Movie of the Week: Das Boot

   

 

    Movie of the Week (5/19/13-5/25/13): There have been several movies made about submarines and the troubles the crew goes through. But, there is not a submarine movie like Das Boot, which is German for The Boat. This movie centers around U-96, a U-boat, during World War II and is a German film, but don't let that discourage you because it did get nominated for six Oscars in 1983. Although the film was released in 1981 in Germany, it wasn't released in the U.S. until 1982, which made it eligible for the 1983 Oscars.
    As I said, this film follows a U-boat in the Atlantic Ocean during World War II, more specifically 1942. The Crew's mission is to try and stop all naval shipping by the British, by stopping that usually meant destroy. But, soon things begin to go south and the U-boat is then becoming the hunted causing them to take fire from depth charges causing damage and having to dive deeper to avoid damage thus causing more damage. I know, it's a never ending circle, but we also get to learn about each character as well and what they go through, so it is part history, part action/adventure, and a part drama film.
    I did say that this is a German film, so we have ourselves a German director in Wolfgang Peterson, which I'm sure many of you know some of his American movies. He has directed the remake Poseidon, Troy, The Perfect Storm, Air Force One, and the Clint Eastwood hit In the Line of Fire. So, he is well known all over in the film industry and is a great director. This movie is probably his best because he keeps us on the edge of our seats the whole film. He gives the film this claustrophobic feel that makes the depth charge scenes even more intense. He also makes the best use of the cameras because of the tight space to film in, so we have some long camera shots in the more dramatic scenes, which gives the movie a more emotional feel to it.
    When it comes to the cast, well you probably will not know one person because they are all German. Although they were unknown actors and still are mostly today here in America, they still did a fantastic job. As they feel that their lives are in danger we feel for them because of what is expressed to us either in the drama or in the action sequences. So, a great job by the cast. However, there's one actor that some might recognize and he is Jurgen Prochnow, who plays the captain of the U-boat. He has been in films such as Air Force One, Judge Dredd, and Beverly Hills Cop II. But, he will be the only actor that most people would more than likely recognize. With the German actors, the film is in German, so you'll have to read subtitles the entire film as well.
    Of course a film of this size has great editing and a wonderful suspenseful score to add to the gut wrenching scenes. But, the thing about this movie is that there is more than one version out there. The first version is the theatrical version, which is two and half hours long. The second version is The Director's Cut coming in at three hours and twenty-nine minutes, and the third version is really a miniseries released to T.V. with a four hour and fifty-three minute running time. Now of course the theatrical version is the version that got nominated for the Oscars, but you lose so much character development in it, although there are plenty of action and suspenseful scenes. The Director's Cut is the version with just the right amount of character development and suspenseful scenes. The Original Uncut Version, the miniseries, is the version that you want if you want to dig in as deep as you can into the minds of the characters. My advise is to watch the Director's Cut, it might be long, but it is the perfect mix of drama and suspense. This movie is a fantastic historic epic, with great drama, suspense, and direction, and if you are not sweating by the time it is over, well then something is wrong with you!                                                                                                             4/4 Stars