Das Boot

( 19 )

Overview

Das Boot is one of the most gripping and authentic war movies ever made. Based on an autobiographical novel by German World War II photographer Lothar-Guenther Buchheim, the film follows the lives of a fearless U-Boat captain Jurgen Prochnow and his inexperienced crew as they patrol the Atlantic and Mediterranean in search of Allied vessels, taking turns as hunter and prey. There's very little plot, so the movie's power comes from both its riveting, epic battle scenes and its details of the boring hours spent ...
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Blu-ray (Director's Cut / Wide Screen / Subtitled / Dubbed)
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Overview

Das Boot is one of the most gripping and authentic war movies ever made. Based on an autobiographical novel by German World War II photographer Lothar-Guenther Buchheim, the film follows the lives of a fearless U-Boat captain Jurgen Prochnow and his inexperienced crew as they patrol the Atlantic and Mediterranean in search of Allied vessels, taking turns as hunter and prey. There's very little plot, so the movie's power comes from both its riveting, epic battle scenes and its details of the boring hours spent waiting for orders or signs of the enemy. With the exception of one staunch Hitler Youth lieutenant, none of the crew is particularly loyal to the Nazis, and some are openly hostile toward their Fuhrer; this allows viewer sympathy with the men as they perform their laborious, monotonous duties in cramped, filthy quarters, or await death as depth charges explode all around the sub. Prochnow is excellent as the nerves-of-steel commander, and many of the supporting actors -- all German -- are solid as well, although the characterizations border on war movie clichés the young crewman who has left behind his pregnant girlfriend, the Chief Engineer whose wife is seriously ill. The real star, however, is cinematographer Jost Vacano, who makes the sub's grimy, claustrophobic interior come to vivid life, as his camera follows the crew through hatches, up ladders, into bunks, and under pipes, creating a palpable sense of claustrophobia while injecting it with movement. Originally edited by writer/director Wolfgang Petersen as both a two-and-a-half hour theatrical release and a six-hour German miniseries, Das Boot was re-released in a restored version in 1997 with nearly one hour of added footage which made it even more suspenseful than before.
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Special Features

Wolfgang Petersen - Back To The Boat - Documentary; ; Going Deeper: Maria's Take, The Perfect Boat - The Director's Cut; ; Captain's Tour - Inside the Boat - The Battle of The Atlantic (1983); ; Behind the Scenes (1981) ; Commentary with Director Wolfgang Petersen
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Editorial Reviews

All Movie Guide - Richard Gilliam
Das Boot is among the most realistic of all World War II films and one of the most spectacular object lessons in manipulating and choreographing the space on the screen. Director Wolfgang Petersen manages to convey the long periods of boredom for the crew of a submarine while making that boredom interesting for the audience. The film is largely unconcerned with the issues surrounding World War II, instead focusing on the individual sailors aboard the sub. Cinematographer Jost Vacano is continually creative in finding new things to reveal aboard the cramped quarters of the sub, and the film's intensity is impressive. The scene in which the sub's captain (Jürgen Prochnow) sinks what he thinks is an unoccupied enemy ship, only to find that it isn't, is among the most memorable scenes in any war film. There are few films that can maintain interest for such a lengthy running time with so few sets to work with, but Das Boot does exactly that for all 210 minutes of the expanded, post-release director's cut.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 7/5/2011
  • UPC: 043396379688
  • Original Release: 1981
  • Rating:

  • Source: Sony Pictures
  • Presentation: Director's Cut / Wide Screen / Subtitled / Dubbed
  • Sound: Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound
  • Time: 3:28:00
  • Format: Blu-ray

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Jürgen Prochnow The Capt.
Herbert Gronemeyer Lt. Werner/Correspondent
Klaus Wennemann Chief Engineer
Hubertus Bengsch First Lt. /Number One
Martin Semmelrogge 2nd Lieutenant
Bernd Tauber Chief Quartermaster
Erwin Leder Johann
Claude-Oliver Rudolph Ario
Jan Fedder Pilgrim
Ralf Richter Frenssen
Heinz Hoenig Hinrich
Martin Hemme Bruckenwilli
Lutz Schnell Dufte
Oliver Stritzel Schwalle
Otto Sander Thomsen in "Bar Royal"
Rita Cadillac Monique
Edwige Pierre Nadine
Joachim Bernhard Preacher
Günter Lamprecht Capt. of the Weser
Martin May Ullman
U.A. Ochsen Chief Bosun
Uwe Ochsenknecht Boatman
Technical Credits
Wolfgang Petersen Director, Screenwriter
Monika Bauert Costumes/Costume Designer
Karl Baumgartner Special Effects
Michael Bittins Co-producer, Production Manager
Mark Damon Executive Producer, Producer
Klaus Doldinger Score Composer
Lutz Hengst Executive Producer, Production Manager
John W. Hyde Executive Producer, Producer
Willy Neuner Special Effects
Hannes Nikel Editor
Edward R. Pressman Executive Producer, Producer
Trevor Pyke Sound Mixer
Dean Riesner Screenwriter
Günter Rohrbach Producer
Jost Vacano Cinematographer
Götz Weidner Art Director
Rolf Zehetbauer Production Designer
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4
( 19 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(12)

4 Star

(2)

3 Star

(1)

2 Star

(1)

1 Star

(3)

Your Rating:

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Sort by: Showing all of 19 Customer Reviews
  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    One of Three versions

    I have seen all three versions of Das Boot. The U.S. theatrical release, the Director's Cut and the Uncut Version (TV series). Since I saw the theatrical version on the big screen it had a large impact. I then saw the Director's cut which had a lesser impact on the small screen but I also enjoyed. I now have the Uncut version (TV series) and like it the best. Yep it's very long and slow a times but it gets into the individual characters at a much greater depth.....and you get a better feeling of the incredible boredom and discomfort of being on a sub for long periods with rotting food, dirty bodies, and real mental stress. People will like any one of the versions better than the others and that's more a matter of taste rather than the quality of the film. I'm very happy to have the Uncut version....but every version earns 5 stars in my book.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Response to the One Star

    I will keep it short because these rooms have enough hot air in them. A response to the person who gave the movie a 'one' star: Did you know the ''Original'' release was six hours long and not your reported < 90min. Please think before you write. Its obvious your review on this means very little. As for the movie: Its a very good movie. Das Boot is not your typical Plug and Chug Hollywood product of nowadays. If you are thinking about giving the movie a try, I suggest alotting enough time to watch it in one night (only about 3 hours). You will come away with a view point of WWII most never even think of. Its more than just a movie, its nearly all true. Later

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Blows Spielburg out of the water!

    THE greatest war movie of all time is now on DVD, and it towers over any film attempting to depict WWII produced today. 'Saving Private Ryan'-Biased attempt by a man who has never been near a war, to reproduce it.'Das Boot'-The most convincing motion picture to dare approach the subject and succeed. Do yourself a favor and experience this movie as was meant to be-on DVD.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    ONLY the Director¿s Cut on DVD? Why?!!

    The term ''Director's Cut'' originally had some merit, in that scenes may have been put back in which were only pulled at the whim of regional censors or to earn an ''R'' rating from the MPAA rather than an ''X''. In recent times, however, it has come to mean ''badly-paced, dull, often repetitive, and far less enjoyable to watch than the original theatrical release.'' This is because the Director's Cut now typically includes whole scenes THAT THE DIRECTOR CUT from the first release version. Scenes which were CUT because they were redundant, or because they did nothing to advance the story, or because they introduced elements to the storyline which ran counter to the whole point of the film, or because they were JUST TOO DARNED LONG!!! This footage is now added into what was once an award-winning and highly acclaimed film for the express purpose of supporting the marketing claim that the Director's Cut version contains ''previously unreleased footage.'' Never mind that the ''restored'' footage totally bast-rdizes a film which was a masterpiece when originally released. Sadly, ¿Das Boot: The Director's Cut¿ has followed this trend. What was, in the theatrical release, a beautifully-paced, highly intense and riveting film, has been transformed into a plodding, overlong, tiring, dreary bit of ordinary cinematic pablum. The original version timed out to just over 90 minutes. The Director's Cut is over three hours long. You do the math. What is most perplexing is that the DVD version, which could easily give us the original theatrical release version, the one we saw and fell in love with even if we did not speak German, only presents us with the Despoiled Version. If the powers that be at Columbia TriStar had their heads about them, they could easily have provided the original version on the DVD, with all that extraneous ''restored footage'' also available under the ''Special Features'' menu. Everyone would have been happy. The Columbia TriStar suits would have made more money. My Advice: Pass this one by. The REAL ''Das Boot'' has to be out there somewhere. Wait for it.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    What else is like it?

    The rarest of movies. One that is so utterly believeable and yet so completely entertaining. I mean the new Pearl Harbour movie might entertain but that entertainment is marred by it's comic book like story. Here in Das Boot you don't have pretention of any kind except perhaps at the very end when it seems that the world has turned into hell, which it more or less had.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    What a Colassal Disappointment !!!

    That's about the nicest thing I can say about this movie. The BEST way to describe the additional footage included in this package would be disgusting, boring, boring, boring, then aggravating. What was once a suspenseful,taut,well-written, evenly-paced war movie has been MUTILATED into a PHENOMONALLY DULL art film. At the beginning of the movie, German submariners are vividly shown getting sick after a night of hard drinking. The original film touched lightly on this incident, but that was sufficient to make the point. This version drives that point home like a sledgehammer. The additional new footage portrays the often long uneventful waiting periods experienced by U-boat crews between actions. While one movie reviewer thought this was a plus, I found that the portrayal of boredom IS boring. To add insult to injury, the VHS version of this movie comes on two video cassettes with the first one ending in the middle of one of the film's most dramatic scenes. At this point, I was so aggravated that I didn't even watch the remainder of the film. My advice: avoid ''DAS BOOT- the director's cut'' unless you suffer with insomnia. On the other hand, if you can find a copy of the original theatrical release, GRAB IT! Then let ME know where you found it--PLEASE!

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    NO DVD in package

    you can imagine my disapointment when I foudn no DVD in the sealed package and worse since it was 2 weeks since I bought the DVD at the store it was non returnable

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  • Posted October 1, 2010

    more from this reviewer

    Great Movie for the Library (Don't buy the director's cut)

    I recently watched this movie with my teenaged kids. I had not seen it since it was released in theatres. It is still as thrilling as the original viewing, with one exception. I purchased the director's cut, which added far too much time onto the movie. The original release manages to convey the story very well.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    in my top five movies EVER

    And I'm not even a fan of war movies, but this is a masterpiece...period. (I prefer to watch it in german with english subtitles.) If you're thinking about picking this one up, you definitely should, and although the uncut version is potentially twice as expensive, I find it to be my money's worth...either way, do yourself a favor.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    One of the top five war films of all time

    I believe that this is one of the best war films ever. The director's cut, though longer than the original theatrical release, uses the additional material effectively. Many of the added scenes put you right into the life aboard a U-Boat at sea. Though another reviewer believes it detracts from what was a gripping film, I believe it helps the audience identify with the crew and what they're going through. For example, you're bored because they're bored. It also makes hearing of a nearby convoy that much more exciting. You are almost praying for these guys to run across some Allied shipping. When things look grim and the sub is taking a beating from depth charges, you almost begin to feel guilty that you were bored and that you should have been paying more attention. As a viewer you are along for every up and down that the crew experiences, rather than only being around for the 'high points,' as another reviewer suggests as being more appropriate. If you do not have the patience to sit through 3.5 hours, you might look elsewhere--this is truly an experience. In addition, the ending is right where a powerful war film should be--rather than having the protagonist survive (e.g., Platoon), more powerful war films see to it that these characters are killed...hence, war is senseless when experienced at the level of the individual (something that Spielberg picked up on for Saving Pvt Ryan), but which few since All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) have been able to pull off successfully. Watch AQWF or Das Boot and Platoon back-to-back, and you'll find the latter film to be much more trite and shallow both in how it resolves the conflict in the story and also how you identify with the characters throughout the film. But I digress...

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Only being there is more realistic

    It is an interesting point to see U-boat men so troubled during the ''Happy Times'' of 1941. The director's cut takes not only the visual element, but you can feel the tedium of an unsucessful wait and, even better, the sheer terror of being depthcharged. If you want to see one of the best war movies (and one of best movies of all time) buy Das Boot.

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Das Best!

    Quite simply this is the best war film I've ever seen. It puts you right on board with the rest of the crew. You literly feel like one of them. Never in the film do you think of the crew members as the bad guys, even when they attack Allied ships. In fact the film is so involving you actually find yourself wishing death on the Allied ships. The sound is first rate as is the cinimatography. In the end the theme of this film is that common humanity is more important than nationality or politcs. Do yourself a favor and see this film and don't be surprised if you find yourself rooting for the Germans as I do everyone I watch this film.

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Even better than the original!

    The directors cut of the movie, Das Boot, is even more brilliant and thrilling than the original. Yes it shows the long wait in between fighting, the dreariness of life at sea in a U-Boat, but is what it was like for the crews. The film is more realistic than the original, more gritty, Wolfgang Peterson has done a brilliant job of this version.

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted March 14, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted July 9, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted June 8, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 13, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted February 6, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted January 19, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 19 Customer Reviews