As a fan of "Das Boot", I've always wanted to see the complete mini-series.
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The acclaimed "Das Boot", directed by Wolfgang Petersen, requires fans to become quasi-historians in order to figure out what they're watching. In 1981, a 149-minute version debuted in West Germany. The 149-minute version began playing in the U.S. in 1982, and it was nominated for six Oscars the following year (Oscars are given out in the spring of the year after the nominated movies are released). In 1985, a mini-series (six fifty-minute episodes) was shown on West German TV. In 1997, a 210-minute "Director's Cut" was released.
"The Director's Cut" was one of Sony's first DVD releases when it appeared in stores in December of 1997. In 2003, Sony released a SuperBit edition of "The Director's Cut". Now, in 2004, Sony has released "Das Boot: The Original Uncut Version" on DVD. To the best of my knowledge, the 149-minute version was made available in the United States only on VHS tape and LaserDisc.
"Das Boot" is based on a semi-autobiographical novel written by Lothar-Gunther Buchheim. (He's played by Herbert Gronemeyer, as "Lt. Werner", in the movie.) It begins with a German submarine crew celebrating its last night on land before setting off for a months-long at-sea assignment during World War II. Everyone is really young. Even the Captain (Jurgen Prochnow) is no more than thirty-years-old. Once the sailors set out for sea, they don't see land until the devastating finale.
I never saw the 149-minute version of "Das Boot", but being an admirer of submarine movies like "The Hunt for Red October" and "Crimson Tide", I eagerly bought a ticket for a showing of the 210-minute "Director's Cut" at Cornell University. The movie expertly conveys the claustrophobia, the fears, the hopes, the camaraderie, the jokes, and the political views of men forced to endure difficult circumstances together. By the end of the movie, I was in tears. Yes, the Germans were the "bad guys" of World War II, but in the same way that "Black Hawk Down" focuses on the brotherhood of military men, "Das Boot" is interested in how a military unit functions as a family after a while. Yet, unlike "Black Hawk Down" and like "We Were Soldiers" and "Saving Private Ryan", "Das Boot" never loses sight of the big picture. The movie quietly observes that Nazism is something that will destroy Germany, and the movie also portray's the submariners' mission as a lost cause.
"The Complete Uncut Version" of "Das Boot" is essentially the mini-series edited into a five-hour feature (that is, minus the opening and closing credits that would play before and after each fifty-minute segment). In a sense, you only get more of what you already got with the 3.5-hour "Director's Cut". I would say that you don't get a substantially different experience with "The Complete Uncut Version" when compared to "The Director's Cut", though you do become more absorbed in the minutiae of the men's lives than you do with "The Director's Cut" (to be expected given the time difference). Unlike some longer cuts of movies, "The Complete Uncut Version" doesn't feel uneven or excessive, though for most people, "The Director's Cut" is more than adequate in terms of understanding director Petersen's vision.
As a fan of "Das Boot", I've always wanted to see the complete mini-series. Therefore, I can't really say that I'm unhappy to see it on DVD. However, Sony crammed this program on to two discs, and given how the visuals and sound design eat up a lot of space, the movie is compressed to the point where the technical presentation suffers in comparison to other made-for-TV specials. Also, given the movie's rich history and reputation, Sony should've created meaningful extras rather than treat "Das Boot" as an afterthought. Yes, "Das Boot" will sell in profitable quantities without bonus materials, but you don't have to make it that obvious...
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[release]12021[/release]