Das Boot (1981)
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Country: Germany
Length: 308 minutes
Type: War, Drama
This time I re-watched the 4.5-hour TV version which you can get on blu-ray from Germany (with optional English dub if you're a philistine
and English subtitles). It's divided up into six episodes but it's one continuos unbroken narrative like the other two shorter versions. Despite it being almost exactly double the length of the original 1981 Theatrical Cut and full of long extra dialogue sequences, I found it more intense and exhilarating. The runtime flies by! You get to know so many of the crew, their personalities, their fears, their hopes and how they cope in a crisis, so you really feel the terror along with them. The opening and closing sequences aside, nothing is shot for real, it's all on a set, or back projection and models. Yet the submarine interior set is so richly detailed, enveloping, atmospheric and claustrophobic that you can't believe it's not shot on a real vessel, the illusion is complete.
Steven Spielberg rented out the exterior full-scale sub and re-used the submarine pen setups for
'Raiders of the Lost Ark' while
'Das Boot' was still being shot.
Klaus Doldinger's synth score is incredible and the sound mix is so important, using every creak of the hull, drip of water, fearful breath and hum of enemy propellers to build suspense.
The cast are faultless. Of course
Jürgen Prochnow's stern Captain in the centre. It's all about
"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown", the weight of carrying out orders he doesn't believe in, from leaders he hates, the lives of his crew and the literal pressure of death around him is written on his face.
Martin Semmelrogge plays my favourite character, the vulgar mischievous Enigma coding officer.
Erwin Leder is mesmerising as the obsessive mechanic Johann, the quivering, hyperventilating horror on his face when he snaps from fear is truly disturbing. This time I felt sorry for the new young 1st Officer (played by
Hubertus Bengsch), he's a Nazi party true-believer at the start, having come from his family in South America to join the "glorious struggle" he's heard about. This leads to him being distrusted and isolated from the rest of the tightly knit crew. There's this tragic shot where only we see him wake up and for a moment his guard is down and he looks as exhausted and dishevelled as everyone else, then he catches himself and straightens himself out, back to the image of upright purity he still believes in. It's a ridiculous and pathetic moment for the character. You slowly watch him become disillusioned with the lies he's been told, until he finally lets himself go and loosens up but he'll never be a part of the crew by then. In the later scene where the officers go onto a resupply boat, it's notable that when greeted with an enthusiastic
"Heil Hitler" he just looks blankly and doesn't return the salute. I have to say, in the opening bordello sequence the drunk-acting by all the cast, especially
Otto Sander, is some of the best and funniest put on film.
'Das Boot' just might be the best ever WW2 film but it's got a lot of competition.
I can't choose between
Klaus Doldinger's ominous main theme...
...or his heart-pounding "chase" theme...