Das Boot - 1981

I was really looking forward to watching this movie. I have it on a collection set with other classics like The Bridge on the River Kwai. I really enjoyed that one, and with the reviews and recommendations for Das Boot, I was ready to be impressed. This is in German and had subtitles.

A German U-Boat crew is hunting for English convoys. It's not been easy lately, since the English have been sending protection with them. It's toward the end of the war, so crews are being filled with young, inexperienced crews. They're idealistic and eager, but the captain knows things will be different when they've been at sea for a while.

They have a lot of down time, since they have to choose their targets carefully. Any hint of a destroyer, and they run. The depth charges are brutal, and the crew has to fight to maintain their sanity. Toward the end, they're ready to head back to dock, but they get orders instead.

This movie has so many good reviews, but I'm not going to give them one. I had the director's cut, and while the movie itself was well done, I hated almost everyone. The captain was an extremely unlikable character who just sat around and yelled at people. He was very excited when he torpedoed unarmed transport ships and left men to die in the water, though. Even toward the end, after staring death in the face for hours, he's boasting about putting one over on the enemy. Ugh...

I may be a bit of a hypocrite here, since I liked Run Silent, Run Deep. In my defense, in that movie, they're trying to hunt down ships and engage in combat with other ships. Also, the characters didn't suck.

Back to Das Boot. The Naval Correspondent was okay, but his beard drove me nuts. I don't know why, but yuck. I had two people I cared about on that boat, and only one of them lived. The Chief just wanted to make it back to his wife. Johann had been on NINE tours, had a mental break, and the captain was ready to shoot him. Or court-martial him. I really hate the captain.

From an artistic standpoint, the film is pretty good. The ability to convey the claustrophobia men went through in those tight quarters is something I don't envy. I'd go insane for sure. But I don't watch super long movies for their artistic merit. I watch to be entertained. And I was not entertained. My one surviving crewman was not enough to make those hours worth it. One positive, though: I learned I didn't want to read the book!