Das Boot (The Boat)

“One of the best War movies ever made!” 

“Universally recognized as the best submarine movie of all time and one of the most heart-pounding thrillers ever filmed!”

“This film takes all of the drama and suspense inherent in a submarine-based story and delivers it in a near- perfect package, establishing Das Boot as not just a terrific adrenaline rush, but one of the best movies ever made.”

“It is unlike any other war film in that it confines the audience in a confined submarine where we digest the fear and panic of the human beings on screen. In short, "Das Boot" is a religious experience.”

These are just some of the movie critic’s comments written about Wolfgang Petersen’s epic 1981 German U-boat movie Das Boot, based on the 1973 novel by Lothar-Günther Buchheim, and believe me the critics are not exaggerating.

I have seen this move about six or seven times and it’s just as gripping and suspenseful on every viewing. I’ve owned every version of this film that was ever put out because it is an essential classic; a must own and a must see if ever there was one, and one of the most historically accurate accounts of patrols in the Battle of the Atlantic.

It has often been imitated over the past 30 years by film makers and TV commercials and is still widely considered the benchmark for suspense and authentic, un-glamorized depictions of men at war and submarine warfare. What I like about the film besides its suspense and authentic look, is the clear message of the waste of war and the performances are absolutely without parallel. This movie puts you in the most harrowing situations alongside these young men and never lets you out. You can’t help but feel what they feel.

While the characters were fictionalized, all the events depicted are real events witnessed by the author of the book who spent time on German U-boats in World War II as a photographer and war correspondent. 

Although it’s a long movie you never notice the time go by as the story is so real and gripping with unbearable tension. Don’t be intimidated by the length or reputation or the subtitles, you will be rewarded with an unforgettable experience.

The music is haunting and the sound effects build the tension up to nail biting, teeth grinding levels, making Das Boot perfect for the home theater experience and now that a new restored version has been released on Blu-ray you can experience it as it was always intended on the big screen in High Definition.

Since Das Boot, director Wolfgang Petersen has directed such films as Troy (2004), The Perfect Storm (2000), Poseidon (2006), Air Force One (1997), In the Line of Fire (1993) and Outbreak (1995).

This film is definitely one of those films you must see before you die and in fact it is listed in the book by the same name; ‘1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die’. 

JP