This is a review of the DVD version of the 1997 "Das Boot - The Director's Cut".
I remember, in 1981, when this movie came out and received so much acclaim. I didn't see it, mostly because it didn't sound very interesting, and I didn't like watching sub-tilted movies.
I still would not have watched it if my neighbor hadn't brought over his DVD and said, "you have to watch this."
I was overwhelmed. It is one of the very finest movies I have ever seen (I'm in my 50s), maybe even the very best! Yes, it is about war. Set in 1941, it is about the German U-boat fleet. A statistic shown at the beginning says "40,000 German men were sent out on U-boats and 30,000 never returned." This movie is about one of those U-boats, its battles, and the lives of its crew. Two-thirds into the movie the captain says, "You have to have good men. Good men, all of them." And that's really what this movie is all about.
Even though it is almost 3 1/2 hours long, it never becomes dull or boring. Even if you don't like "war" movies. It is based on actual events, and will probably make you want to never serve on a submarine! I watched half on successive nights.
This DVD is the "Director's Cut" which is (we are told in the extra features) almost like a new movie. All sound tracks were digitally remastered. Scenes were totally re-edited and 60 minutes total were added. New "foley" editing was done to provide 8 tracks of sound (down to 6 on the Dolby Digital 5.1 on the DVD). And, of course, it has both German and English language dialog tracks. All the main characters came back to work on this movie to dub in their own voices in English, so they look and sound authentic. You forget very quickly that it is a dubbed version.
And the sound! You'd better have a super subwoofer, because the dynamic range of sound is amazing. Explosions are the most realistic sounding I've heard on a home theater system. And the perfect surround sound balancing makes it seem like you are really in the submarine.
Do yourself a big favor - see the new release of "Das Boot" if you haven't already.
I remember, in 1981, when this movie came out and received so much acclaim. I didn't see it, mostly because it didn't sound very interesting, and I didn't like watching sub-tilted movies.
I still would not have watched it if my neighbor hadn't brought over his DVD and said, "you have to watch this."
I was overwhelmed. It is one of the very finest movies I have ever seen (I'm in my 50s), maybe even the very best! Yes, it is about war. Set in 1941, it is about the German U-boat fleet. A statistic shown at the beginning says "40,000 German men were sent out on U-boats and 30,000 never returned." This movie is about one of those U-boats, its battles, and the lives of its crew. Two-thirds into the movie the captain says, "You have to have good men. Good men, all of them." And that's really what this movie is all about.
Even though it is almost 3 1/2 hours long, it never becomes dull or boring. Even if you don't like "war" movies. It is based on actual events, and will probably make you want to never serve on a submarine! I watched half on successive nights.
This DVD is the "Director's Cut" which is (we are told in the extra features) almost like a new movie. All sound tracks were digitally remastered. Scenes were totally re-edited and 60 minutes total were added. New "foley" editing was done to provide 8 tracks of sound (down to 6 on the Dolby Digital 5.1 on the DVD). And, of course, it has both German and English language dialog tracks. All the main characters came back to work on this movie to dub in their own voices in English, so they look and sound authentic. You forget very quickly that it is a dubbed version.
And the sound! You'd better have a super subwoofer, because the dynamic range of sound is amazing. Explosions are the most realistic sounding I've heard on a home theater system. And the perfect surround sound balancing makes it seem like you are really in the submarine.
Do yourself a big favor - see the new release of "Das Boot" if you haven't already.