Finally watched Das Boot

[Ferdinand Foch]

Hey everyone. Sorry for not being on much these days. Hope that everyone is doing well. I just finally watched "Das Boot" from start to finish. I watched it in German with English subtitles. That was a really good movie, and I did feel touched and saddened about the outcome of the movie. Now I just have to read the novel.

[Njaco]

About time!!!!

Glad to see ya back.

and the only way to watch that movie is in German with subtitles. Next to "SPR" and "Band O Bro", one of the most accurately protrayed movies out there. IMO!

[michaelmaltby]

Same director - Wolfgang Petersen (??) directed a film called "Stalingrad" that has never been widely distributed in N. America but is equally impressive. Worth digging up and watching.

MM

[razor1uk]

I too have watched and own both the Directors Cut version of Stalingrad and Das Boot. I feel that Wolfgang Pederson & crew in both (and likely other..) films, managed to create the excitement, fear, love, comaradery, prejudices (good and bad), humour, brutality & humanity of war with much emotion, thought and closer than most in historical accuracy & historical generalisation/summing-up to create those two epic films.

While films aren't and can never be truely accurate for whatever deemed reasonings, the power and humanity of war is extremely well expressed in the above mentioned films, and for me, also in 'Flight of the Intruder', 'Memphis Belle', 'BAT 21' , 'Letters from Iwo Jima', 'We Were Soldiers', 'Passchendaele' & 'Talvisota' or ' The Winter War'; Finlands epic about the first falied Soviet Invasion.

I am sure there are other recent Hollywood (or other nationalities) war films equally emotive and not 'Pearl Harbour' like, but I either have not seen them all-the-way-through/often-enough or cannot recall them well enough to name instantly with regards to their emotive impact & realism.
I'd love to see a subtitled or dual-audio DVD of Japan's film 'Otoko-tachi no Yamato' or 'Men's of Yamato/The Men of Yamato' over here in UK.

[stona]

Many years ago (mid eighties) I was working at the film studios in Munich on a dreadful Franco-German film with Prochnow,Johnny Hallyday and Karen Allen in the starring roles. I don't think it ever saw the light of day! It was a crap sci-fi jape as I remember.
Anyway the full size replica of the U-boat in which most of the internal filming was done, was still on site and I got to go inside. There were about half a dozen of us in there and it was crowded. One of the techniciams who worked on Das Boot told me they kept the actors in there for many hours at a time which certainly adds to the realism. What those men went through in the real things is barely credible.
Great film about some brave men.
Steve

[Gnomey]

It is a great film and I agree Stona, the submariners were certainly to be respected for the conditions which they went to war in.

Certainly would recommend Stalingrad as another must watch as others have already done.

[Thorlifter]

Excellent film. Glad you got to watch it.

[N4521U]

Funny things is, I have it on now!
Not funny as in haha.
Nothing funny about this one.

[Coors9]

Yea ,two great films

[pbfoot]

Yea ,two great films

seeing how you live in St Johns you ever visit the Crows Nest?
For the other guys that aren't aware the Crowsnest was place in WW2 where the escort ship officers could relax have a few beers and breakfast I believe it was open 24/7 , it has a periscope through the ceiling from a captured Uboat and what i believe was the gun sheilds from lots of the escorts mounted on the walls, its really unlike anything else

[GrauGeist]

Das Boot is a hellova movie.

The only other movie that got to me like this, was Gettysburg...

Definately one worth keeping for the collection

[Ferdinand Foch]

Thanks Njaco! I'll try to stick around longer this time. Though coming in September I may only want to talk about Vietnam. Thesis and all that.

I did see Stalingrad a long time ago, although it was in English. Good movie, but definitely a downer ending. Funny, growing up I would watch these documentaries about the Battle of the Atlantic, always cheering the RN or the USN when they sank a Uboat. After watching this movie, though, I do feel more sympathetic to the Uboat men. Most were ordinary guys, just doing their job like their counterparts on the surface.
GG: Gettysburg was great! Can't say much about Gods and Generals. Another great epic movie about WW2 would have to be "Tora! Tora! Tora!" Now, if they did a movie about Singapore or Tarawa, that would be interesting.

[michaelmaltby]

@FF:

"... Tarawa Beachhead is a 1958 film directed by Paul Wendkos. It stars Columbia Pictures contract star Kerwin Mathews in his first leading role and the husband and wife team of Ray Danton and Julie Adams.[1] The working title of the film was Flag over Tarawa and was originally to have starred Ronald Reagan[2]."

MM

[Ferdinand Foch]

Thanks MM! I'll check and see if my school library has it when I go back.

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Das Boot is probably my favorite WW2 movie. It just done so well and in my opinion very realistic. (Granted I never served on a WW2 Sub, so I would not really know...)