"When the hunters become the hunted."
"The other side of World War 2."
"Hitler sent out 40,000 men aboard German U-Boats during World War
2. Less than 10,000 returned."
Quote from Captain Hans-Jurgen Hellriegel: "Our patrol planes! Where
are they? Answer that one, Herr Gorin! The British have plenty of
them! Talking big is all he's good for, that fat slob!"
Captain Hans-Jurgen Hellriegel, a well-trained German officer and
his crew don't know what they are getting into, on this tour of duty
aboard their U-Boat. Things have changed in the Atlantic. British
ships, once easy to hunt and sink, now have proficient destroyer escorts,
which are designed to not only protect, but to do some hunting as
well, supported by aircraft. They are not only the hunters, but find
themselves being hunted as well. This not only throws some life-threatening
experiences the Germans' way, but puts them into a psychological struggle
with their own purpose, their own government ideology, thus testing
their fortitude, sense of duty and ability to be professional mariners
in the face of sheer terror, boredom, filth, impossible situations,
missions and their goals.
Captain Hans-Jurgen Hellriegel, played convincingly by Jurgen Prochnow,
is a well-respected, stern commander, who runs a tight ship, and offers
his men strong leadership. Hellriegel has some problems with Der Fuhrer,
and some of his incompetent generals who don't give the U-boats the
air power they need, which seriously compromises their ability to
successfully complete their missions, or even stay alive. As you can
imagine, the good Captain has his hands full, with more problems that
he could've imagined. Will their collective professionalism, luck,
pride, black humor, courage and honor see them through impending disaster?
Das Boot is a classic foreign film, because of its inspired direction,
riveting story, suspenseful action, terrific cast, wonderful cinematography
and engaging music.
German film maker, Wolfgang Peterson chose Lothar G. Buchheim's novel,
and wrote an exciting, thought-provoking, anti-war screenplay, along
with Dean Riesne. Peterson also did a fabulous job directing this
masterpiece. It is no wonder this film got Peterson honored and respected
by the world community, and helped him jump into American films as
a director of suspenseful films. He directed Shattered, Air Force
One, Enemy Mine, In the Line of Fire, and A Perfect Storm.
The wonderful cinematography was the work of Jost Vacano, who has
had forty years experience in German movies. His work on this picture
also gave him opportunities to work on American films. He filmed some
action movies such as Robo Cop, Rocket Gibraltar, Total Recall and
Starship Troopers.
Klaus Padinger, who has enjoyed a 40 + years career creating original
scores for German Films, composed the original music. Das Boot is
rated R, for war time action, some potty & sailor-talk and its gritty,
realistic story, meant for the over 17 crowd.
If you enjoyed Das Boot, you may like "The Enemy Below," "Run Silent,
Run Deep," "The
Hunt For Red October," "Up Periscope," "Crimson Tide," "Crash
Dive," "K-19 The Widow Maker," "Torpedo Run," "We Dive at Dawn," and
"U-571."
