| 
 enlarge | Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Actors: Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, Klaus Wennemann, Hubertus Bengsch, Martin Semmelrogge
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.94
Buy Used: $4.94
You Save: $10.00 (67%)
New (44) Used (38) Collectible (1) from $4.94
Avg. Customer Rating:  362 reviews
Sales Rank: 2993
Format: Ac-3, Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: German (Original Language), English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: Unrated
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 209
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
DVD Layers: 1
DVD Sides: 2
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 4.7 x 0.6
MPN: D22219D
ISBN: 0767802470
UPC: 043396222199
EAN: 9780767802475
ASIN: 0767802470
Theatrical Release Date: February 10, 1982
Release Date: December 10, 1997
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Somewhat worn. Plays fine.
|
| Customer Reviews:
 A grittier, saltier look at war December 8, 2007
It's been probably 20 years since I originally saw this film and the first time I ever saw this version. I was very impressed by this movie, although it certainly doesn't romanticize submarine warfare.
This movie is about a U-boat crew setting out from France during World War II in an effort to sink Allied shipping. Although U-boats had been the terror of the sea at the beginning of the war when the voyage in the film takes place the Germans have lost their edge... the Happy Time is over. U-boats are just as often hunted as the hunter.
The film portrays life on a German submarine, not the most pleasant existence, with food going bad and close quarters and the damp. And it gets considerably worse when the U-boat comes under attack.
Das Boot does not pull punches. Be warned. And it is a long movie. But if you want to get a good feel for what war was like for German submariners, three quarters of whom never made it home, then you should see this movie.
One of the best .Transfer B- November 18, 2007
It is anybodys guess if it is the right way to view this classic for the first time.This version seems to supply more cohesion to the work, and though it is eighty-three minutes longer, it is not any less admirable than the directors cut of years ago.If anything, it is richer and fuller in effect.But going by my preference for good editing,whether films or books or for that matter any work of artistic expression,I prefer the edited directors cut. The more you take out in the right places, the stronger the work will stand ,if it stands at all.As another review suggested, if you are new to this film, view the directors cut first;and then looking at this one will be like getting a special treat of extras that does not ruin the film but rather makes it a longer narrative,and a no less admirable war epic at sea.( as seen from the Axis side)
Very Special Movie November 2, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is the very best WW2 U-boat movie of all time. Very special for those of us who find the submarine saga (both German and US) fascinating.
5 Stars, all the way...and for a lot of reasons.... September 5, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This movie was EXCELLENT. Never thought I'd catch myself saying that about the German side of WW2. But it's true....
Director Petersen did a fantastic job with the set. I read somewhere it was the most expensive German movie of all time as of the late 80s...not sure if that still holds, but I wouldn't be surprised.
The cast is perfect - this is one of those films where the cast all comes together, from the Captain - the "Old Man" at about 30 yrs old - played to absolute perfection by Jurgen Prochnow, to his competent and harried Chief Engineer, to the slightly strange Johann (the Chief Mechanic), to the Bosun (a very believable NCO), to the Nazi "Number One" Watch Officer (nominally the 2nd in command, despite his obvious youth).
I have the VHS version, which is shorter than this Director's Cut. That sort of tipped me against the DVD Director's Cut, in that the voices are not dubbed quite the same. And there were several scenes in the Director's Cut that kind of distracted me, having gotten used to the VHS already. For example, the scenes between the young German sailor and his French girlfriend were ancillary to the basic story. The VHS tape I have does not show her live, only the sailor mulling over her photo.
The idea that German sailors were less-than-enthusiatic-Nazis actually has validity - it's said that Germany went to WW2 with a "people's Army, a National Socialist (Nazi) Luftwaffe, and an Imperial Navy". The point is that the Navy was the least "Nazi" of all the German services. It retained a lot of its old traditions.
In fact, there is scholarly speculation that if Hitler had delayed the war long enough for Germany to get the 200 submarines the Navy command (Admirals Raeder and Doenitz) knew they needed, it might indeed have changed the outcome of the western part of the European war. It most certainly would have delayed Allied victory. As it was, they started with less than 100 operational subs....Adolf Hitler never really understood or thought in terms of the "sea war".
Winston Churchill is said to have stated that the U-Boat force was the only thing he ever really feared about Germany.
The movie has an appropriate amount of drama, action, boredom, life at sea, and "leadership issues" to make this a completely believable story - at least as far as can be done in a couple hours movie. And, ultimately, the sub is sunk in port...
I rate this in the top five on my all-time favorite war movies. It is certainly the best submarine war movie ever made. Its right up there with Saving Private Ryan and others. And - it was done almost 20 years earlier ! In fact, we watched it in ROTC in 1983-84 as a sort of "professional development" lesson.
Intense and supenseful war epic September 1, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The experiences of a U-Boat crew and the futility of war are extraodinarily well documented in this intense film that follows them from launch to return to port. The close quarters of a submarine crew are depicted and the bonding of men under pressure are timeless and cultureless themes. The men who manned Hitler's U-Boats were doing their duty and they had an incredibly insane assignment. This film captures men at war and the sacrifices they make in a way that will speak to any generation.
Extremely well-done.
|
|
|