Review of Das Boot (1981) by Andrey B — 18 Aug 2017

I wish I had words to describe this mesmerizing cinematic achievement. Right from the very first shot accompanied by the knockout soundtrack you are totally absorbed by this movie. This movie is unique in that it combines so many genres, it's absolutely not just a 'war film'. It's claustrophobic scenes, suspenseful atmosphere, mind-blowing action scenes bring to mind so many absolutely different movies, like 'Alien', for example. At times it is funny, at times it gives you chills, and at times it is a pure horror movie, like 'Cannibal Holocaust'. The scene when British sailors drown in the sea is a demonic one. Acting is beyond reproach, the whole u-boat crew is like one organism headed by the Jürgen Prochnow's towering performance. There's so many emotional scenes which don't leave you indifferent, like the scene when they escape the doom at the bottom of the sea and emerge to the surface, with captain ecstatically shouting "not yet, comrades!'. It's amazing. The creators of the movie said they wanted to make 'a journey to the edge of the mind' - and they totally achieved it.

The fact that this movie is about German soldiers adds to the realism, for the Germans are more prone to realism, they don't have to emphasize the heroism like, for example, the Americans would do; but to just honestly portray men in the dire straits.

And finally, I'm sure that only the 5-hour version should be watched, I can't imagine what possibly can be cut out of it to make it a two and a half hour film.