![]() ![]() There is clearly a deliberate point being made about the numbing effects of repetition and boredom and yet Wolfgang Petersen (who has yet to top this film in an undeniably impressive directorial career before and since) manages to portray quiet, stillness and boredom while keeping the audience riveted. There is one tiny toilet, doubled-up sleeping arrangements since one will always be on duty while the other rests, food initially littered everywhere then rapidly ravaged by mould, several crew-members develop unpleasant cases of genital crabs and an awful lack of fresh air when submerged for long periods.Īlthough the somewhat cyclical pattern of chase, up periscope, depth-charge and escape could easily be tiringly repetitive, it always feels fresh. The U-Boat is tiny, cramped and ill-equipped for prolonged voyages. It felt pretty tight and tense on board a submarine in Crimson Tide, but this has none of that film’s slickness, technology or breathing room. Once the U-Boat sets sail, the claustrophobia and the tension rarely let up. We meet the experienced Captain, the youthful officers, the journalist along for the ride to see what life on a U-Boat is like and then we are off. We open on a drunken party, the assorted officers and rank-and-file in varying stages of inebriation, some utterly incapacitated, some sunken-eyed and others merely world-weary and cynical. And seamless it is, with every element seemingly in its rightful place and no apparent ballast that might have better been discarded. One of the many fascinating and insightful extras tells the story of the development of the different versions and how the sound effects, dialogue and soundtrack were all then refined to provide a seamless extended version. During a long and dangerous mission they must seek out their targets, whilst avoiding Allied Destroyers and their deadly depth-charges.ĭas Boot started out life as a 150-minute cinema release, then developed into a five-hour mini-series before finding a much more natural and effective resting place as a 310-minute director’s cut, the version we now have here in glorious high definition. Captain Lehmann-Willenbrock helms a German U-Boat, tasked with striking at Allied supply convoys.
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