Das Boot has stood the test of time as one of the greatest military films ever, yet it’s not a sweeping epic of troops storming the beach of Normandy and it doesn’t have cinematically lush scenes of helicopters raining hell upon Vietnam. The film takes place almost exclusively within the confines of a German U-boat tasked with sinking British cargo ships during World War II. Director Wolfgang Peterson, sadly more often associated with recent train wrecks like Troy and Poseidon, crafted a tense thriller playing on themes of disillusionment, claustrophobia, and the depths of a man’s soul in the face of almost certain death. Das Boot tells its story with such intensity that audiences sit enraptured even if they enter into their commitment to a three and a half hour epic film about submarines with trepidation. It’s a film that can instill a person with an almost instant love for the medium’s ability to tell a story, and it owes a lot to Petersen’s masterful direction of suspense, near perfect performances from a talented German cast, and a story about the human condition so deeply rooted that you’ll forget the protagonists are soldiers for Nazi Germany - because that's exactly the point.
As World War II rages on, Germany continues its pledge to fighting the battle on the open seas and commits increasingly younger recruits to man their fleet of U-boats. Das Boot follows the submarine headed by Captain Lieutenant Henrich Lehman-Willenbrock (Jurgen Prochnow) with his Chief Engineer (Klaus Wennemann), and Lieutenant Wener (Herbert Gronemeyer) along for the ride as the correspondent in charge of relating the glory of serving the Fuhrer aboard a submarine back to the German people. They set out in high spirits, eager to meet their first adversaries. At sea, they experience a share of near losses where they barely escape with their lives and brilliant victories soured by witnessing the horrific aftermath. It’s a sobering life aboard the submarine and each soldier knows their place, working like cogs in a well oiled machine. But no matter how well constructed and maintained a machine, nothing can prepare it for utter abuse, and that’s exactly what Nazi high command has in mind for Henrich and his men. Breaking surface in the Mediterranean Sea, they receive orders to charge through the Strait of Gibraltar, one of the most heavily fortified strongholds of the British forces, an act which could ultimately spell their doom.
This is and forever shall be the crowning achievement for both Wolfgang Petersen and Jurgen Prochnow, each performing to perfection so that you can’t look away. Even those moments of downtime among the crew serve Petersen in his story as he develops the men living in the vessel beneath the waves and creates distinct personalities for the key characters while setting the tone for the film within the first hour. Wolfgang quickly defines a divide within the German military: the fresh-faced idealists still enthusiastically reciting the German propaganda that landed them in the military and the seasoned veterans of war who enjoy the thrill of battle but have wearied of the rigidity of Nazi dogma and the youngsters who follow it unquestioningly. Petersen draws the line and makes it entirely clear where Henrich and his trusted staff fall, making it easy to sympathize immediately with characters commonly vilified in every other World War II film. What makes Wolfgang’s story so powerful upon closing isn’t the stunning brutality that awaits the crew in their victory lap, but the message it leaves us with: no matter how many times you win in war, until it’s over, you can always lose. War is the house in a casino, you can beat the odds a few times and have flashes of glory, but ultimately it will get it back with interest.
Of the major studios, Sony does the best transfers of classic films without a doubt. The Blu-ray transfer of Das Boot is breathtaking and helps in the immersive nature of Petersen’s film. As the camera winds through the tight spaces amidst the crew running back and forth from aft to bow as depth charges fall from above creating explosive thunderclaps that threaten to rip them apart in the gut wrenching games of cat and mouse that make up this film’s finest moments. The audio is equally brilliant in its restoration and the overall experience will draw you into Das Boot and make it a disc you’ll want to revisit over and over even with its hefty runtime (because you should always watch Das Boot in its still triumphant Director’s Cut, and skip the inferior Theatrical Cut).
Blu-ray Bonus Features
Four featurettes make up the rewarding, and impressively substantial extras section, although some of these are rehashes from past releases of the film, one or two are new to a US release. The featurettes include the “Back to the Boat” documentary with Wolfgang Petersen, the director’s cut of “Going Deeper: Maria’s Take, The Perfect Boat”, “Captain’s Tour - Inside the Boat”, and a 1983 piece on the Battle of the Atlantic. The original 1981 behind the scenes featurette and a great audio commentary by Wolfgang Petersen finish off the set.
"Das Boot" is on sale July 5, 2011 and is rated R. Thriller, War. Directed by Wolfgang Petersen. Written by Wolfgang Petersen, Lothar G. Buchheim (novel). Starring Jurgen Prochnow, Herbert Gronemeyer, Klaus Wennemann, Erwin Leder.
