#247: Das Boot
War is hell no matter which side you’re on — even underwater
This series was originally posted to Twitter on April 19, 2020.
Initial release: September 17, 1981
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
History is written by the winners. Most of the time, war films are too. and in a war of ideology like World War 2, a movie about the perceived “bad guys” can be tricky… which creates a niche that Wolfgang Petersen’s classic claustrophobic film Das Boot fits in perfectly.
Walking in the footsteps of the 1930 classic All Quiet on the Western Front, Das Boot tells the tale of a single patrol in the Atlantic by the submarine U-96, and the hours of boredom and terror that its crew go through, managing to hold themselves — and the ship — together. It’s clear from the start that these are not your stereotypical Nazis. Most of them aren’t even Nazis at all, which was fairly typical for the navy (and there’s a history there: the German Revolution of 1918 started with sailors from the High Seas fleet, after all. There’s debate on just how Nazified the German navy was; generally it seems that early in the war, the navy was staffed by old seadogs who were apolitical or even anti-Nazi, but as casualties mounted, they were replaced by new recruits fresh out of the Hitler Youth.)
Still, though, they have a job to do, and that job, under the command of “the old man” (Jürgen Prochnow) is to patrol the Atlantic in search of a British convoy. As the days pass, ideological differences first start to appear, then cease to matter as disasters start to pile up.
While there are many characters in this film, and most get some screen time, the film largely revolves around the captain and Lieutenant Werner, a young war correspondent embedded with the crew. Werner provides most of the narration and the story is largely from his perspective. Other characters include the religious guy, the anger-issues guy, the guy with a pregnant French girlfriend (whose safety he’s concerned for, as the French Resistance doesn’t like “collaboration”), the funny second watch officer, the Nazi first watch officer that nobody likes, and so on. While some of these characters have names, with so many characters and so much going on names don’t really matter. We recognize them by their faces, their personalities and their roles on the ship, and all of them are fairly distinct from one another.
When the film first opened in the US, the film starts with a note saying that of the 40,000 submariners in service to the German navy during World War II, 30,000 died. Audiences cheered. By the end of the film, however, their mood changed dramatically. This is a film that goes out of its way to endear you to its characters. These aren’t Nazi caricatures as we understand them; even the lone actual Nazi on board gives up his fixation on personal responsibility and hygiene as things take a turn for the worse. Petersen has crafted a beautifully claustrophobic work that manages to make what’s ultimately 50 men crammed on a set that’s maybe five rooms; the attention to historical accuracy is stunning, with a truly impressive level of detail. Throughout the film we’re treated to excellent long shots that run the length of the ship; in the background of many scenes we can see crew members working away, giving the sub a sense of life. It’s little details like this that make the film work. Petersen also makes excellent use of lighting in that fashion that we really only saw in the 70s and early 80s, further enhancing the claustrophobic feel. This sub is dark, dank and, as the mission proceeds, coming apart at the seams.
There are several — and I do mean several versions of the film. The original release was a slim 149 minutes; but there’s versions floating around up there that reach upwards of five hours. The version I watched was the six-part miniseries of ~53 minutes an episode. I can’t really tell you the pros and cons of each version; what I can tell you is that the long version really gives you the opportunity to get to know these characters, to share in their triumphs and despair.
This is a rough, moody film full of technical errata; there’s few films like it, and it’s perhaps the defining film in the submarine warfare genre. Some historical errors and light overacting aside, whichever version you watch, you are guaranteed an emotional roller-coaster.
