Das Boot (1981) Reaction & Review! FIRST TIME WATCHING!!

[@dumbcat]

Das Boot is not just one of the greatest war films ever made, it is one of the greatest films ever made.

[@kh884488]

Agreed, but it makes me sad to think that Peterson went from making an amazing film like Das Boot to a fairly normal action film like Airforce One which can't compare.

[@wolfgangpreier9160]

And its based on a real story. Heavily overstated but not completeley wrong.

[@RenegadeSamurai]

@@wolfgangpreier9160 not so much one real story but rather a fictional journey based on Buchheims real experiences on all his patrols he took part

[@wolfgangpreier9160]

@@RenegadeSamurai I knew one of those who were on "the boat". Thats why i know a bit about the background. Its mostly fictious to make a good storyline but with a very real background.

[@Youcannotfalter]

Yes!!!

[@ThomasKnip]

Thanks for watching it in German, with subtitles. The performance of the actors is so amazing, it literally would get lost in translation.

[@wolf310ii]

The subtitles are actually pretty bad, the english version was done by the actors, dubbing or even filming the scene a second time with the actors speaking english.

[@belabraun9066]

maybe theyll do a better dub a different time

[@jimtatro6550]

I am American and this was the first foreign language film I remember watching, I was about 14 or so and have been a fan of international films since. This was also the first WWII film I saw from the Germans point of view and it made me think about war differently. Great film.👍

[@jeffry1961]

There is another one you may want to watch called Stalingrad. Also from the ordinary German soldier's perspective. Not a happy movie but it shouldn't be. One of the best endings I seen in a movie. Extremely bleak.

[@IMFLordVader]

@@jeffry1961 Or "Generation War"; the german "Band of Brothers"

[@ziggystardust7377]

❤ from GER ! PEOPLE COUNT, NOT IDS 😊

[@bethannprather1462]

Everything you said was the same for me. I was about 17

[@kh884488]

For me the morale of the story is this: During a war, it doesn't matter how strong, smart or brave you are. If you are in there wrong place at the wrong time, you won't make it back.

[@mattschm5486]

Also they are just just normal people doing their duty. They are not the evil nazis. They are just some guys.

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

@@mattschm5486 In the first 1999 translation, the CoB says "when will we see some action?!" Not orders. They were eager to make kills. Also, Thomsen expresses ridicule of England knowing full well his job was to sink unarmed merchant ships.

[@theshadow7201]

@@RideAcrossTheRiver they wanted action because they were bored. And sinking ships was their order.

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

@@theshadow7201 Yes, they were killers. The scene was a sop where the Germans were 'horrified' at the abandoned British soldiers. Anyway, Nazi Germany got its action.

[@berndbrakemeier1418]

@@RideAcrossTheRiver Du Kleinkind hast aber auch gar nichts gelernt, oder? Beende erst einmal Deine Schulausbildung und frage dann höflich, ob Du mit den Erwachsenen sprechen darfst.

[@tsogobauggi8721]

This really is the best submarine movie, just like Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is the best sailing boat movie. The submarine in this movie is more like a character than just a set piece. And in the end it dies too. :)

[@quiett6191]

Two of my favorite sailing films ever, both just immerse you in its time period and world.

[@lordcaradoc3222]

I certainly agree with this statement.

[@lightdampsweetenough2065]

@68K That's grim but a great dark joke.

[@jarlnils435]

She is a SHIP! Sailing boat, really!

[@poruatokin]

@@jarlnils435 Submarines are boats, not ships.

[@horseshoe2blah201]

I saw this movie in the theater with my dad. When the sub was stuck at the bottom of the straight of Gibraltar, my dad nudged me and said "Listen!" The entire theater was so caught up the scene, we were all breathing heavy with the oxygen deprived crew.

[@agamemnonpadar5706]

I saw it when it came out and the reaction in the cinema was the same. I LOVED to see it, but to be honest I felt happy to come out of the cinema into a peaceful autumn evening.

[@NoshrokGrimskull]

The war correspondent Werner is played by Herbert Grönemeyer, who went on to have a pretty successful career as a musician and singer. A lot of people on the crew were played by actors who either already were famous at the time of filming or went on to become widely known afterwards. Another (very good) war movie that is shown from the German perspective is "The Bridge" (1959).

[@pandersodlands6081]

I'll tack on Stalingrad as another very good WW2 movie from a German perspective.

[@bernhardgruetering620]

Or " Steiner the Iron Cross " a American - German co production from 1977.

[@lillilehmann6911]

You musst see the movie "the brigde". It a great anti war movie you have see. We must see in our schooltime, It was horrible.

[@pashvonderc381]

Also Generation War ( the English title) and Downfall.

[@uliuchu4318]

idi i smotri (an Udssr production) is up there, for sure .... it's like a depressive expressionist painting, beautifully hideous and it's free on youtube

[@dosnostalgic]

Normally I'm not really into movies that are over 2 hours long, but I actually love the 5 hour version of this. I swear, if there was a cut that was a week long, that's the one I'd watch. Just makes you feel like you're one of the crew. After watching the longer versions the original American theatrical cut is almost unwatchable for me. I used to live in a place that used to flood during excessive rain season, and my roommate and I would throw Das Boot on knowing that the apartment would start flooding right around the time the sub was going down in the movie. Then we'd crank up the volume, and start bailing water together with the crew. Good times. 😂

[@Som09mer]

If I'm not mistaken, originnaly it was a TV series of 12 Hours I think. So there is more footage out there

[@dosnostalgic]

@@Som09mer No, the series is 6 episodes of about 50 min each.

[@nero756]

@@dosnostalgic if you want to be exacrly its a 5 hour movie ^^

[@JayvH]

@@nero756 There are different versions of the long version.

[@kazazel1899]

🤝

[@Warloo100]

The novel was written by a war corresponent on a U-Boat in WW2, so this is kind of a memoir and this adds a lot to realism. They had three models for the open sea shots and some of the shots were made on a surviving boat in Laboe, Germany. By the way, the actor playing the war correspondent is now a famous German rock singer, Herbert Groenemeyer. Thanks for reacting to it, good job.

[@sirpurrsalot6588]

The interior set of the sub was partet in sections (you can actually take a tour through them if you visit the moviestudios) and placed on a huge rocking table so in most scenes the camera is actually still and the whole set is moving. it was so real that some actors actually got sea/motion sick during filming. The food seen hanging all around the boat was actually real and decayed over time like it would in a real sub back then wich in combination with the rotting costumes due to high moisture led to a breath taking stench on the whole set for weeks.

[@RadOstr1]

2:27 - yes. He was also on David Lynch's Dune as Duke Leto Atreides. Jurgen Prochnow is his name. And this movie make him recognizable actor outside Germany and open gates to Hollywood for 80s and 90s. Mostly as a supporting actor.

[@oaf-77]

He was also in ‘House of the Dead’

[@levenkay4468]

Jurgen Prochnow is also in the film "The Keep", again as a disillusioned German soldier.

[@oaf-77]

@@levenkay4468 the keep is a seriously underrated movie. It’s flawed but it has some amazing visuals.

[@Fred_L.]

Also in John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness and in Wing Commander.

[@michaelnuckel5254]

@@Fred_L. And in wing commander they take entire dialogues out of Das Boot... At least it seems like it. Hiding in an asteroid from Kilrathi "space depth charges" with Prochnow at the helm. That was bad, like really bad.

[@Sentinel2150]

I waited for it. One of the most famous movies from my country and a career start for a lot of actors. Glad you watched it

[@georges6580]

My favorite movie since I was a kid. I'm french and I lived in Saint-Nazaire and it's surroundings, I was sneaking in the U-Bunkers from a young age there and in Lorient, or the atlantic wall bunkers on the entire coast. Best war film for me. Everywhere you went were scars from that era. For people and cities.

[@RighteousBrother]

Jurgen Prochnow is great. Love Germany btw been there many times!

[@antimonycup7066]

As a Dutchie, I recognize Martin Semelrogge from several Derrick episodes but looking at his IMDB page just now, he's done a *lot* more work and seems to still be acting today. Interesting actor, I have to seek out some of his recent work. Any tips of anything good he is in?

[@Sentinel2150]

@@georges6580 I love exploring lost places

[@Bareego]

Also Herbert Groenemeyer, here playing the war correspondent. Not so much known afterwards as an actor but as a singer with a very unique voice.

[@Sentinel2150]

And yes now watch "Downfall/Der Untergang"

[@Tampahop]

This movie came out right at the end of my enlistment, so I didn't see it until after I was discharged. This was 2 1/2 of the most uncomfortable hours of my life. Pretty much every fear of a submariner is in this movie. At this time, I was having occasional submarine nightmares and this movie just triggered me more. It's interesting how many similarities there were between WWII and my time on submarines during the 70's/80's. I can't vouch for the historical accuracy, but I will say they nailed the psychological elements. This is, by far, the best submarine movie I've seen.

[@llanitedave]

It came out in the last year of my enlistment. It was required watching for the crew of my boat, we saw it at least three times during my last patrol. Best, and most devastating submarine movie ever.

[@silentotto5099]

I've seen interviews with former WWII U-boat crewmen who had watched the movie. They gave it about 90% for what it was like serving on a U-boat. A comment from one of the men that stuck with me was that real life depth charges didn't shake up the boat like they show in the movie. He said that a depth charge close enough to shake the boat that hard would have been a kill. Instead, he stated that it was more like standing on a sheet of steel while someone whacked it with a sledge hammer, giving a sharp shock that one could feel in their bones. He said it actually hurt a bit, but didn't tend to send everything flying around the inside of the boat.

[@chrisklammer3713]

watch the directors cut (208min) or the tv version (309 min)

[@tommcewan7936]

This film is based on the book of the same name by Lothar Gunther Buchheim, who *was* a war correspondent on a WWII U-boat. Much like Erich Maria Remarque's famous WWI novel "All Quiet on the Western Front," the characters and events in the story are a fictionalised impressionistic representation of the author's experiences.

[@johnbigdaddyross2158]

As a former submariner, this is the best movie of the genre. It really shows the claustrophobic conditions and the contrast between slow and busy times. Glad to see it getting some love.

[@masterkontrollprogramm7122]

RIP Wolfgang Petersen 😪 The Boot is a Masterpiece of Film making

[@danielallen3454]

The actor portraying the Commander is Jürgen Prochnow. A German actor with a *very* long filmography. In addition to the films you mentioned, he's been in David Lynch's 'Dune', 'The Seventh Sign', 'In the Mouth of Madness', 'The Da Vinci Code', and many others. He also portrayed Philip Adler in the audiobook version of 'World War Z', a performance I very much enjoyed.

[@bullpup33]

You forgot the epic movie Beerfest 🍺

[@bone3442]

@@bullpup33 and navy cis la

[@marcziegenhain8420]

Tatort "Sleeping Dogs" ("Schlafende Hunde")

[@poppers7317]

Beverly Hills Cop 2 and Privateer 2

[@gehtdichnixan3200]

he even made absoulute bullshit film ( wingcomander by uwe boll) bareable his acting remindet me on das boot multible times herr kaloin as spaceship captain

[@internetstrangerstrangerofweb]

You’re a great commentator! I usually can’t stand this variety of channels but I enjoyed your work!

[@michaelkonig530]

Since you asked about the technical aspects, here are some things I hopefully remember correctly: The interior was built to scale as close to the real thing as possible. It was set on a gimbal to be able to rock the boat during the depth charge attacks and for the diving scenes. The full scale exterior boat was mostly wood, I believe. It was lent to „Raiders of the Lost Ark“, when they needed a German submarine for that movie. The boat in the wide shots was a miniature that was big enough for a diver to lie in it (who sometimes got seasick) and the „men“ in the tower were apparently Barbie dolls or something similar, which should give you an idea of scale. The illusion was often destroyed, when seagulls landed on the boat. I suspect they had another model for the diving scenes. They definitely had a smaller model for the underwater scenes that were filmed in a tank (unlike Hunt for Red October, where they filmed in a studio with smoke and some CGI additions). When you see the guys on the tower during a storm, it‘s just the tower with front projection for the sea and being blasted with hectoliters of water. The DP Jost Vacano designed his own camera rig (similar to a steady cam, but more compact) to film the scenes inside the sub. Unfortunately the gyroscopes of the rig were so loud that the audio wasn‘t usable. Even in the original German version almost all scenes are dubbed. Jost Vacano also wore a helmet, because during the diving scenes her ran after the crew. The submarine pen that you thought was a set is actually the real thing. According to the audio commentary, when the film was first shown in New York there was applause when the beginning revealed that 3/4 of the men never returned. But after the movie was over they received standing ovations instead.

[@LUNATIC75]

Favourite war film, no contest. I still remember seeing this as mini TV series back in about 1990. Utterly compelling.

[@oaf-77]

Certainly one of the best war movies ever made. I’d also recommend ‘Zulu’

[@oaf-77]

@Zaehlwerk the most honest war movies are anti-war movies.

[@lordsummerisle87]

Minor technical point, but an important one: these are/were submersible boats rather than true submarines. They ran best/fastest on the surface, on the diesel engines. Underwater they were slower partially due to their primitive electric drive and partially because of their not very advanced hydrodynamics. There was enough battery capacity to run very slowly submerged for about a day, but would have problems with ventilation and build-up of CO2. Normal operating procedure was to run on the surface at night with the diesels providing propulsion and charging the batteries, and during the day in safeish areas, submerging during daylight hours when enemy were expected nearby and to take hydrophone scans. This was fairly successful until RADAR/RDF became common on Allied surface ship. Most German u-boats weren't fitted with a snorkel (ventilation tube which worked at periscope depth to let the engines and men breathe) until about 1943 so had no choice but to run on the surface a lot of the time, where they were very vulnerable. Later in the war the type XXI u-boats completely change the dynamic, designed from the beginning to charge the batteries at periscope depth and actually running faster underwater than on the surface. Luckily for everyone who wasn't a fan of Corporal Schicklgruber it was a bit late by then.

[@thomasayer7511]

💯

[@wolf310ii]

The "normal operating procedure" depends highly on the time of the war. Submerged at daytime and surfaced at night was only "normal" for a short period early in the war. At the begin of the war they stayed day and night on the surface and dived only when attacked. When the costal command got more airplanes and increased the patrols, the u-boats dived at daytime when crossing the biscaya. When the airplanes got equiped with radar, the u-boats dived at night time and stayed on surface on day time. Later in war, they surfaced only for a few hours to recharge the batteries on daytime. The u-boats were not slow because of primitive electric drive or not advanced hydrodynamics, they were designed to hunt on the surface and only dive to evade attacks. Also ventilation and CO2 wasnt a problem, they had CO2 scrubber and oxygen for 72 hours. The Typ XXI wasnt faster submerged (16,5kt) than surfaced (18kt)

[@tomantush4867]

The novel is a semi-autobiographical piece, the author being the correspondent. He took some good pictures. The novel isn't exactly fiction, most of the incidents happened, although not all of them to the specific boats on which the author served.

[@kellymcbright5456]

right! I remember him from interviews.

[@ohauss]

He basically condensed several trips into one - given that most of a U-boat sortie was endless boredom, interrupted by brief episodes of sheer horror, it wouldn't have been particularly engaging only describing one as it was, or all of them.

[@253NYCWEST]

Your movie reactions are by far the most insightful on KZbin, and your knowledge of directors, cinematographers, composers etc. is unparalleled. Additionally, your editing needs to be commended. If I had a nickel for each time I’ve heard the word “dang” to describe a scene on other reaction channels, I’d have generational wealth. Only on your channel do I screen movies for the first time. Keep up the good work. A few suggestion - The Sting, Le Mans, It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad World, Money Ball/Major League. Patton. Le Mans

[@nyoodmono4681]

Man i really enjoyed your Review. The way you edit it, avoiding copyright issues, showing your genuine reaction on the fly and make this all not be choppy is just amazing! Quite a unique format you conceived here and your background knowledge of filmmaking is interesting on top.

[@catoblepag]

While I have great respect for Petersen's directing skills (he did great things in the eighties), I think we should mention the unsung hero of this production, the DP Jost Vacano. He was a regular Paul Verhoeven collaborator and photographed most of his movies, like Robocop and Total Recall. In Das Boot he did an incredible job making the camera flow so well in those cramped spaces... he should've won an Oscar.

[@ohauss]

He recently - at age 88! - managed to finally get some additional money for all the success the movie had over the decades.

[@andreraymond6860]

Robocop and Total Recall were directed by Paul Verhoeven, not Wolfgang Petersen.

[@catoblepag]

@@andreraymond6860 Never said that... only that he photographed those movies

[@SHSNJROTC]

10:10 . That’s me the first time I watched this movie too, the soundtrack of the song “Konvoi”…. The sub pressing through the violent Atlantic… the sound design for the boat crushing through the water. One of the best scenes

[@scottjo63]

Ahh you didn't say you've seen Peterson's In The Line Of Fire (1993)!! It has Clint Eastwood right after his Unforgiven, and John Malkovich going against each other. You are missing out!!

[@RadOstr1]

In USA was suprisingly big box office success. Even have six Academy Awards nominations for: Best Director, Best Screenplay Adapted, Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Sound Editing and Best Editing. It was first (on one of first) movie using Steadicam.

[@JackNapierDe]

I thought (one of) the very first movies using steadycam used to be "The Shining" a year before. But in some of the shots running through the sub, the camera operator would not have had the space for the early steadycam systems. The set can still be visited today at the Bavaria Filmstadt Studios in Munich and it's really a claustrophobic experience.

[@michaelkonig530]

The problem was, in that year Gandhi and E.T. split most of the Oscars between them. The DP Jost Vacano actually did not use a steadicam, but a similar, more compact rig that he built himself.

[@shainewhite2781]

An epic submarine adventure film! I have the 210 minute Directors Cut, while the 300 minute cut is very rare to find nowadays.

[@dosnostalgic]

300 minute cut is available on a number of German blu-rays that are currently being sold, and all of them include options for both English subtitles and a dub.

[@Marauder1981]

I bought mine on Amazon for 10€

[@dougearnest7590]

To address your question about disease in wartime, until the later part of the 20th Century deaths of military personnel from disease and non-battle injury have exceeded deaths from combat with the numbers ranging from 3:1 to 10:1 -- and civilian deaths from disease and starvation in many conflicts have exceeded military deaths by millions. (Former Navy preventive medicine technician and amateur historian here.)

[@GeorgeEugeneBarrett]

When referring to WW2 Germans, I try to only call the SS and SA soldiers “Nazis.” I would imagine the average German enlisted soldier was operating from a sense of patriotism rather than Nazi ideology. The SS and SA, however, were definitely believers in ethnic superiority and all other aspects of Nazism.

[@uriadelavaro3956]

Exactly.

[@nirfz]

True for almost the entire war. Right towards the end of the war parts of the SS (the so called "weapons SS" which were the section of them fighting at the front, not just terrorizing others) started conscripting soldiers too. Two brothers of my great grandmother got conscripted into that branch. The only thing their family ever got to see from them again, was a post card one of them wrote from the journey towads the east with a sad rhyme. (It doesn't rhyme in english, but somewhat in german and it translates to "now we drive towards the balck sea and won't see each other ever again)

[@Menwulf20]

Yeah but then again the nazis were quite popular. The clean Wehrmacht is a myth you should be very careful about.

[@IMFLordVader]

@@Menwulf20 True. The Wehrmacht committed war crimes as the SS did. But it is easier to think the one were evil and the one were good (but missleaded)

[@Menwulf20]

@@IMFLordVader that's just plain wrong. True, individuals can be good or evil (if such a categories even make sense) but the Wehrmacht as a whole was not 'good but mislead'. It was the military arm of a fascist dictatorship and its officers ordered horrendous crimes and the soldiers carried them out. Sometimes even on their own accord. While the military elite initially didn't support Hitler they weren't exactly good. They supported the monarchy and brutally crushed revolutions. Ludendorf even took part in the Hitler Putsch and Hindenburgs presidential (proto-dictatorship) government swore in Hitler as chancellor. While the ss was the rear guard and 'policed' the countryside the Wehrmacht committed terrible crimes at the front, especially against soviets, jews and suspected partisans. And again the Führer was quite popular in Germany, it was only after Stalingrad and especially after the war that everybody suddenly 'never was a nazi', which you shouldn't fall for. We even had an 'alt nazi' as chancellor and everybody sort of ignored that. Even today asking your grandparents 'what did you do during the war' will get you nothing but 'communications' or 'medic'. They all knew it and or participated. Don't fall post war dementia.

[@thomasnieswandt8805]

I dont know, if anyone said it yet, the Boat U96 was a "Type VII" submarine. With over 700 units build, it still is the largest number of units for one type of ship. out of 704 boats, only ONE is remaining! U 995 .... she sits on the beach in Laboe, germany and is a museum and memorial. Also a cool fact, once a year on "world radio day" her radio is powered up again and her callsign is travalling around the world again. Also... the guy who played Johann, was the farmer who got stabbed by order of Tim Currys - Richelieu in 1993s three musketeers ;)

[@burni82]

@Shan Watches Movies 6:52 In German they are called "U-Boot" - the "U" stands for "Untersee", so basically it's an "under sea boat" or "sub marine". 🤓

[@elchicko1976]

@7:54 Well, actually it WAS a closed set where they filmed the exterior of the boat. A big water pool at the „Bavaria Film Studio“ near Munich. No computer and CGI. We visit it at my school time. You can also see the interior of the boat there, visit the space station of „Enemy Mine“ and ride on Fuchur from „Never ending Story“.

[@sherigrow6480]

I think this is a top 5 film of all time. It was a revelation. Also, most Nazis were German, or of German descent, but not all Germans were Nazi. Considered themselves as loyal Germans, but not Nazi.

[@Sebastian-dp2sc]

Yes, thank you for this comment. Its like saying that all Americans having Slaves and killing Native Americans. Just to say one Stereotype. Most of them just do their Job as a Soldier and some dont realy have a Choice, Serve or Die.

[@trialen]

I'm sure the victims would have been so relieved to have known that.

[@Sebastian-dp2sc]

@@trialen You mean all the Native Americans in Noth and South America? Or in all the Victims in Asia, Australia or Africa? Or all the Victims in the Middle East? Or just the European ones?

[@trialen]

@@Sebastian-dp2sc Any of the German victims.

[@Sebastian-dp2sc]

@@trialen ahhh so no other Nation in the World kill People, now i get it.

[@marcziegenhain8420]

9:34 Pilgrim was played by one of the most popular actors in German TV, Jan Fedder. His most popular character was "Dirk Matthies" in the German tv show "Großstadtrevier" from 1991-2020. He died 30 December 2019 in Hamburg.

[@galandirofrivendell4740]

"Das Boot" is without a doubt the most intense movie I have ever seen. The claustrophobia is palpable. As a side note, you might consider watching "Tora, Tora, Tora," a joint Japanese-American production that tells the story of the bombing of Pearl Harbor in a pseudo-documentary fashion from the perspective of both sides.

[@charlesballard5251]

I agree. "Tora, Tora, Tora" was a magnificent movie. "Pearl Harbor" was a highly fictionalized movie with fictional main characters which centered on an all too real event. I'd rate "Pearl Harbor" higher than I do if they didn't screw the pooch by making the zero-sens the WRONG GODDAMNED COLOR!!!!! At least in "Tora, Tora, Tora" they went with historical accuracy and they kept the proper color scheme.

[@thomasayer7511]

Indeed

[@u.p.1038]

@@charlesballard5251 The ending where the planes fly heroic into the sunset to drop two nuclear bombs always felt pretty disgusting to me. Peal Harbor is a glossed over, romanticized war movie, Das Boot is a raw, authentic anti-war movie. They couldnt be more different.

[@charlesballard5251]

@@u.p.1038 Uhmmm... what movie are you talking about with the planes flying into the sunset to drop the bombs? That was not "Tora, Tora, Tora", neither was it "Pearl Harbor". And I've seen both versions of Pearl Harbor.

[@MrDeadstu]

I am SO glad you finally got to see this Shan, and the Directors Cut too, IMO this is the best war film ever made. Two other films from the German perspective that are quite good and worth watching are, "Cross of Iron" (1977) by Sam Peckinpah "Stalingrad" (1993) by Joseph Vilsmaier

[@slowerthinker]

Cross of Iron is a great film that is far too often overlooked when people discuss WW2 films.

[@thomasstorch4266]

Stalingrad is really another great movie. Often underrated but I talked with some German Veterans which fought there and they said it’s really near to reality.

[@grogsrevenge]

I second (third?) Stalingrad. It's such a depressing film, in a good way. I rewatch it every now and then, in winter, when I feel especially miserable. Reminds me that, hey, it could be worse...

[@michaelkonig530]

There is another one called „Die Brücke“ („The Bridge“) by Bernhard Wicki, where a few teenagers are forced to defend a bridge near the end of the war.

[@ChurchOfTheHolyMho]

"I hope it's worth it." Oh boy, are you in for a real treat! One of the best films ever.

[@ArinmarDeKaldenoc]

21:57 Even if they would have just rescued them and stayed above water until rescue-ships have arrived, they were not allowed anymore to rescue suvivors since to the Laconia Incident. Laconia was a ship that got sunk by a german U-boat. They then rescued alot survivors along with another u-boat, sailed under red cross flag to meet up with a french ship. But they were spotted by an american bomber and then got attacked. Both u-boats were forced to cast the survivors into the sea and crash dive. After that incident the commanders of the Kriegsmarine were issued by Laconia Order to not longer rescue survivors. Sad but true..

[@michellepeters7066]

I highly recommend the movie "Downfall" from 2004!

[@catherinelw9365]

I second that! Downfall is brilliant and Shan would really appreciate it.

[@smokeyverton7981]

Fegelein! Fegelein! Fegelein!

[@Badner83]

Of course, also in German with subtitles...

[@themadpizzler6081]

"The Baader Meinhof Complex" is another excellent film, and shares a bunch of talent with "Downfall"

[@MrAitraining]

@@Badner83 100% do it in German. Makes it so much more real and authentic.

[@Justin.Franks]

17:01 During wartime, domestic watchmakers are often contracted to build watches for the military. Typically, they are provided with very general specs and requirements that must be followed, and multiple watchmakers will produce watches that meet those specs. Like for US soldiers in WW2, the A-11 was a common watch. Some of the specs were black dial with white hands, manual wind (not automatic), at least a 15-jewel movement, and a center second hand with hacking. Elgin, Waltham, and Bulova all manufactured these watches. There are minor differences but they all look mostly identical, regardless of who made it, because they all had to follow the specs the US government had laid out. Likewise, the German Kriegsmarine had a spec for the U-boat stopwatches, and Junghans, being a German watchmaker, was one of the companies contracted to supply those stopwatches.

[@hjalnelson9579]

Shan I've seen perhaps two dozen of your reviews by now, but I've never seen you this animated and gushing when reviewing a movie afterwards. But it's not surprising, this is a legendary film.

[@donsample1002]

They had one full scale floating mock-up sub, that could be used in calm seas - that also makes an appearance in _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ - All the other sub shots are models.

[@papalaz4444244]

The u-boat pens are the actual ones which still survive in France today. The sub set was built in one piece to show how cramped and awful it was inside.

[@ohauss]

The interior set is also still around, one of the main attractions of the Bavaria Filmstadt tour near Munich.

[@georges6580]

The U-96 sub, scale 1:1 was borrowed by Spielberg for the first Indiana Jones.

[@iluvausten40517]

Neverending Story is ABSOLUTELY worth reviewing . . .

[@martinbraun1211]

Oh yes!!!

[@deg6788]

Yess

[@ohauss]

Though an absolute abomination as an adaptation of the book (which it doesn't even fully adapt, just the first half, which cripples the actual message).

[@dasspielmobil6161]

To quickly answer your question: Yes, there´s a ton of making-of material available. As a matter of fact, there should be some on your DVD/Blu-Ray as well. Also, the novel is almost entirely based on true events (cobbled together of course), so the film is actually very true to actual WW2 events. Lt. Werner is the avatar of the novel´s author Lothar Guenther Buchheim, who was a war correspondent himself.

[@OuchmakerX]

My favorite tidbit about the movie is that the full size replica used in the outside shots was borrowed by Spielberg for Raiders of the Lost Ark as they were filming in the same area at the time. However the production company failed to notify the film crew, so one day the Das Boot crew found their boat simply missing.

[@Wolf-ln1ml]

They didn't have a full-sized replica, but they did have one on a 1:2 scale for the outside and underwater shots.

[@RubenKelevra]

The exterior shots were done with a small replica which had just one guy sitting in it. It was a real submarine, including dive tanks, rudder bulge pumps etc. He was out into it and they screwed the hatch shut and then off he went. They also incited on real waves here, so when the fishers came in because of high waves and bad weather, they went out with this boat. In addition there was the command tower build inside a studio, so if you see a closeup, it's mostly in a studio with a two ton water canon for the splash effects. There was also a very crude exterior replica, which actually got destroyed (pulled away from the harbor in a storm) and partly rebuild. This is what's beeing used in the harbors and very slow moving scenes where people stand around. The rebuild was then used in the end (pretty fittingly) in the end of the film as they came back to Italy. And for the interiors they used an additional replica which could be filled with water and all stuff you see inside is real: So e.g. the mold in the bread was real and the whole scene is actually improvised. The bread molded from the moisture in the set over the weeks and weeks of production.

[@jollyjakelovell6822]

Most of the sailors in the film were simply Kriegsmarine, just German navy and not nazi party members. the only real member of the nazi party on board was the kid from Mexico City, So when you, me or anyone sympathizes with them we are not feeling kindly to nazis, just sailors doing their duty, not for an inane ideology but for each other and their captain.

[@YezaOutcast]

the writer of the book was an actual war corespondent in ww2. he wrote the story out of his big experience during wartime and was at the set with petersen to advice the whole crew. i think in my opinion the movie is about what war is after you remove all the propaganda an idealism. the captain (who is acted by jürgen prochnow) is a realist. he knows about the cost of war and is not blinded by what the propaganda machine is feeding everyone anymore. he is experienced enough to know how costly the war is and that it is not easily won. i think he would rather be somewhere else, but tries to take good care of his crew to bring them home safely. you can see this in the scene where johann snapped. the captain ran back to his quarters to get his gun. he would have put johann down if he tried to open the airlock. that would have killed everyone on the boat. johann was his friend. they where on many missions together (9 i think) and had a close relationship. you can also see his character and true feelings in the scene where they sink the still burning freighter and the still alive crew tries to get away from it. he was upset why noone tried to rescue them. i doubt he would have fired on the ship if he had known in that moment there where still people on it.

[@wolf310ii]

Johann could have tried as long and hard as he want to open the hatch, that wasnt the danger of the situation, its impossible to open the hatch when submerged, even unlocked the water pressure keeps the hatch shut

[@beageler]

I was in the boat set as a child. A small child. The movie makes it seem way more spacious than reality. I felt totally squished in at 6 years.

[@michaelkieser8799]

Hi I grew up with this film. Parts of the set can be visited till today at Bavaria Film Studios in Munich. For the open water and underwater shots they used several models in lenghts 2,3m, 5m and 11m. The open water shots from some distance were taken with the 11m model at atlantic seas waters west of France. Pay attention that at the beginning of the film intentionally the U-Boat drives always from left to right with the meaning "going forward" over the screen, and at the end of the film from right to left with the meaning "going backward". This concept was taken from "Wochenschau", where in the second worldwar the german army were shown driving and marching from west to east(left to right), to demonstrate to the public the power of the german army going foreward. For the nearby scenes with crew on deck they built an 1:1 model of the top water part of an U-Boat Type VIIb which was round about 67m long, made of metal and buoncy barrels underneath. For the shots inside the U-Boat they build a 1:1 "Druckkörper" with al length from round about 50m also all in metal and welded parts. For the film they placed this inner part of the U-Boat on a hydraulic setting, something like an airplane simulator for professionals. The film crew never knows the movements beforehand. There are no openings for the camera. All Scenes within the U-Boat were taken with an handheld camera. Information how to build the models ,outer 1:1 and inner 1:1 parts were taken from historical plans and also by evaluation an taking photos of an real and visitable U-Boat type VII C41 at Laboe, nearby Kiel in germany. A Making of movie were not a standard in 1981 and as I know does not exist. The author of the novell "Das Boot" Lothar-Günther Buchheim published a book called "Der Film - Das Boot" in 1981 with round about 250 photos and text descriptions of the making of the film. The U-Boat Bunker in the film set was a real U-Boat bunker from the second world war located in La Pallice France. The underwater shots with depthcharges were made with model depthcarges in a water bassin at Bavaria film studios. Also the scene with the attacked and burning vessel were taken in this water bassin. Do you remember the scene with the man over board ? This was not planned content of the story book, but an incident at the film set while filming the crew in the tower at heavy storms. For this scene round about 1000l of Water were smashed against a tower setup in the studios. Hereby the actor was splashed out of the tower and all thought this was improvisation and the cameras kept running. The actor had I thought three broken rips, when remembering the content of the book "Der Film - Das Boot".

[@chrism7395]

I can remember seeing the 5 hour tv miniseries version as a six year old and the scene with the burning ship was utterly horrifying and unlike any war movie I'd seen up to that point (previously it would've been relatively bloodless popcorn movies like Kelly's Heroes). The submarine pen at the end is real, built by the occupying forces during WW2 at La Rochelle (it was also used, along with the submarine set, in Raiders of the Lost Ark). The pen is now derelict but so massive and heavily reinforced that it's considered too expensive to demolish; there are also WW2 pens at other French ports (I believe the ones at Saint Nazaire, Lorient and Bordeaux are open to the public) whilst the ones at the naval base in Brest are still in use today. If you haven't already, you should also check out Downfall (2004) and Valkyrie (2008) for a couple of different films from the German perspective.

[@Thane36425]

Diving was a double-edged sword. Going deep might make the Uboat harder to detect and could put them under the depth charges (because charges exploding under a sub do more damage), but the pressure at greater depths increased the danger radius of the charges and the hull was under greater stress making it easier to damage. A number of Uboats were lost or severely damaged by ramming attacks by surface vessels. The ships were banged up too but typically survived to be refitted. One such British Captain also developed a deadly tactic. He would have three sub hunters pass over the Uboat's position side by side and saturate a wide area with depth charges. Few Uboats seem to have survived that tactic. However, it was not widely adopted. Going to the Mediterranean was seen as a suicide mission for little return. It just shows how the Germans dissipated what little resources they had. England was the main enemy but rather than focus there, and forcing the Luftewaffe (sp) to cooperated (planes were very good at spotting ships and convoys and sank many ships, especially once they were forced tomuse torpedoes rather than bombs), they'd have had better effect. Instead Uboats were scattered all over the place, and they didn't have many operational ones at the start of the war anyway, not nearly enough nor of suitable types. Lastly, there is a Uboat at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. You can tour through most of it and they have an audio recording of what the engines sounded like. I think they used the sound of those engines in this movie. Recommendations that I haven't seen yet: "Danger Close" about the Australians in Vietnam, one of their more famous battles; and "All Quiet on the Western Front" 1930 version. It follows some young German soldiers through WWI, and this version is better than the later remake.

[@Fornax70]

It’s always interesting to view things from the perspective of “the enemy”. Many German servicemen were not Nazis, just young men (and women) who were fighting for their country and their lives, it’s ok to respect them and sympathise with them. They were not all evil people but unfortunately they were the enemy regardless during war. As Shifty Powers from Easy Company once said, he often thought about the men he had to kill during combat that if circumstances were different they might of been good friends with much in common. Baz Battles video on the last action of the Battleship Scharnhorst trying to escape the Royal Navy is another fascinating example of viewing war from the perspective of the Germans where you find yourself sympathising with the enemy. Great movie and your reaction does it justice.

[@lawrencewestby9229]

My father served in Canadian corvettes escorting convoys from 1940 to 1945. When this movie came out he did not want to watch it. I never asked him why but I could image two reasons, or perhaps a combination of them. One, watching a story about the submarines that sank ships in the convoys, killing most of their crews. Two, watching a story of the men he was dropping depth charges on, trying to kill them. Some notes on submarines of that era. They traveled mainly on the surface using diesel engines until sighted by the enemy or while stalking the enemy. Later in the war when the allies had better air patrols they traveled on the surface mainly at night, although even that wasn't safe due to the use of radar. When submerged, they would use electric motors powered by batteries and could only travel at a much lower speed than when surfaced. The batteries would be recharged and the air refreshed while surfaced at least until late in the war when some u-boats were fitted with snorkels. One other thing, when a submarine reaches crush depth it doesn't actually crush like a can. What happens is a weak spot will fail and the high pressure water fills the boat in a matter of seconds at most, blowing through all the internal bulkheads.

[@phil8821]

Stalingrad is also a great German war movie. And then of course there's "Der Untergang"

[@020redbandita]

30:00 That correspondent wrote the book. U96 is not mentioned on the memorial for the U boot crews in Laboe, because she didn't sink at sea.

[@cerberus3838]

All your followers are so glad that you finally got round to watch this film. You are one to appreciate a good movie when you see one, and we are glad to see you so happy to have watched a true masterpiece.

[@seti48]

Shan, there is a back story on the production of Das Boot and the model subs that were built and used in the production. They did not have an actual U boat. That story is on youtube, I just watched it yesterday.

[@panther7748]

You should read the novel "Das Boot" and the sequel ("Die Festung" - "The Fortress, referring to the "Fortress Europe" prior to the Normandy invasion). The author, Lothar-Günther Buchheim, was a real war correspondant on several U-Boats during WW2. "Lt. Werner" is his alter ego. Most of the plot is fictional, but the setting and the circumstances are quite accurate and some events shown in the movie actually happened in reality. Fun Fact: The real-life U-Boat Ace Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock was Buchheim's captain on several voyages and served as the inspiration for the character of the Captain ("der Alte"/"the old one") in the novel and the movie. He actually visited the movie set once.

[@therealrooster]

Wasn't Lehmann-Willenbrock even a consultant on that movie?

[@Kavala76]

Great review Shan, thank you. Another fantastic film from the German perspective is "Der Untergang" - named "Downfall" in English.

[@panther7748]

This movie was actually a breakthrough for many of the actors. Almost all of them were pretty unknown at the time. Jürgen Prochnow (the Captain) went to Hollywood like Petersen. Herbert Grönemeyer (Lt. Werner, the war correspondant) played roles in several german movies and later became a famous pop singer. Klaus Wennemann (the Chief Engineer), died early, but was an accimplished theatre actor, like Prochnow.

[@Signofevil_Smile4theCam]

@5:05 they used 6 different models of the sub. From a lifesized one to an RC model, all were used for different occaisions. Even the bunker scenes were filmed on real locations. Meaning, they revamped the original bunkers partially for this movie.

[@bc8359]

On KZbin the 6 hrs episodic version is available... It's broken down like a mini series of 1hr episodes. It has scenes that were cut out that flesh out the characters more and shows another air attack the Uboat comes under after leaving port and the dangers they faced from spies reporting Uboat movements. Also they realise the rumours about the British having Huff Duff radar must be true which is why they got spotted in the night and before their periscope in the storm. My favourite war film and yes, there's the making of Das Boot which is brilliant on KZbin. The same uboat that they used to film this, is the same Uboat used in other films, there's only one and based in Malta. It's also used in the new Das Boot series that has a season 3 coming soon which was filmed in 8k if I remember.

[@f0rth3l0v30fchr15t]

It makes a guest appearance in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

[@vincentdesjardins1354]

06:25 "Look how fast they're moving" True fact: Most of the crew run forward during an emergency dive to act as ballast, transfer the weight of their own body to the boat's bow to help it dive faster. Modern submarines are so heavy (compared to WWII U-boats) that this technique is now obsolete. Yet it's sometimes still used in small vessels (scientific, rescue).

[@tsmartin]

I have to disagree with you a bit. Not all German soldiers were Nazi's. I think I'll just leave it at that.

[@willlauzon3744]

Actually very few of overall german soldiers were actual card carrying nazis. The navy was the kriegsmarine, the army was the whermacht and the air force was the luftwaffe. However any soldier in the SS, yeah THEY were nazis.

[@DaEnemy]

Just for your interest: The porcelain at 14:04 has been created in my hometown, wellknown porcelain-manufactures are located here. Regarding the actors: I can probably tell you about all the main characters a long, detailed background story. I feel like I need to get in touch with you, came across your posting coincendatally tonight and will try to contact you now. Best regards from Bavaria, Germany. You did an amazing job and your reactions to the key scenes are very matching and really capture the ideas of the Petersen. Well done!

[@tsogobauggi8721]

13:03 Those explosions do look wonderful. Also good reaction. :) 13:28 Yeah, that is great. Many faces/expressions to convey the feeling of the situation. 13:40 % 32:11 But german soldiers weren't nazis. Nazis were a party not all germans. 17:32 Almost too claustrophobic for me :) 19:17 How it was to be in a U-boat in world war II. 21:17 ...batman ;) 28:24 That laugh is great. 28:47 No. :)

[@TaraLoverNo1]

Fun Fact: Nearly the whole Crew(!) is all played by Big Stars here in Germany! Stars like Jürgen Prochnow, Klaus Wennemann,, Martin Semmelrogge, Ralf Richter, Heinz Hoenig, Claude-Oliver Rudoplph, Herbert Grönemeyer, Uwe Ochsenknecht, Jan Fedder, Erwin Leder The Exterior Scenes were shot with Miniature Models in a big Pool. The Original Boot lnterior which was used for Filiming can be visited in the Bavaria Film Studios in Munich

[@thoso1973]

Trivia: The very same sailing submarine prop made for Das Boot, appears in Raiders Of The Lost Ark. As for your question about the making of the film, my blu-ray version has plenty of extras.

[@donsample1002]

And Spielberg might have broken it. The first time they used it after they got it back from him, it came apart, and a third of it sank. That’s why you don’t see the whole thing when they’re coming in to port at the end.

[@f0rth3l0v30fchr15t]

15:10 The balance starts to shift around 1900; some campaigns before are worse than others. Certainly in the Crimean War (1853-1856), from which good documentation still exists, for all beligerents, death by disease exceeded deaths in combat or from wounds. In WW1, the French suffered around 1.15 million deaths in combat/from wounds/MIA, against a (military) deaths by all causes of between 1.357 and 1.359 million.

[@paulpeterson4216]

"Cross of Iron" is another WWII film from the German perspective. It is about the Eastern Front, and set during a period when the Germans are being pushed back. It also borders on gore-porn, but it really does a good job of character development and also of showing the horrors of combat.

[@ohauss]

It should be pointed out, though, that while it's formally from the German perspective, it's NOT a German movie. It's based on a book by a German author, but being a US movie, puts much more emphasis on the action than on the characterization.

[@mathiasbartl903]

It's by Sam Peckinpah the western director.

[@artbagley1406]

Jürgen Prochnow plays the captain here. First movie I saw him in was "The Seventh Sign" (played Jesus; Demi Moore is also in that film). Mr. Prochnow was in "The Da Vinci Code" and hundreds of other well-known American films. Radar does not detect sounds; Sonar does. Sonar stands for Sound Detection & Ranging vs Radar = radio detection & ranging (relies on sound, too, but in a different manner than Sonar). Shan: when do you start your stand up comedian routine? At 18:34, you comment on the fire onboard the sub, that you "couldn't fathom it." Also, at 18:52, as the sub dives, you say "this film has a lot of down-time." Very Good!!!

[@CRFlixs]

Nice! You should try to find the 5+ hr cut. Really good and even the 1st officer gets a little redemption.

[@123ABanga]

plus the subtitles are wrong in many places on whatever version this is, e.g. the chie saying "When do we finaly get some orders?", original correct is "Dammnit, will we ever see some action?!". It's actually annoying how off the subtitles are in places.

[@petrairene]

Yes, there is a replica submarine. It's still on display at the studio in munich and you can see it on guided tours.

[@staplafara]

If you are interested in other anti-war movies made from the german perspective, i would highly recommend "Die Brücke"-"The Bridge" from 1959. It´s very melodramatic, but really drastic and eye-opening for it´s time. Thank you for your afford and greetings from Germany.

[@TheTiltster]

Some trivias: All scenes filmed in th U-Boat bunkers was filmed "on site" in france. These german-build bunkers were still there when they filmed the sreies. All external whide shots were filmed with models. Smaller midels were shot on the Bodensee, then they had a 1:1-skale model they filmed at the french coast. The original set is still there and is used for Larps (not WWII-Larps though).

[@Antropologopt]

One of my favourite films! Yes, I think there is one or two documentaries about the making of the film and at least one is her on youtube. It is based on the novel of the same name and the novel was written by a navy war correspondent, based on his patrols aboard the U-96. There are a few differences in the adaptation, but they work better in the film. The fun trivia: The actor didn't know what was going to happen in the depth charges scenes, they weren't told, so when things began to happen,some reactions of fear and surprise were true. And they used barbies in a few exterior shots! Not so fun: the "mean overboard" did happened during filming, it was an accident but the reaction was true, the IIWO did shout and they keep rolling. Then they realised that the actor did suffer injuries. He broke a few ribs. Even so, the scene was kept and they shot the cable braking to add to the story.

[@summersun3745]

The book was written by Lothar-Günther Buchheim who was a war correspondent and most characters are based on people he actually met.

[@powerbad696]

GREAT film.On u-boats,extremely close quarters,zero privacy,pretty easy to get on each others nerves and high stress.When I was in the navy,at my a-school in San Diego,there was a pier with navy ships and subs,you could get a guided tour of them on weekends,just show your military id.So one weekend I had a tour aboard a boomer and fast attack subs.I actually considered volunteering for sub duty,but my visit aboard subs changed all that !!! LOL.Hot-racking and abandoning ship made me change my mind !!! LOL.

[@TheDetailsMatter]

The underwater exterior shots are miniatures. The conning tower scenes are shot on a mock-up bridge in a studio tank in front of a blue cyclorama screen. If you look carefully, you can see a blemish in the "blue sky" above the characters' heads where the cyc was damaged and had to be stuck back together with tape. In the years following WWII, allied nations had opportunities to closely examine captured German UBoats and confirm something that had been suspected but not generally known. Because of precision German engineering and construction, German UBoats could dive to over twice the depths that allied subs were capable of.

[@cherrypi_b]

Before I even start your video - FINALLY! This is one of the best (anti-)war films! Looking forward to see your reaction :) Please also do Children of Men.

[@cassidywest5539]

From what I remember blue light means silence on the boat, red light is used during night time so as not to lose night vision if you have to keep watch on the bridge or use the periscope, and normal light is day time.

[@Badner83]

As a kid, I visited the "Bavaria" film studios in Munich and could walk through the real set of the inside of the u-boat. Tourists can walk through it and get a feeling of how narrow the space inside was. And to know, that you can experience this part of such a movie classic by yourself, is very impressive.

[@NoerLuin]

I was around ten when I visited and had not even seen the movie. Despite this I remember it very clearly even though it was more than 15 years ago.

[@nealsterling8151]

I was there too. I did barely fit through the bulkheads. They where tiny, lol.

[@blakerh]

I went inside a German U-BOAT in a museum in Chicago. Very cramped inside.

[@RustyITNerd]

There is a making of on YT, but it's in German without subtitles. A lot was done using models in various sizes and the model during the bombing scene at the end actually sunk for real. The crew wasn't allowed to go out into the sun during filming so the pale teint is also very much for real. Additionally, the food you see at the beginning, was also real food which spoiled while filming in the studio. And yes, the water was cold e.g. while filming the storm scenes.

[@peadarruane6582]

Peterson makes a differentiation between the Nazi state, and the ordinary sailors in the Kriegsmarine. Cinematographically its incredible. Even the way the rush through the Straits of Gibraltar with just the captain on deck, screaming Schnell! as the waves broke over the boat etc.

[@Thunder_1977]

Hey, glad to see you did this one. The outside shots on the "ocean" were actually shot with a 2 meter model of the boat on a lake ;-) For the later shots, the cast was filmed without make up to make them look very withe faced. I visited the movie set on the Bavaria Movie Studios an walked throught the boat set, makes you really claustrophobic if you remember that a whole crew lived in such tiny space for weeks. In my my opinion, the most realistic and intense war movie ever made. If I am not mistaken, it has the most academy award nominations for a german movie to this day.

[@NominePatris]

I thought you'd never stop praising this movie! XD But I agree with everything you said! In fact, you pointed out some details for me that I had missed.

[@teanosuger]

They built a full size U-Boot on a gimbal with no cutouts you can find pictures of the cameraman with a skateboard helmet on for the runs through the boat, the miniature boat can also be seen used in Raiders of the lost Ark.

[@juanramirez-wk8ty]

Great film, Das Boot is a classic. Might I suggest a few other German WW2 films ... Stalingrad, Europa Europa, Aimee& Jaguar and the outstanding Downfall.

[@ShenLong991]

The Set at departure was actually filmed in france, La Rochelle. Germany built those bunkers during WW2 during their occupation to protect U-Boot from Air Bombing Raids and still standing. The thing with depth charges is, that usually they dont destroy the sub right away. But what happens is that the valves, bolts and lights cant take the uneven exploding pressure and the sub takes water. Used so the sub must surface and therefor cant do anything.

[@jamesohara4295]

There were no Submarines in WW2, they were primarly surface ships with the ability to submerge, technically they were Submersibles.

[@donshane7091]

This is great that you did this! I was similarly impressed by this one when I first saw it forever ago. Glad to see you detailed appreciation of it.

[@krondarr8865]

Between the Kriegsmarine(German Navy) and the Luftwaffe(Air Force) I can't remember which branch had the least amount of actual Nazi party members but I do know that the navy was NOT especially considered pro Nazi( at least among the crews). Certainly there were many party members among them but even many of them were members in name only. To me it is mistake to label all of them as nazis. They did their jobs as they did consider the Royal Navy their primary enemy almost the entire war. Even leading allied admirals admitted that the allies used the same tactics in sinking axis vessels. The treatment of the lone party member on the boat was fairly common amongst the rest of the crews. This is by far one of the greatest war films ever made and the best Submarine movie ever made without question.

[@Muck006]

In "victorian Britain" and before that it was possible to "buy a commission", an officer's position, for quite a bit of money ... but only in the army, because the navy knew they couldnt afford landlubbers on their vessels. They needed people who actually learned the craft and becoming an officer on such a ship was social success. So it stands to reason that the navy (which wasnt as big as the air force, because Germany didnt have that many ships and the air force was needed everywhere) wasnt that infiltrated by Nazis. Göring (one of the top Nazis) was air marshall, while Dönitz (the commander of the navy) was more of a soldier/politician than a party member. The real "Nazi soldiers" are the SS troopers, but there is no specific "SS air squadron", it would have been individuals within regular squads. tl;dr Neither air force nor navy had a high concentration of actual Nazis.

[@dunklerwanderer3681]

There is a TV cut of this film that is over 5 hours long. There was also a making of in the DVD box. The footage of the submarine bunkers was filmed in the original WW2 bunkers in La Rochel, France.

[@derworfnet]

Of Petersens' other movies, I can also heartedly recommend "Enemy Mine".

[@d.robertdigman1293]

I bought a copy of that on bluray only last week! Brilliant film!

[@oaf-77]

Classic 80’s sci fi.

[@DonnaCPunk]

Enemy Mine is an underrated gem.

[@thespectator1243]

It is certainly not a perfect SciFi movie, but well done. The Special effects did not age particuarly well though, and so me of the bad guys are maybe a bit to sterotipical. But it's worth a watch for the story, in my opinion.

[@richardsands]

I saw this when it was originally serialised on TV, before being cut down to film length, and it was so epic! And when I did a German exchange in Munich, we visited the studios where they had some of the sets and models used in the filming. Probably still the best war movie ever, imo.