Das Boot 

A World War II German U-Boat crew have a terrifying patrol mission in the early days of the war.

Stars:

Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, Klaus Wennemann

Top Rated TV #38 | 3 wins.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Jürgen Prochnow	...	Der Alte 3 episodes, 1985-1987
Herbert Grönemeyer	...	Leutnant Werner 3 episodes, 1985-1987
Klaus Wennemann	...	Leitender Ingenieur (LI) 3 episodes, 1985-1987
Hubertus Bengsch	...	Erster Wachoffizier (I WO) 3 episodes, 1985-1987
Martin Semmelrogge	...	Zweiter Wachoffizier (II WO) 3 episodes, 1985-1987
Bernd Tauber	...	Obersteuermann 3 episodes, 1985-1987
Erwin Leder	...	Johann, das Gespenst 3 episodes, 1985-1987
Martin May	...	Ullmann 3 episodes, 1985-1987
Heinz Hoenig	...	Hinrich 3 episodes, 1985-1987
Uwe Ochsenknecht	...	Bootsmann 3 episodes, 1985-1987
Claude-Oliver Rudolph	...	Ario 3 episodes, 1985-1987
Jan Fedder	...	Pilgrim 3 episodes, 1985-1987
Ralf Richter	...	Frenssen 3 episodes, 1985-1987
Joachim Bernhard	...	Bibelforscher 3 episodes, 1985-1987
Oliver Stritzel	...	Schwalle 3 episodes, 1985-1987
Konrad Becker	...	Bockstiegel 3 episodes, 1985-1987
Lutz Schnell	...	Dufte 3 episodes, 1985-1987
Martin Hemme	...	Brueckenwilli 3 episodes, 1985-1987
Wilhelm Pietsch	...	Franz 3 episodes, 1985-1987
Helmut Neumeier	...	Schmutt 3 episodes, 1985-1987
Dirk Salomon	...	Markus 3 episodes, 1985-1987
Jean-Claude Hoffmann	...	Benjamin 3 episodes, 1985-1987
Arno Kral	...	Hagen 3 episodes, 1985-1987
Maryline Moulard	...	Françoise 3 episodes, 1985-1987
Rita Cadillac	...	Monique 3 episodes, 1985-1987
Otto Sander	...	Thomsen 3 episodes, 1985-1987
Günter Lamprecht	...	Kapitän 'Weser' 3 episodes, 1985-1987

Storyline

"The Boat" is the story of the crew of one of the hundreds of U-boats deployed by the Germans in World War II. Subject to countless hours of claustrophobic confinement and unending assault by enemy ships, the crew struggles for survival.

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Plot Keywords:

u boat | world war two | wet | nazi soldier | naval uniform | 

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller | War

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Country:

West Germany France UK Italy

Language:

German

Release Date:

24 February 1985 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Das Boot

Filming Locations:

Helgoland, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bavaria Film, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana

Technical Specs

Runtime:

50 min (6 episodes) 293 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

There was no "Class VII C" submarine left from World War II, so the crew had to build the whole interior from scratch using original plans from that time. It was mounted on a large pivot to simulate a moving submarine. * U-995 is the only remaining Type VIIC submarine. She has been on public display at Laboe, Germany since 1971.

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Connections

Edited from Das Boot (1981)

User Reviews

Epic Naval Drama

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.