@@hawksights Memphis Belle is about american soldiers. :) I would like to mention The Hill, Battle of Britain, The Bridge on the River Kwai and A Bridge too far. Greetings to England from Bremen, Germany
When the long version came to TV in Ireland my parents allowed me to stay up late to watch it. It was a mini series set over weeks on the TV. I was enthralled and mesmerized. No one I ever met thought about Germany or Nazis, that’s bullshit. It was about young men exposed to danger and the heartbreak of war. The world loved and embraced Das Boot and still does. I salute you all. Thank you for making the best submarine film of all time. And yes, the 5 hour version is the one for me.
Ireland flirted with supporting Germany. We all have our viewpoints, especially if family members died in concentration camps. Und Ja!, Ich heisse von Sanders.
I remember the same when it was first shown in Sweden in 1985 (I think). Also it was the first time I was allowed to watch something that explicit, when it comes to language ...
it doesnt matter if you have family members that died in a concentration camp or not the facts stand that the german soldier was just as human as anyone else to think different is entitlement on another level@@kennethsanders786
Das Boot is an incredible film.. And this is coming from a life long British Sailor!.. It told the story from the other side and was accurate.. Huge respect from me..
As a US Navy veteran who was a sonar operator, I LOVE THIS FILM! I have it on DVD. I was the guy operating the sonar looking for the submarines; I would've been the guy operating the ASDIC looking for the U-boat in this flim. The film accurately captures the monotony of life at sea, punctuated by moments of sheer terror. As for capturing camaraderie among the crew, no film does it BETTER! We'd rip on each other, do the stupid shows, etc. Though Germany was our enemy in WWII; though I'm glad we won the U-Boat war; I couldn't root against the men in this film. In most WWII films I ever saw, I rooted against the Germans; I could not and did not do that here. Because I'm a US Navy vet, I can identify with the guys on the sub. Even though I've seen this film multiple times (I have the DVD!), the ending always gets me; they triumph over all their crises only to die when returning home. Das Boot is a powerful, powerful film. It's one of the greatest of all time. We'll never see the likes of Das Boot ever again.
I m a 54 year old german and can remember the first time see the movie. I think this is the most realistic ww2 movie. No hollywood stars. No big special eff. This could happend on any sub. From every country.
@@lemmyfromhamburg did you ever see "A Most Wanted Man"? It was set in Hamburg. It's a good film. I could see why Philip Seymour Hoffman was such a great actor.
Perhaps one of the best and most honest war films ever made. One of my personal favourites. Hollywood would have ruined this film and turned it into just another crappy quick money production instead of the piece of art it became
Truly an epic and poignant film. It's pristinely display raw emotions of the German submariner-courage, guts, love of each other and the tragedies of war. Excellent cast of actors. One of the best war or antiwar films of all times! No glorification of human sufferings here, only their survival.
At the age of 63 I've seen a hell of a lot of war films and Das Boot is the best of the lot. Since its release, I've made the effort to watch it at least once a year and no matter how many times I've seen it the poignant end hits me hard.
if you are into war movies, you really should watch german war movies like Stalingrad. Unlike british, american or russian war movies, almost all german war movies do not glorify war or its "heroes". You are always confronted with the senseless of war and that all sacrifices are worthless and without meaning. German war movies picture the reality and the brutality of war.
Das Boot is an absolute masterpiece of film making. My respect for Wolfgang Peterson as a directorial genius was sealed after my first viewing. There are so few brilliant films about one of the most grievous events in the history of warfare, I can't count the number of times I' watched the CD limited edition of Das Boot... always finding something I missed, the mark of a brilliant film.
I still remember when "Das Boot" came out on TV as a six part, prime time miniseries. Everyone and their dog was glued to the screen. And next day in school everyone quoted it.
PS: At 14:44 the subtitles say "The Scots are breaking." The original line is "Die Schotten brechen" Unfortunately, "Schotten" in this context, means "bulkheads" not "Scots". Similar at 21:25, the subtitles say "bullet shots" while in the original it says "Kugelschotten". Although "Kugel" can colloquially mean "bullet", here "Kugel" is used in the sense of "sphere" and "schotten" as above. 23:34 "it was quite different". Original "dann wurde dir auch schon ganz anders" Hard to translate literally, but meaning "then you were about to throw up" 23:50 In the original Semmelrogge says "Ein edles Gewächs", a standing expression for noble/very good grapes.
I remember the series being shown on BBC2 TV, in the UK, on a Sunday evening in the mid 1980s. It was a must watch series and I enjoyed discussing it's brilliance with my work colleagues on a Monday morning. It was a film about the ordinary sailor thrown into the hostile environment of war. Much respect from the UK.
For me this film is undoubtedly a Masterpiece in the war movies category. The fact that it was entirely "German made" is a major plus to reveal a part of the historical truth concerning the stupidity and the horror of the war ! I don't speak German but I watched it in original version with subtitles and it brings us even closer to these Men of the Underwater war ! A Kelt from Gaul, Rock the Universe !!
I originally saw it in German with subtitles. I then later saw it dubbed in English. This movie absolutely has to be heard in German. The language itself is part of the ambience of the film.
I remember when this incredible series was shown in Scotland, a national newspaper published a letter from a veteran of The Royal Navy whose ship had been sunk by a U-Boat, he was saying that even he was hoping that U-96 would be saved in the scene where they are stuck on the sea floor and where they were all getting choked by chlorine coming from the batteries.
"Die Schotten brechen." - "The Scots are breaking." in the subtitles. "Schotten" means both scottish people and bulkheads in german. So for a native speaker a wonderful slip in translation.
Totally enjoyed this video. I slowed the play down to .75% setting so I could more easily read, understand and see the characters presented and view the sets. I first saw this at a friends' house in 1981 on his VCR and VHS tape in the original German. After seeing it, I bought both for myself, never regretted that buy. Wore out that tape, and since have gone to DVD and Blueray which I have various copies of "Das Boot"..I've always listed this as the BEST submarine film and maybe the best war film ever. I'm talking 100 years of work here including "Best Years of Our Lives" and "Saving Private Ryan" and "12 O'clock High" and "All Quiet on The Western Front". The attention to detail and realism are remarkable.. 78 y/o in USA.
Hey RAY, greetings from 53 y/o German. My late mom and my late aunt had to flee from the russians from Strausberg, east of Berlin in 1944 when they were coming. Auntie told me how they hit the ditches when the "Tiefflieger" - lowflying strafing fighter planes hit them. After their pass some people got up again and some didn't. I am glad that this documentary had the English subtitles for you and everybody to follow the story of the making of this movie and TV series to give You so much more background information. Indeed a lot of these actors thankfully got a career jumpstart from this production. I am from Hamburg and the guy you see at 34:28 is the late Jan Fedder, who became an icon of Hamburg originality. The guy at 16:08 - Herbert Grönemeyer from Bochum, thankfully still among us, had quite a pop career going on by the way. 😇See here ruclips.net/video/bpGIDOBZqgM/видео.html This is a nice one too where everybody in the football stadium sings with him. Not just the refrain but the whole song. He promised to sing this should the football community VFL Bochum crack the 10.000 member mark, whcih it did: ruclips.net/video/AFRQQCZglwI/видео.html
An amazing movie. I still watch it several times a year, and one of my young sons favourites. He sometimes stands at the top of the stairs and screams "Alarm!"
Quality, in very sense. I vividly remember watching the series on tv in the 80’s as a kid with my brother and parents at home in the UK - it was the highlight of our week. We were all totally gripped and wanting the boys to make it. Hearty respect to those men. Duty bound and never broken. To all those sailors that served on both sides: If you were here I’d get the rums in, it’s the least I could do.
I watched the mini series when I was young. Couldn't wait for the next episode. I didn't expect to be rooting for Germans in war film but the actors performances were so good, you could only see their humanity in an inhuman situation.
During the 70s I was in the Australian Air Force; later I became a newspaper and radio film critic/journalist regularly writing on films being released for 'free-to-air' TV screening. I must confess that I was not too fond of the original cinema release of 'Das Boot'. I had already known that it was part of a bigger work that 'one day' might turn up as a TV mini-series which were popular at the time. Yet, when I was given an advance copy of the 209 minute Director's cut my opinion was totally turned around. I must stress that I never, for a moment, thought that, any version, of this film/TV series was glorifying war in any way. To me, 'Das Boot' has always been about the suffering of those submariners at the cutting edge of incredible hostilities. The real life casualty figures for the Kriegsmarine submarine service being at a tragic 30K mirrors the 50K losses of Allied aircrews due to their around the clock bombing campaign over occupied Europe and Germany. Neither campaigns were 'glorious' or pro-war. 'Das Boot' brilliantly shows us the physical and psychological trauma of serving while 'locked up' in a metal tube that can deal out death while also being so vulnerable itself to sudden destruction; just as it was for the 'metal tubes' that flew across the skies that could, at any second, go down in a blaze of flame and destruction. The only saving grace for the fliers was their ability to sleep between clean sheets back at base, if they survived. Submariners, rightly held up as heroes by their own side, were treated like 'kings' and given comforts and perks largely unavailable to the general public at the time. But they too had to survive the 'hell underwater' to receive those luxuries. 'Das Boot' is, undoubtedly, the best 'submarine film' ever made. For pure filmmaking skill, taking chances and steering deliberately away from stereotypical 'sub movies', 'Das Boot' has a clear shot at being considered as one of the top 50 motion pictures ever made. Sadly, I'm still waiting, and hoping, for someone to make its counterpart film showing similar, raw, situations of the aircrews flying long-range bomber missions of WW2. Perhaps '12 o'clock High' is a contender but it is flawed in that it really only shows the trauma felt by its lead character and barely dwells on the collective 'torture' of enduring flak, fighters and flying accidents etc. An excellent documentary on 'Das Boot'. This video, I think, should also have a dubbed English version so one can take in more of the gripping visuals while the filmmaker and actors describe the incredible difficulties of making a truly outstanding film. Thank you so much for the upload. Cheers, Bill H.
Thank you so much for uploading this, I couldn't find anything behind the scenes with English subtitles. I just recently finished the mini-series, I did not even know it existed long after I watched the director's cut back in the day, which I thought of nothing more but a masterpiece. The mini-series takes a masterful foundation and builds even more on it, the sheerness of dull moments, the tension, the horror and the dreadful immersion make this story so believable and profoundly realistic. The final shot is so deeply etched in my memory and I doubt I will ever forget it.
Thank you so much for the English subtitles and for the whole film,! That's really a splendid picture, and it was very interesting to see a film about the real story about its production!
The ending of this documentary, with the film veterans talking about how they have "brotherhood" despite the madness of the production, is obviously a metaphor for war veteran fondly remembering their sense of purpose and comradeship despite the horror of war.
Can you explain how in the Gibraltar sequence, where they sink out of control, before touching bottom and thereby taking additional damage, they can't surface by blowing the tanks? The DVDs don't seem to show them taking on significant Wasser before touching the bottom. Why don't they use all their high-pressure air to blow the tanks and surface, and avoid touching bottom (or reaching crush depth, which is what it would have seemed to them was about to happen to them)? Do you see this as a flaw in the plot?
I saw the tv series years before the film. It is infinitely superior in every way. When I got to see the film, even the directors cut, I was very disappointed it's not even a pale shadow of the series!
Yanks didnt when they was blowing up a airfield for battle of britain film, neither did we... Maybe if french had a few more exploits to turn into films, or get over the guilt nor would they..lifes too short for sour lemons, espeically knowing one day you may need them as allies... Im glad my great, great, great,great grandads dead so he cant see a film about 1066!!!in fact i cant either...lol...
I was stationed in Germany with the Canadian Army during the later parts of the production. Given the general leftist youth movement at the time there (sounds very similar today) I am not surprised that this classic was not accepted at the time. If you don't see this as an anti war movie just maybe consider what the characters portrayed may have become with out war. Thank you so much for this behind the scenes view. Danke, Danke!
There is a version of DAS BOOT, that comes in a metal DVD container, that is around 6.5 hours long- approximately. This version incorporates much from the German TV show & it's simply great !! Myself ? I must watch the German version with the English subtitles. For me, this is the only way.... 🚬😎👍
das Video lauft 35sec und ich hab schon Gänsehaut,ich liebe diesen Film so abgöttisch, dass ich U-Boot Simulation auf voll realistisch spiele und sogar das Navigieren auf See lernte und wie man Torpedo Rechner verwendet und Kurs bestimmt usw.Selbst wie die Enigma funzte lernte ich,jedoch ehr erfolglos,das war mir dann zu viel arbeit :D
''absolutely brilliant movie''standing the test of time ''fourty five year's on as freash today as the first time i watched it''from new zealand,respect to everyone involved with the project.cheer''s everyone and thank you.
Watched this movie in Munster West Germany I was a British soldier. A wet Saturday afternoon. German which I couldn't speak. But made a impression on me,!
Brilliant ! One of the best (anti) war films ever. Glad it was a German film. I'd hate to think what Hollywood have done to it - thinking of 'Pearl Harbour', 'Fury', 'Green Beret' and other pieces of crap.
This was such an incredible movie. The music also was so haunting and dramatic. I have watched it about 10 times to date. So interesting to see things from a German perspective.
Quel film magnifique. J'avais vu ce film avec celle qui est devenue la mère de nos enfants, on commencait à sortir ensemble, et avant de voir ce film elle n'avait jamais aimé les films de guerre. Pourtant elle avait pas raté une minute de ce film rivée à son siège. Ce film n'était pas un film de guerre, mais un film sur la vie, ses joies, ses peines, ses douleurs, ses regrets et sur sa fin... J'ai vu ce film au complet plus d'une 20 aine de fois et avait même acheté une copie, celle là à un musée aux USA en 2018.0
I took the freedom to translate your comment to english: What a magnificent movie. I had seen this film with the one who became the mother of our children, we were starting to go out together, and before seeing this film she had never liked war films. Yet she had not missed a minute of this film riveted to her seat. This film was not a war film, but a film about life, its joys, its sorrows, its pains, its regrets and its end... I have seen this complete film more than 20 times and had even bought a copy, this one at a museum in the USA in 2018.0
As a lifelong student of military with a background as the son of a screenwriter/playwright and WWll Eighth AAF combat vet and a mother who was a film editor, there's probably no more critical viewer of movies than me. "Das Boot" is a masterpiece. Had Buchheim not stood his ground and allowed Hollywood influence, the film would undoubtedly have been ruined, like almost every otherwise good novel Hollywood gets its hands on. From a personal perspective, this film easily rivals, if not eclipses the quality of another masterpiece, Peter Weir's "Gallipoli."
I don't understand why the film was seen as a failure, because I thought it was absolutely brilliant, I bought the DVD as soon as it came out , this film is now a classic, RIP Wolfgang Peterson, and the cast members who have also Passed.
"Das Boot" was never a failure. It was a huge hit in Germany. Then, US, UK, the rest of the English speaking world and globally. It was (Trump voice), a YUUUUGE hit.
In the eyes of Buchheim the cinema release left out too much of the dragging routine that drove the crew stir crazy. Scenes which later came very much to the front in the 1985 TV-miniseries which by far is the definitive version to watch. Buchheim's opinion was that the cinema cut focused too much on the action. On the side of the press shitting all over it, you must know that these brats were the "generation of 68", meaning the leftist march through the institutions was at "flank speed". Everything concerning the war had to have been mournful and self deprecating because "muh nazis", regardless of how many veterans back then were in their early to mid 60s.
@@mikeforester3963 Bucheim seemed to forget that a cinema film can't show everything that the TV version showed. Stuff has to be cut and edited. By all accounts he was a difficult, cantakerous old git (RIP) and Petersen's (RIP) genius is making his book into a viewable masterpiece.
@@Mango62uk It's why it was stupid to make the cinema movie in the first place. Studio execs being studio execs... Imagine someone demanded to make a single 3-hour version of Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. You'd have to cut _so_ much, you'd just cripple the entire thing into nonsense.
My uncle served in the North Atlantic on board US Coast Guard Cutter Cambell and did battle with U-606 after a surface attack 606 was sunk and Cambell was badly damaged,German sailors were taken on board,the convoy sailed on and both German and crew of Cambell saved ship and made slow time to Iceland, my uncle had great respect for German sub mariners for the rest of his life, God Bless you Uncle Duke……Fair Seas
Absolutely enthralling the making of this epic. I recall another very fine depiction of a submariners existence, 'We Dive at Dawn'. As an older bloke I remember the effects of the war relating to London and Portsmouth. Strangely Das Boot did not raise any nationalistic feelings within me, one could associate with these individuals from a more humanitarian aspect, ordinary people coerced and manipulated into a situation no sane individual would ever contemplate. These brave lads were invariably Mariners doing what Establishments term, as, their duty for their country, they were seldom politically motivated and for that reason one felt deeply for their circumstances as one would for members of the Royal Navy, as an example. Back in 1949 I had the privilege to explore U776 close to the Tower of London, it had been surrendered at the close of war. It was magnificent but strangely my uppermost recollection is of the gleaming copper alloy utensils in the Galley area. I am approaching 85 now, I shall never forget that and Das Boot brought it back to me most vividly.
For me two german films are excellent: "Das boot" and "Stalingrad", I've read all Buchheim books and "Das boot" is very realistic. And this excellent music! No Hollywood cr*p with love stories, but crude reality of war...
7:00 Ein Glück, denn haute liegt so ziemlich das gesamte englischsprachige Kriegsfilmpublikum auf den Knien vor dieser Produktion (besonders dem TV Mehrteiler von 1985) und schaut ihn sogar im O-Ton mit Untertiteln. Wir können dankbar sein, daß der Buchheim so ein Wadenbeißer war. _(Fortunately, because today almost the entire English speaking war film audience kneels before this production (especially the 1985 TV-miniseries) and watches it in original voice with subtitles. We can be thankful for Buchheim being such a hard-ass.)_
I saw Das Boot when it was first theatrically released in the US. I was so impressed with it, it was the first (and only) film that I insisted to my parents that they must see it (and we saw it together). To this day, I consider it the greatest war movie, and the greatest anti-war movie, ever made. (Note that a "great war movie" doesn't make war "great." It means only that it conveys some sense of the reality of war, which, in itself, is not "great.")
I will also add that at the time of my viewing of this we have seen Stalingrad, and All Quiet on the Western Front so, great German war films that continue to show an honest depiction of German war experiences.
Großartige Doku, die den Film nicht spoilert und noch immer zeitgemäß ist! Aber wenn im Eck Arte steht, ist (auch wenn keine Eigenproduktion) ja auch eine Erwartungshaltung da.
I've lost count of the number of times I've watched this masterpiece. If anyone doubts the horror of war, watch this film, and All Quiet on the Western Front.
the cinemas should have played it with an theatre style intermission. two 1.5h parts. giving the whole 3+h experience. even then, the longest, mini-series, version is the best. the movie needs time to create the tension, give information, and then after the waiting, and buildup, the action feels so much more dramatic. its a great drama, love film (sailors love for the sea), adventure, everything. of course there is remorse for why they did what they did, but the adventure itself, outside of politics, is still great.
51:00 The Directors cut is also great. It has everything important in it. The Extended cut mostly depicts stuff like how the commander acts with his crew and there are more personal stories involved
The long, dragging parts _are_ not just an important, but a critical part. Without them, it's like giving us the sinking to the ground near Gibraltar, then two scenes of them fixing something, and then the rising back up - the whole scene loses pretty much _everything_ important without showing all the effort and fears and suffering before.
@@Wolf-ln1ml Keep in mind that long movies in theaters have a terrible track record. Only in French movies can the actors stare at each other for 5 minutes then light cigarettes.
@@aceroadholder2185 What's your basis for that? Or, more to the point, what time period are you looking at for that? I'll happily agree that long movies don't do well _now_ due to the horrible attention span of all too many people. But a couple of decades ago? Very different situation as far as I know...
The six hour version is great, but I still dare to hope for a remastered sound on that. With today's technology, the boat could come alive instead of sounding like a speakers cabin in all of the dialogs
I should as an Englishman have my doubts about this film. However, the number of U Boat sailors, etc. who died is almost the same as our convoy sailors, 30,000. I'll upset a few now. Without any doubt, no other country has ever produced such a well-made and honest war film.
Great movie. I can't believe they got negative reviews in Germany. I remember the scene where they are diving deep, I was getting claustrophobic in the movie theater.
Really smart approach to work out how to film the complicated effect shots before doing anything else. No sense in spending money on other things when you're not sure yet if the movie even can be done.
Greatest film ever made. Much respect from England.
Jip. Brilliant.
Thanks, but there are also great movies about english soldiers. I love Memphis Belle, sink the bismarck and all those classics
@@hawksights Memphis Belle is about american soldiers. :) I would like to mention The Hill, Battle of Britain, The Bridge on the River Kwai and A Bridge too far. Greetings to England from Bremen, Germany
Tractor 👈😁
@@hawksights - Dude, they just can't compare...
When the long version came to TV in Ireland my parents allowed me to stay up late to watch it. It was a mini series set over weeks on the TV. I was enthralled and mesmerized.
No one I ever met thought about Germany or Nazis, that’s bullshit. It was about young men exposed to danger and the heartbreak of war. The world loved and embraced Das Boot and still does.
I salute you all. Thank you for making the best submarine film of all time. And yes, the 5 hour version is the one for me.
Ireland flirted with supporting Germany. We all have our viewpoints, especially if family members died in concentration camps. Und Ja!, Ich heisse von Sanders.
I remember the same when it was first shown in Sweden in 1985 (I think). Also it was the first time I was allowed to watch something that explicit, when it comes to language ...
What a *_night_* you had!
it doesnt matter if you have family members that died in a concentration camp or not
the facts stand that the german soldier was just as human as anyone else
to think different is entitlement on another level@@kennethsanders786
Das Boot is an incredible film..
And this is coming from a life long British Sailor!..
It told the story from the other side and was accurate.. Huge respect from me..
As a US Navy veteran who was a sonar operator, I LOVE THIS FILM! I have it on DVD. I was the guy operating the sonar looking for the submarines; I would've been the guy operating the ASDIC looking for the U-boat in this flim. The film accurately captures the monotony of life at sea, punctuated by moments of sheer terror. As for capturing camaraderie among the crew, no film does it BETTER! We'd rip on each other, do the stupid shows, etc. Though Germany was our enemy in WWII; though I'm glad we won the U-Boat war; I couldn't root against the men in this film. In most WWII films I ever saw, I rooted against the Germans; I could not and did not do that here. Because I'm a US Navy vet, I can identify with the guys on the sub. Even though I've seen this film multiple times (I have the DVD!), the ending always gets me; they triumph over all their crises only to die when returning home. Das Boot is a powerful, powerful film. It's one of the greatest of all time. We'll never see the likes of Das Boot ever again.
Well said! Thank you for your service!
@@j.z.598THANK YOU!
I m a 54 year old german and can remember the first time see the movie. I think this is the most realistic ww2 movie. No hollywood stars. No big special eff. This could happend on any sub. From every country.
@@lemmyfromhamburg I agree. So, how many times have YOU seen this classic movie?
@@lemmyfromhamburg did you ever see "A Most Wanted Man"? It was set in Hamburg. It's a good film. I could see why Philip Seymour Hoffman was such a great actor.
Perhaps one of the best and most honest war films ever made. One of my personal favourites. Hollywood would have ruined this film and turned it into just another crappy quick money production instead of the piece of art it became
FOR REAL! And I say that as an American.
Truly an epic and poignant film. It's pristinely display raw emotions of the German submariner-courage, guts, love of each other and the tragedies of war. Excellent cast of actors. One of the best war or antiwar films of all times! No glorification of human sufferings here, only their survival.
At the age of 63 I've seen a hell of a lot of war films and Das Boot is the best of the lot. Since its release, I've made the effort to watch it at least once a year and no matter how many times I've seen it the poignant end hits me hard.
if you are into war movies, you really should watch german war movies like Stalingrad. Unlike british, american or russian war movies, almost all german war movies do not glorify war or its "heroes". You are always confronted with the senseless of war and that all sacrifices are worthless and without meaning. German war movies picture the reality and the brutality of war.
@@ulliulliwell obviously. They lost both wars.
If theyd won i assure theyd be glorifying their victory.
Please name a british film glorifying war.
DITO
@@Andy-ub3ub lol.. Really? a positive comment about german war movies triggered your fragile British ego?
The end is the ultimate example of the futility of war.
Das Boot is an absolute masterpiece of film making. My respect for Wolfgang Peterson as a directorial genius was sealed after my first viewing. There are so few brilliant films about one of the most grievous events in the history of warfare, I can't count the number of times I' watched the CD limited edition of Das Boot... always finding something I missed, the mark of a brilliant film.
You’ve gotta give the book a read..
I still remember when "Das Boot" came out on TV as a six part, prime time miniseries. Everyone and their dog was glued to the screen. And next day in school everyone quoted it.
One of my favorite movies of all time - RIP Wolfgang Petersen.
PS: At 14:44 the subtitles say "The Scots are breaking." The original line is "Die Schotten brechen" Unfortunately, "Schotten" in this context, means "bulkheads" not "Scots".
Similar at 21:25, the subtitles say "bullet shots" while in the original it says "Kugelschotten". Although "Kugel" can colloquially mean "bullet", here "Kugel" is used in the sense of "sphere" and "schotten" as above.
23:34 "it was quite different". Original "dann wurde dir auch schon ganz anders" Hard to translate literally, but meaning "then you were about to throw up"
23:50 In the original Semmelrogge says "Ein edles Gewächs", a standing expression for noble/very good grapes.
at least it's not "the scots are vomiting." :P
I remember the series being shown on BBC2 TV, in the UK, on a Sunday evening in the mid 1980s. It was a must watch series and I enjoyed discussing it's brilliance with my work colleagues on a Monday morning.
It was a film about the ordinary sailor thrown into the hostile environment of war. Much respect from the UK.
In my opinion one of greatest films ever made. Never grow tired of rewatching it.
For me this film is undoubtedly a Masterpiece in the war movies category. The fact that it was entirely "German made" is a major plus to reveal a part of the historical truth concerning the stupidity and the horror of the war !
I don't speak German but I watched it in original version with subtitles and it brings us even closer to these Men of the Underwater war !
A Kelt from Gaul,
Rock the Universe !!
I originally saw it in German with subtitles. I then later saw it dubbed in English. This movie absolutely has to be heard in German. The language itself is part of the ambience of the film.
I remember when this incredible series was shown in Scotland, a national newspaper published a letter from a veteran of The Royal Navy whose ship had been sunk by a U-Boat, he was saying that even he was hoping that U-96 would be saved in the scene where they are stuck on the sea floor and where they were all getting choked by chlorine coming from the batteries.
Ex RCN stoker here. Easily one of the finest films ever made, and a personal favourite. Well done doc. Thanx.
One of the best films ever made! ... Thank you for all your efforts!
As an ex-submariner I know what these brave me went through, a brilliant film well done.
"Die Schotten brechen." - "The Scots are breaking." in the subtitles. "Schotten" means both scottish people and bulkheads in german. So for a native speaker a wonderful slip in translation.
Totally enjoyed this video. I slowed the play down to .75% setting so I could more easily read, understand and see the characters presented and view the sets. I first saw this at a friends' house in 1981 on his VCR and VHS tape in the original German. After seeing it, I bought both for myself, never regretted that buy. Wore out that tape, and since have gone to DVD and Blueray which I have various copies of "Das Boot"..I've always listed this as the BEST submarine film and maybe the best war film ever. I'm talking 100 years of work here including "Best Years of Our Lives" and "Saving Private Ryan" and "12 O'clock High" and "All Quiet on The Western Front". The attention to detail and realism are remarkable.. 78 y/o in USA.
... and... "Paths of Glory".
@@pvkosmos5548 True, even tho I disliked that film for the reality it portrayed.
Hey RAY, greetings from 53 y/o German. My late mom and my late aunt had to flee from the russians from Strausberg, east of Berlin in 1944 when they were coming. Auntie told me how they hit the ditches when the "Tiefflieger" - lowflying strafing fighter planes hit them. After their pass some people got up again and some didn't.
I am glad that this documentary had the English subtitles for you and everybody to follow the story of the making of this movie and TV series to give You so much more background information. Indeed a lot of these actors thankfully got a career jumpstart from this production. I am from Hamburg and the guy you see at 34:28 is the late Jan Fedder, who became an icon of Hamburg originality.
The guy at 16:08 - Herbert Grönemeyer from Bochum, thankfully still among us, had quite a pop career going on by the way. 😇See here
ruclips.net/video/bpGIDOBZqgM/видео.html
This is a nice one too where everybody in the football stadium sings with him. Not just the refrain but the whole song. He promised to sing this should the football community VFL Bochum crack the 10.000 member mark, whcih it did:
ruclips.net/video/AFRQQCZglwI/видео.html
You skipped the N° 2 best sub film in history: "The enemy below" of 1957...!
@@ramirosauce8764 You are right, it's just that I am a DE guy and that movie is #1 in my "tin can" jaundra of great war movies.
An amazing movie. I still watch it several times a year, and one of my young sons favourites. He sometimes stands at the top of the stairs and screams "Alarm!"
🤣👍
Not even to this days,they can't make movie like Das Boot... Best war movie ever...
I read the book before the movie existed ... and the book is the key to success, because it is brutal and honest and REAL.
Quality, in very sense. I vividly remember watching the series on tv in the 80’s as a kid with my brother and parents at home in the UK - it was the highlight of our week. We were all totally gripped and wanting the boys to make it. Hearty respect to those men. Duty bound and never broken. To all those sailors that served on both sides: If you were here I’d get the rums in, it’s the least I could do.
I watched the mini series when I was young. Couldn't wait for the next episode. I didn't expect to be rooting for Germans in war film but the actors performances were so good, you could only see their humanity in an inhuman situation.
As a US submarine sailor, I found this documentary very interesting, and the movie is the best! Thank you!
28:30- ist ja irre. Das stimmt tatsächlich. Verrückt, was Menschen so einfällt.
Auch der Typ der das vorführt ... Beste Erklär-Stimme und Ruhe dabei.
During the 70s I was in the Australian Air Force; later I became a newspaper and radio film critic/journalist regularly writing on films being released for 'free-to-air' TV screening.
I must confess that I was not too fond of the original cinema release of 'Das Boot'. I had already known that it was part of a bigger work that 'one day' might turn up as a TV mini-series which were popular at the time.
Yet, when I was given an advance copy of the 209 minute Director's cut my opinion was totally turned around. I must stress that I never, for a moment, thought that, any version, of this film/TV series was glorifying war in any way.
To me, 'Das Boot' has always been about the suffering of those submariners at the cutting edge of incredible hostilities.
The real life casualty figures for the Kriegsmarine submarine service being at a tragic 30K mirrors the 50K losses of Allied aircrews due to their around the clock bombing campaign over occupied Europe and Germany. Neither campaigns were 'glorious' or pro-war.
'Das Boot' brilliantly shows us the physical and psychological trauma of serving while 'locked up' in a metal tube that can deal out death while also being so vulnerable itself to sudden destruction; just as it was for the 'metal tubes' that flew across the skies that could, at any second, go down in a blaze of flame and destruction.
The only saving grace for the fliers was their ability to sleep between clean sheets back at base, if they survived.
Submariners, rightly held up as heroes by their own side, were treated like 'kings' and given comforts and perks largely unavailable to the general public at the time. But they too had to survive the 'hell underwater' to receive those luxuries.
'Das Boot' is, undoubtedly, the best 'submarine film' ever made. For pure filmmaking skill, taking chances and steering deliberately away from stereotypical 'sub movies', 'Das Boot' has a clear shot at being considered as one of the top 50 motion pictures ever made.
Sadly, I'm still waiting, and hoping, for someone to make its counterpart film showing similar, raw, situations of the aircrews flying long-range bomber missions of WW2. Perhaps '12 o'clock High' is a contender but it is flawed in that it really only shows the trauma felt by its lead character and barely dwells on the collective 'torture' of enduring flak, fighters and flying accidents etc.
An excellent documentary on 'Das Boot'. This video, I think, should also have a dubbed English version so one can take in more of the gripping visuals while the filmmaker and actors describe the incredible difficulties of making a truly outstanding film.
Thank you so much for the upload.
Cheers, Bill H.
Thank you so much for uploading this, I couldn't find anything behind the scenes with English subtitles. I just recently finished the mini-series, I did not even know it existed long after I watched the director's cut back in the day, which I thought of nothing more but a masterpiece. The mini-series takes a masterful foundation and builds even more on it, the sheerness of dull moments, the tension, the horror and the dreadful immersion make this story so believable and profoundly realistic. The final shot is so deeply etched in my memory and I doubt I will ever forget it.
where did you find the mini-series
Good for you to have seen the Miniseries.
It actually came out in 1985 whilst the Director’s Cut didn’t until 1997.
@@motchiman5423 My question too.
@@davidhull7115 dident find anything about it till now...
@@motchiman5423 Thanks. I couldn’t find anything about it either.
ich habe diesen film 17 mal gesehen und den roman 4 mal gelesen!!!! ein absoluter EPOS!!!!!!
Great film, great actors, great music ........ one of my favorite war movie!
Thank you so much for the English subtitles and for the whole film,! That's really a splendid picture, and it was very interesting to see a film about the real story about its production!
The benchmark, the Gold Standard of Submarine Films!
Faszinierend ! Diese Doku zu sehen ist so spannend wie der Film selber… 👍🏻👏🏻
Jawohl!
Grönemeyer ist befremdlich mittlerweile!
Gröni? entweder 'Leutnant Werner' oder 'Currywurst'
@@DinHamburg😂
I am now 72 & a brit, this series is unforgetable & will go down as a true classic like high noon etc etc.
The ending of this documentary, with the film veterans talking about how they have "brotherhood" despite the madness of the production, is obviously a metaphor for war veteran fondly remembering their sense of purpose and comradeship despite the horror of war.
I even called my yacht ' Das Boot ' and had a happy swordfish on the bow.
now this will be my lifetime goal to achieve
As a retired US Navy Submarine sailor, I can truthfully say the Book and the movie are top notch and I recommend it to anyone with an open mind.
Can you explain how in the Gibraltar sequence, where they sink out of control, before touching bottom and thereby taking additional damage, they can't surface by blowing the tanks? The DVDs don't seem to show them taking on significant Wasser before touching the bottom. Why don't they use all their high-pressure air to blow the tanks and surface, and avoid touching bottom (or reaching crush depth, which is what it would have seemed to them was about to happen to them)? Do you see this as a flaw in the plot?
I saw the tv series years before the film. It is infinitely superior in every way. When I got to see the film, even the directors cut, I was very disappointed it's not even a pale shadow of the series!
I can just imagine the feelings of the people of La Rochelle during the filming.... gladto have seen this.
Yanks didnt when they was blowing up a airfield for battle of britain film, neither did we... Maybe if french had a few more exploits to turn into films, or get over the guilt nor would they..lifes too short for sour lemons, espeically knowing one day you may need them as allies... Im glad my great, great, great,great grandads dead so he cant see a film about 1066!!!in fact i cant either...lol...
Not different than Germans surviving years of French occupation.
I was stationed in Germany with the Canadian Army during the later parts of the production. Given the general leftist youth movement at the time there (sounds very similar today) I am not surprised that this classic was not accepted at the time. If you don't see this as an anti war movie just maybe consider what the characters portrayed may have become with out war. Thank you so much for this behind the scenes view. Danke, Danke!
The stuntman who drove the model boat even needs subtitles for German viewers. 😁
lol yes, he's got quite the thick Bavarian accent.
@@mikeforester3963 Which as a Northern German is kind of funny for a guy who steers a submarine all day.
There is a version of DAS BOOT, that comes in a metal DVD container, that is around 6.5 hours long- approximately. This version incorporates much from the German TV show & it's simply great !!
Myself ? I must watch the German version with the English subtitles. For me, this is the only way....
🚬😎👍
Saw this in theaters at the age of 12 in Greenwich CT. I still vividly recall much of it. That's a great film.
Für mich ist DAS BOOT gleichfalls der Beste Film den ich je gesehen habe......
Wonderful documentary of a masterpiece film!!!
das Video lauft 35sec und ich hab schon Gänsehaut,ich liebe diesen Film so abgöttisch, dass ich U-Boot Simulation auf voll realistisch spiele und sogar das Navigieren auf See lernte und wie man Torpedo Rechner verwendet und Kurs bestimmt usw.Selbst wie die Enigma funzte lernte ich,jedoch ehr erfolglos,das war mir dann zu viel arbeit :D
Thank you for posting this wonderful documentary on one of my top favorite war movies.
Watched the first series when it came out, then bought the video, now have the DVD. brilliant film!!
I thank The Critical Drinker for producing a video of the movie. I watched the mini series and I watch it every now and then.
It's fascinating to look back at all these young, unknown actors and amateurs who went on to become the top rank of German film faces.
It deserved Oscars. Its amazingly well crafted movie.
''absolutely brilliant movie''standing the test of time ''fourty five year's on as freash today as the first time i watched it''from new zealand,respect to everyone involved with the project.cheer''s everyone and thank you.
Ich liebe dieses Film. Einfach. Für mich der beste Film des alles zeiten.
Watched this movie in Munster West Germany I was a British soldier. A wet Saturday afternoon. German which I couldn't speak. But made a impression on me,!
All submariners are brave heroes. They frought bravely under unimaginable conditions and constant danger. Respect
the real LI (chief engineer) of U96, Friederich Grade, died in Oct 2023, aged 107.
Brilliant ! One of the best (anti) war films ever. Glad it was a German film. I'd hate to think what Hollywood have done to it - thinking of 'Pearl Harbour', 'Fury', 'Green Beret' and other pieces of crap.
This was such an incredible movie. The music also was so haunting and dramatic. I have watched it about 10 times to date. So interesting to see things from a German perspective.
The music really MATCHES the film! It captures the various events very well.
You could smell this movie that's how realistic it is
Truly a masterpiece.
Quel film magnifique. J'avais vu ce film avec celle qui est devenue la mère de nos enfants, on commencait à sortir ensemble, et avant de voir ce film elle n'avait jamais aimé les films de guerre. Pourtant elle avait pas raté une minute de ce film rivée à son siège. Ce film n'était pas un film de guerre, mais un film sur la vie, ses joies, ses peines, ses douleurs, ses regrets et sur sa fin... J'ai vu ce film au complet plus d'une 20 aine de fois et avait même acheté une copie, celle là à un musée aux USA en 2018.0
I took the freedom to translate your comment to english:
What a magnificent movie. I had seen this film with the one who became the mother of our children, we were starting to go out together, and before seeing this film she had never liked war films. Yet she had not missed a minute of this film riveted to her seat. This film was not a war film, but a film about life, its joys, its sorrows, its pains, its regrets and its end... I have seen this complete film more than 20 times and had even bought a copy, this one at a museum in the USA in 2018.0
As a lifelong student of military with a background as the son of a screenwriter/playwright and WWll Eighth AAF combat vet and a mother who was a film editor, there's probably no more critical viewer of movies than me. "Das Boot" is a masterpiece. Had Buchheim not stood his ground and allowed Hollywood influence, the film would undoubtedly have been ruined, like almost every otherwise good novel Hollywood gets its hands on.
From a personal perspective, this film easily rivals, if not eclipses the quality of another masterpiece, Peter Weir's "Gallipoli."
ONE OF THE BEST FILMS EVER . MUST BE KEPT IN GERMAN. BUT WITH GOOD SUBTITLES. IS A MUST .I MUST HAVE WATCHED IT AT LEAST 8 TIMES .
I remember watching this movie as a kid. The best hand down
I don't understand why the film was seen as a failure, because I thought it was absolutely brilliant, I bought the DVD as soon as it came out , this film is now a classic, RIP Wolfgang Peterson, and the cast members who have also Passed.
"Das Boot" was never a failure. It was a huge hit in Germany. Then, US, UK, the rest of the English speaking world and globally. It was (Trump voice), a YUUUUGE hit.
In the eyes of Buchheim the cinema release left out too much of the dragging routine that drove the crew stir crazy. Scenes which later came very much to the front in the 1985 TV-miniseries which by far is the definitive version to watch. Buchheim's opinion was that the cinema cut focused too much on the action.
On the side of the press shitting all over it, you must know that these brats were the "generation of 68", meaning the leftist march through the institutions was at "flank speed". Everything concerning the war had to have been mournful and self deprecating because "muh nazis", regardless of how many veterans back then were in their early to mid 60s.
@@mikeforester3963 Bucheim seemed to forget that a cinema film can't show everything that the TV version showed. Stuff has to be cut and edited. By all accounts he was a difficult, cantakerous old git (RIP) and Petersen's (RIP) genius is making his book into a viewable masterpiece.
@@Mango62uk And this is why, in the end, all made their peace with the TV series.
@@Mango62uk It's why it was stupid to make the cinema movie in the first place. Studio execs being studio execs... Imagine someone demanded to make a single 3-hour version of Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. You'd have to cut _so_ much, you'd just cripple the entire thing into nonsense.
My uncle served in the North Atlantic on board US Coast Guard Cutter Cambell and did battle with U-606 after a surface attack 606 was sunk and Cambell was badly damaged,German sailors were taken on board,the convoy sailed on and both German and crew of Cambell saved ship and made slow time to Iceland, my uncle had great respect for German sub mariners for the rest of his life, God Bless you Uncle Duke……Fair Seas
Absolutely enthralling the making of this epic. I recall another very fine depiction of a submariners existence, 'We Dive at Dawn'. As an older bloke I remember the effects of the war relating to London and Portsmouth. Strangely Das Boot did not raise any nationalistic feelings within me, one could associate with these individuals from a more humanitarian aspect, ordinary people coerced and manipulated into a situation no sane individual would ever contemplate. These brave lads were invariably Mariners doing what Establishments term, as, their duty for their country, they were seldom politically motivated and for that reason one felt deeply for their circumstances as one would for members of the Royal Navy, as an example. Back in 1949 I had the privilege to explore U776 close to the Tower of London, it had been surrendered at the close of war. It was magnificent but strangely my uppermost recollection is of the gleaming copper alloy utensils in the Galley area. I am approaching 85 now, I shall never forget that and Das Boot brought it back to me most vividly.
Real heroes, truly a great, great film. Well made. One of the best films I've ever watched
For me two german films are excellent: "Das boot" and "Stalingrad", I've read all Buchheim books and "Das boot" is very realistic. And this excellent music! No Hollywood cr*p with love stories, but crude reality of war...
not forget - Die Brücke - the Bridge from 1959
7:00 Ein Glück, denn haute liegt so ziemlich das gesamte englischsprachige Kriegsfilmpublikum auf den Knien vor dieser Produktion (besonders dem TV Mehrteiler von 1985) und schaut ihn sogar im O-Ton mit Untertiteln. Wir können dankbar sein, daß der Buchheim so ein Wadenbeißer war.
_(Fortunately, because today almost the entire English speaking war film audience kneels before this production (especially the 1985 TV-miniseries) and watches it in original voice with subtitles. We can be thankful for Buchheim being such a hard-ass.)_
Das hatte doch mit Buchheim nichts zu tun. Die TV-Version war von Anfang an geplant und den Director's Cut hat Petersen selbst gemacht.
I saw Das Boot when it was first theatrically released in the US. I was so impressed with it, it was the first (and only) film that I insisted to my parents that they must see it (and we saw it together).
To this day, I consider it the greatest war movie, and the greatest anti-war movie, ever made. (Note that a "great war movie" doesn't make war "great." It means only that it conveys some sense of the reality of war, which, in itself, is not "great.")
I will also add that at the time of my viewing of this we have seen Stalingrad, and All Quiet on the Western Front so, great German war films that continue to show an honest depiction of German war experiences.
Großartige Doku, die den Film nicht spoilert und noch immer zeitgemäß ist! Aber wenn im Eck Arte steht, ist (auch wenn keine Eigenproduktion) ja auch eine Erwartungshaltung da.
I've lost count of the number of times I've watched this masterpiece.
If anyone doubts the horror of war, watch this film, and All Quiet on the Western Front.
Was excited when I found Doldinger from Passport was the music composer. Already a fan of Passport before this film.
This is my favorite film of all time
For me by far the best ww2 movie ever made
A truly outstanding film! it remains the best submarine movie I've ever seen.
the cinemas should have played it with an theatre style intermission. two 1.5h parts. giving the whole 3+h experience.
even then, the longest, mini-series, version is the best. the movie needs time to create the tension, give information, and then after the waiting, and buildup, the action feels so much more dramatic. its a great drama, love film (sailors love for the sea), adventure, everything.
of course there is remorse for why they did what they did, but the adventure itself, outside of politics, is still great.
One of the best war films of all time. I remember seeing this when it first arrived in the states. As realistic as it gets.
51:00 The Directors cut is also great. It has everything important in it. The Extended cut mostly depicts stuff like how the commander acts with his crew and there are more personal stories involved
The long, dragging parts _are_ not just an important, but a critical part. Without them, it's like giving us the sinking to the ground near Gibraltar, then two scenes of them fixing something, and then the rising back up - the whole scene loses pretty much _everything_ important without showing all the effort and fears and suffering before.
@@Wolf-ln1ml Keep in mind that long movies in theaters have a terrible track record. Only in French movies can the actors stare at each other for 5 minutes then light cigarettes.
@@aceroadholder2185 What's your basis for that? Or, more to the point, what time period are you looking at for that?
I'll happily agree that long movies don't do well _now_ due to the horrible attention span of all too many people. But a couple of decades ago? Very different situation as far as I know...
Unquestionably the greatest submarine film. Very tragic though. The entire cast shines but especially Jürgen Prochnow
Such a great movie so refreshing an real, regards from Australia 🇦🇺.
If Das Boot were made by either Sturges or Siegel instead of Wolfgang would be a completely different movie.
I saw this upon its release, my hands hurt at the end from gripping the arm rests.
my favorite submarine movie, so realistic, great job !!! Greetings from Poland :)
The six hour version is great, but I still dare to hope for a remastered sound on that. With today's technology, the boat could come alive instead of sounding like a speakers cabin in all of the dialogs
Love this film & so glad I stumbled across this documentary!
Love also the books, it's a trilogy.
Das Boot 1973
Die Festung 1995
Der Abschied 2000
I should as an Englishman have my doubts about this film. However, the number of U Boat sailors, etc. who died is almost the same as our convoy sailors, 30,000. I'll upset a few now. Without any doubt, no other country has ever produced such a well-made and honest war film.
Stalingrad by Joseph Vilsmayer too.
One of my favourite films. And it is antiwar.
Dont forget the music added so much to the film.
Great movie. I can't believe they got negative reviews in Germany. I remember the scene where they are diving deep, I was getting claustrophobic in the movie theater.
Still by far my most favorite movie. I saw it multiple times when it came out.
Awesome Movie 👍👍👍 Greetings from Helsinki, Finland 🇫🇮
Definitely one of the best WW2 movies ever made. They succeeded in their aim!
I saw this when it came out, saw it in the Biograph theater in Chicago with subtitles, it was a stunning movie
Really smart approach to work out how to film the complicated effect shots before doing anything else. No sense in spending money on other things when you're not sure yet if the movie even can be done.