Navigator
Erwin Leder	...	Johann
Martin May	...	Ullman
Heinz Hoenig	...	Hinrich (as Heinz Hönig)
Uwe Ochsenknecht	...	Chief Bosun
Claude-Oliver Rudolph	...	Ario
Jan Fedder	...	Pilgrim
Ralf Richter	...	Frenssen (as Ralph Richter)
Joachim Bernhard	...	Preacher
Oliver Stritzel	...	Schwalle

Storyline

It is 1942 and the German submarine fleet is heavily engaged in the so called "Battle of the Atlantic" to harass and destroy British 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.

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Plot Keywords:

u boat | submarine | mission | destroyer | boredom | 

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Taglines:

Eine Reise ans Ende des Verstandes

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some war violence and brief language

Details

Official Sites:

Twin Brothers

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German English French

Release Date:

10 February 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Boat

Filming Locations:

Atlantic Ocean

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

DEM 245,271 (Germany) (2 January 1998)

Gross:

$11,433,134 (USA) (25 April 1997)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bavaria Film, Radiant Film GmbH, Süddeutscher Rundfunk (SDR)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

149 min 209 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (director's cut) Dolby (original release) SDDS (director's cut)

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Some of the model sub scenes where shot in a small custom-built pond in the back lot of the Bavaria Film Studios. The same pond was later used in Enemy Mine and the The NeverEnding Story (The NeverEnding Story), both also Petersen movies.

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Goofs

In the night club just 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.

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Quotes

[Werner takes pictures of the watch officers on the conning tower]
Captain: Take pictures of the crew returning, not putting out to sea.
Lt. Werner: Why?
Captain: They'll have grown beards by then. It would shame the Tommies to see mere boys give them Hell. Baby faces. Ones that should still suck mama's breast.
[pause]
Captain: I feel ancient around these kids, like I'm on some Children's Crusade.

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Connections

Referenced in The Cleveland Show: Das Shrimp Boot (2012)

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Soundtracks

"Parlez-Moi D'Amour"
(Speak to Me of Love)
Performed by Lucienne Boyer
Written by Jean Lenoir

User Reviews

15 years and I'm still thinking about it

Das Boot is not just a great war film: it's a great film period. Maybe it is true that epic themes make the greatest novels and films. Here is a movie that explores heroism, duty, patriotism, hope, fear and the futility of war--all grand themes--explored in the confined, and collapsing, spaces of a German u-boat.

I saw this film when I was a freshman in college during a weekend that I later dubbed my "depressing movie festival." (The Wall and Apocalypse Now were the other weekend "entries.") Of these films, it was Das Boot that haunted me--when I laid down at night, I saw Jurgen Proctow's pained blue eyes. When I woke in the morning, I felt as if I were escaping through the hatch of the submarine. I could not shake the images, and now some fifteen years later, I still remember how completely meaningless the movie made everything seem, and the nihilistic message stayed with me for a long, long time. How few films are there which affect the viewers on this level. To say this film is "powerful" seems so weak a description.

Part of the "power" of the film comes, I think, from a certain restraint in the direction. So often, films which aspire to move the audience quickly fall into melodrama, over-acting, and overblown images. Too much. These often succeed in the immediate response (usually crying) but fail to impact the viewer on anything more than a surface level. Here, it is the small moments which fill the screen. Everywhere, all around is War, but for these men as we witness them, war does not begin with a capital "W". It is reality, not a grand concept. The director lets the story shock and horrify the audience, not by forcing it, but by letting the story just tell itself. Drama, tension and resolution occur naturally in Das Boot, which contributes to the very real impact of the film.

Story is a 10, direction is a 10, acting is a 10 and the cinematography is a 10. One of the all-time greatest films.