Super interesting to watch a WW2 movie from a different perspective! Also one of the most stressful movies we have seen! Thank you all for your suggestions and support!

40 Years and it's still the best Submarine Movie.

One of the greatest war movies ever made.Dark, ruthless and realistic.

To give you guys a little bit more perspective from the German side: When this movie premiered there were actual submarine veterans in the cinema. Some of them had to walk out because their PTSD flared up, the movie was THAT realistic. But in the end they all thanked the director for finally telling their story. The crew at the end is NOW in makeup. They were actually that pale because they were not allowed to go out in the sun during the production of the movie/show, so they actually were transforming into these ghostly pale men over the course of production. That's what they really looked like. They are also not acting that shaking. They were in a boat/set that could be moved, so they were actually being thrown around and some of them got injured. Language wise it's also interesting. If you're German or have lived long enough in Germany, you can tell the different regional dialects of the actors. It's like Americans being able to tell "oh this guy is from New York, or this guy is from Austin Texas. Most U-boat crew members were recruited both from the German north where the seafaring stuff was going on as well as (mostly actually) from the German Ruhr region, which was heavily industry region in Germany. The reason was that those young guys had experience working with metal and machines and would have the necessary knowledge to keep the boat running and fixing things. Also there were a lot of coal miners there, which were used to working in cramped dark spaces with heavy equipment and not freak out. And the dialects you hear are actually from those regions, since the actors were from there. As for "how can anybody keep working under such stress": That's just military discipline for you. Civilians always wonder why recruits get yelled at all the time in basic training and such. That's not because the drill sergeants are bad people, it's so you get used to loud noises and high stress. You need to be able to function in high stress and with very loud noises going on all around you. You can't have people freaking out when stuff gets loud. Try taking the average guy or girl from the stream and scream at them out of nowhere. They'll be completely paralyzed for a moment and/or freak out. That can't happen to you in such a situation or you die. That's why in the military we slowly build up the stress resistance and the discipline. Without that training, none of this is possible. But that training helps you remain functional in those situations. Your actions kind of go into autopilot, and only when everything is over, the emotions come rushing in. In regards to the "suicide mission" of going through Gibraltar from the Atlantic into the Mediterranean: The Germans actually did that. Several Uboats were opperating in the mediterranean, so this was possible. But it was still highly dangerous. What the movie also hinted at was the Allied superiority in Radar. Early in the war the Uboats stayed under water during the day and came out at night when airplanes couldn't spot them, so they had a major advantage. Early war the night attacks were the standard and super devastating. but later in the war the Allied Radar made that impossible. The allied planes were spotting them via radar, while they were not able to see the attacking airplane until it was too late. That's what happened here, they got spotted by an airplane with radar and got attacked out of nowhere. That's why later in the war the Germans completely changed their tactics and stayed above water during the day, and dived at night. THey could still get spotted in daylight but at least they had a chance to see the airplane in time to avoid it. Also, the fact that they hit sand on the bottom wasn't just a coincidence or luck. When they got spotted (you probably didn't notice that in all the chaos), the captain actually told them to stay surfaced at first, go full speed and changed course to the african coast. He knew they were screwed but if they made it to the african coast, they'd be in Spanish territory and could get interned by Spain and stay in prison in a neutral country for the rest of the war. So he was trying to save his crew, not break through. And the fact that he moved them closer to the african coast meant that he moved them to a more shallow area of the straight. That's why they hit that sand, they were closer to the coast where the sea wasn't as deep. And finally... in case you are wondering why the crew is running like crazy through the boat during alarm: They are not running to their stations. Back then the literally use the crew as ballast. If they wanted to dive, they ordered every man that wasn't needed at their station to the front of the boat, to shift the center of mass and dive quicker. That's why, when they had their depth rudders stuff, the captain ordered all men to the rear of the ship, to try and stop the boat from going down.

Masterpiece. A few years ago I had the great honor to eat dinner with Jürgen Prochnow (captain) in LA. He was kind enough and very patient to answer every single stupid question I had about this movie and the intense work on it. Best steak of my life.

It is a story from the German perspective, but mainly from the human perspective.

6:52: "Na na na" is basically a very mild reprimand. The verbal equivalent of waving a finger at a child. He's telling him to mind his manners/not speak out of line.

I knew a man who was a survivor of that submarine war. He said that the food was rotten within days down there, but you would eat it - or starve. Nevertheless, he lived to the age of 95.

I watch this movie at least once a year to remind me that you don't need CGI and 150 million dollars to make a masterpiece. This is the best and most accurate ww2 movie ever made, I've read a lot about the battle in the Atlantic and Uboats in particular and all the little details in this movie such as the night surface attack, the food hanging, the operating of pumps and valves, the water gushing into the control room hatch. This movie is just perfect.

Fun facts: The captain at the beginning really was drunk while filming. All the food in the u-boat was real. Over the course of filming it slowly decayed. The water inside really was rotting and smelling. Then they bought all the cologne they could get their hands on to mask the smell. The crew (actors) really had to scoop al the water for hours, making them really (real) tired. The actors could not go out into the sun while filming. All the beards are real. The big boot at the beginning and ending was made from wood. Parts of the movie had to be re-dubbed in German, because the hand-held camera they used for action scenes made a loud whirring sound. The outside scenes where made with a 60% scale model with a diver inside. Then they overshot with 60% more speed. Slowed down to 100% it then looked like the big thing. The scene where they encounter the other sub where barbie dolls waving through a mechanism. When the movie was first shown they invited real German u-boat captains and sailors. The officers where outraged about the slang and jokes, and that did not happen on their boats. Then the real sailors confirmed that is was pretty realistic. Edit 2023: For the bolts snapping they shot a carbine with blanks. The test pressure of this sub type was 160 m. They did a modern day calculation of the burst pressure, so when the hull would implode, and it was 280 m, just like the max. in the movie. I always thought it was made up, but more realistic than i thought. Go watch the 6 part series. It is worth it.

The scene with the guys jumping off the burning freighter is developed to way more depth in the 5 hour version. For everyone to whom that is available, it's a 6 part TV movie of 50 minutes each. And believe me, it is worth every single minute. You get so much more insight in the characters. If you get the opportunity to watch it, do it.

I've read over 100 comments here and I agree to all of the credits. But I miss comments on Jost Vacano because I think this cameraman has given us one of the most impressive examples of film art in history! Joost, thank You for this masterpiece!

Like someone said, life on a German submarine in WWII was 95% absolute, utterly unbreakable, hellish boredom, followed by 5% mind-numbing, terrifying, hellish action. If you survived your duties, you were scarred by it. Some sailors were not certain what was worse. That 'man overboard' scene was not planned but happened due to the massive waves being sent into them from of the tower prop. It was a 10 meter slanted tower (30 feet tall) with a huge water tank on top. Down a large slide water was sent rushing down from that tower to generate realistic spray and waves into the tower prop. One of those waves washed one of the actors over board, who injured himself during filming this scene (not as bad as depicted, but still, a real injury). The other actors on the conning tower were so deeply into their roles that one actually screamed 'man overboard'. Wolfgang Petersen, the director, kept that unscripted moment, and adjusted the future script a bit around that incident. /edit The British ASIICS ultra-sound was a very new invention and addition to British destroyers. It meant that subs lost 90% of their stealth capability when pinged actively by it. And those destroyers DID active pings because they knew that they were the hunters, and the subs were the prey. It caused terror among most sub crews because they knew they had only a tiny chance to survive a destroyer hunting them with ASIICS. That scene after the chief returned with the report of what had all been fixed when they had struck ground. Right after that, the captain / Kapitän-Lieutnant did some deep breathing. That was also not a scripted scene but a breathing technique of Jürgen Prochnow, the actor, to get himself into character. Due to some strange circumstance the camera had kept rolling. Again, Petersen decided to keep those additional few seconds of deep breathing because he thought it fit that situation perfectly. For me, that is one of the most impressive scenes of this movie.

As a German myself I do like the movie for two reasons. On one side it shows that many Germans weren't Nazis. They just followed orders from a crazy Dictator. Soldiers not abandoning duty. A good example is the scene, where the LI and the photographer are supposed to leave the Boot before the suicide order. You said it correctly. Who would deny such a request? A crazy man would. And on the other side the stupidity and meaninglessness of war. Fighting, surviving every catastrophe that's put into their path and in the end, still dying from the plane attack they couldn't possibly have prevented. A very raw and in-your-face movie missing all that glorifying "hero" aspect most war movies do have a lot of.

Das Boot is one of the best and most famous German anti-war movies of all time, portraying the brutality and futility of war, the fear and stress and pain. Plus, the main theme of the sound track is just epic.

I visited a WW2 submarine [British] in the early fifties at Chatham. I still remember how cramped it was. No concessions to comfort whatever..It was what it was, a killing machine. Watching 'Das Boot' years later reminded me of that day out, a conducted tour of the 'Boat' by a navy rating. Das Boot is without doubt the most realistic submarine film ever made....It should be shown in schools to remind children that War isn't a video game...

Interesting fact: The entire interior of the U-Boat used in the film was built precisely to exact specs, even the bolts used were accurate to those used back then. The attention to detail was so insane that the actors were made to stay away from the sun for a year to create the pale and tired look.

I am a retired U.S. Chief Petty Officer, Submariner. 17 years in the submarine force. This movie shakes me to the core every time I see it. For me, this is a horror movie, a history movie, and a movie that shows how human beings are quite capable of pushing through fear for their brothers in arms or as we say, shipmates. Love your channel and how you both approach reacting to these classic movies. I like that you don't critique for good or bad but just for how the movie hits you. Continued success to you both and may I suggest you reacting to TO HELL AND BACK, with Audie Murphy playing himself in the true story movie of his wartime experiences which made him one of America's most-decorated soldiers.

Someone not afraid of subtitles. Enjoyed this thanks

As german (Austrian) to watch this movie is much more intense,because of language and stuff,n my opinion it is one of the best movies ever made in history,i saw it probably 30 times or more...it was our people dying for nothing and almost all of them was only soldiers,not nazis...

My Brother was a LT. on a US nuclear sub in the 80's and he says this is the best submarine film ever made.

Now you can understand why the sailors were all drunk at the beginning of the movie. They all knew that the life of a uboat sailor was just mainly constant fear and terror, and every night might be their last one. And so they partied away like it might be their last night on earth. For many of them it was.

The scene where the U-Boot has to reverse away from the convoy survivors looks like a reference to the Laconia incident. U-156 sank a British troop carrier and to help with the rescue effort broadcast her position on Allied channels before being joined by other U-boots to pick up survivors. U-156 began to tow the Laconia life boat and accommodate survivors on the fore deck of the now surfaced sub. When the American bombers reported U-156's position along with Laconia survivors they were given the order to attack and after bombing and strafing runs U-156 had to cast the survivors into the sea and dive to avoid destruction. Another U-boot attempting to rescue survivors was also attacked by the American bomber. This lead to all U-boot commanders being ordered not to pick up survivors.

Thats one of the core points of the movie, the Captain (as is Thomsen as well) is an Old Salt officer, experienced and trained in peacetime. He mentions he has experience on sailing ships and when he's talking about them, you notice he really loves those. I dont know whether it was the movie, the series or the book, but he doesn't enjoy destroying ships. And as I believe, he also subscribes to the old notion that no matter what ship you're on and who you sail for, unltimately, all sailors are comrades.

Das Boot’s ending is such a massive kick to the balls. And it’s brutality is what makes it a classic.

You can recreate Das Boot by changing the bulb in your bathroom to a red one, then try and stop the water coming out of your shower head with your hands.

27:32 We have to accept the fact that while Germany was ruled by the Nazis, not everyone in the army, air-force and navy followed their ideals. It was very common for U-Boots to help survivors of ships they had sunk, by giving them food, water, medical care and directions to the nearest port or land mass. This was the case with the infamous "Laconia incident"; Somewhere off the coast of western Africa, midway between Liberia and Ascension Island, U-156 spotted the troopship RMS Laconia. As with all armed merchant and troop ships, U-Boots had orders to attack without warning, and since the Laconia fell under that category, U-156 conducted a torpedo attack on her. However, unbeknownst to U-156's commanding officer, Korvettenkapitän Werner Hartenstein, the Laconia was transporting some 1600 Italian POWs. While there were enough lifeboats for all her crew, including all the POWs, the Laconia's heavy listing, due to damage from torpedoes, prevented half of her lifeboats from being launched. Realizing that most of the survivors were POWs and civilians, Hartenstein ordered immediate rescue, while raising the Red Cross flag. An hour later, with the Laconia finally sinking completely, Hartenstein sent a coded message to BdU (Befehlshaber der U-Boote, German U-Boot command) saying "Sunk by Hartenstein, British Laconia, Qu FF7721, 310 deg. Unfortunately with 1500 Italian POWs; 90 fished out of the water so far. Requesting orders." The head of submarine operations at the time, Admiral Karl Donitz, ordered all of the submarines from the Wolfpack "Eisbar", which were tasked with attacking Cape Town, to immediately divert to the scene and help with rescue efforts. Donitz informed Berlin of the situation, making Hitler furious, who demanded the rescue be cancelled. Donitz was ordered by Admiral Erich Raeder to cancel the re-tasking of Wolfpack Eisbar, which also included U-156, and to send them back towards Cape Town, as per their original orders. The Italian submarine "Comandante Cappellini" was to rendezvous with U-156 and pickup any survivors, before proceeding to where the Laconia had been sunk and rescuing any Italians they found. The Vichy French were also contacted by Raeder, who dispatched 2 sloops and the 7600 ton cruiser, "Gloire", from Dakar. Donitz then disengaged the Eisbar U-Boots, ordering them "All boats, including Hartenstein, only take as many men into the boat as will allow it to be fully ready for action when submerged." U-156 had some 200 survivors on and below deck, including 5 women and 200 more in 4 lifeboats that she was towing. U-156 also sent a message, in open frequency and not in code, reporting her position; "If any ship will assist the shipwrecked Laconia crew I will not attack her, provided I am not being attacked by ship or air force. I picked up 193 men. 4°-53" South, 11°-26" West. - German submarine." The British forces in Freetown intercepted the message, but believed it to be a trap and didn't credit it. Two days later, on the 15th of September, the Americans got the message that the Laconia had been sunk and that the British merchant ship "Empire Haven" was routed to pick up survivors. However, this message loosely implied that the Laconia had been sunk on the 15th, not the 13th which it originally had been sunk, and had no mention of German submarines conducting rescue operations under cease-fire, nor the fact that French neutral ships were also en-route to the scene. U-156 remained on the surface for 2 and a half days, and on the 15th, she was joined by U-506. A few hours later, U-507 along with Cappellini joined them as well. The four submarines, towing multiple lifeboats, had set a course for the African coast, where they'd meet with the Vichy French ships. During the night of the 15th, the submarines became separated, and on the morning of the 16th, U-156 was spotted by an American B-24 Liberator bomber. Hartenstein, using Morse code, contacted the plane in English and requested assistance. A rescued British officer also messaged the plane "RAF officer speaking from German submarine, Laconia survivors on board, soldiers, civilians, women, children.", however, Lt. James Harden of the US Army Air Force, made no efforts to respond and turned away, while notifying his base at Ascension. The senior officer on site, who was unware of the Red Cross flag being flown by U-156 and the rescue operation, ordered Harden to "[Sic] sink the sub." The officer later claimed that he believed that the rules of war, at the time, did not permit a combat ship to fly the Red Cross flag, and was afraid U-156 would discover the secret base on Ascension and raid the depots, cutting off critical reinforcements and much needed fuel for the Allied offensive in Egypt. Harden's B-24 flew back to the scene, and an hour later, began attacking U-156 with bombs and depth charges. According to Harden, his B-24 made 4 attack runs but failed to release bombs or depth charges on 3 of them. On the final run, he dropped 2 bombs, which missed U-156, and sadly, landed between 2 lifeboats, killing most of the occupants. Hartenstein then ordered the remaining lifeboats be cast adrift and to slowly submerge, instead of crash-diving, in order to give the survivors who were still on deck the necessary time to jump into the water and escape. Unaware of the events, U-506, U-507 and the Cappellini, continued picking up survivors until the next morning, when the commander of the Cappellini discovered that they were in fact picking up survivors cast adrift from U-156. This is considered to be the first of the war crimes committed by Allied Forces, as under the conventions of war at sea; ships, including submarines, engaged in rescue operations are held to be immune from attacks. Five B-25 Mitchell bombers were also dispatched to hunt for submarines in the area, which spotted some of Laconia's lifeboats on the 17th. Hardin's B-24 also spotted U-506, which had 151 survivors onboard, including 9 women and children, and began his second attack. Making two attack runs, with the first one failing to release bombs, U-506 crash-dived fast enough for the second run to no damage to the boat or the survivors. The incident had major consequences; Until that point in the war, it was very common for U-Boots to assist survivors. The sight of a U-Boot literally picking up survivors onto her deck was very rare, as space inside the boat was already cramped and limited. Following the incidents on the 17th, Admiral Karl Donitz issued the "Laconia order" which forbade U-Boot crews from helping survivors. Their orders were to leave the survivors to their fate in the waters. However, despite the enforcing of the order, U-Boot crews often disregarded it and continued providing help to survivors. In total, out of the Laconia's original complement of 2732 souls, only 1113 survived. Of the 1619 souls lost, 1420 were Italian POWs.

The U-boat that sunk my grandfather's destroyer with all but 19 of its crew in a storm near the Azores was itself sunk with all hands off the coast of South Africa. The Battle of the Atlantic was utterly brutal, and Das Boot is a superb depiction of the terror - and the contrast of their experience with that of the officers on the supply ship at Vigo. The best war filmography, by a long way, until Band of Brothers equalled it. I have lost count of how many times I have watched this masterpiece. Hey, no CGI either.

19:09 The goggles and the red light helped the eyes to adjust to the darkness outside at night faster. When stepping out of a lighted room into the darkness, it takes a few seconds for the eyes to get used to the darkness. Under certain circumstances, these can be seconds that make the difference between life and death.

This movie captures boredom so well, without ever being boring. And yes the guy listening for ships through the hydrophones is the only person doing that job. The thing is that those only work when the ship is submerged, so the captain ordered the boat to dive every hour or two hours to listen. You could hear single ships about 20 km away and convoys 100km. So you had a bit of time. The depth charges of submarines could go on for many many hours and aside from damaging the ship, it was meant to break the crew and make them surface so they could finish them off.

As a German, this is weird. I appreciate you went for the original and not the dubbed version.

Watched this 1981 with my Grandfather. He was Captain of Submarines during WW2 and took the surrender of the Kriegsmarine 1945 in Norway. Was so interesting watching this with him. Will never forget the tension it was like he was back hunting this U Boat.

18:01 Yes, they were counting the depth charges. They knew from intelligence roughly how many DCs a destroyer normally carried.

"Stalingrad" (the 1993 one) and "Downfall" are both excellent (and depressing as hell) movies about WWII from the German perspective.

When she was a child, my mother would ask her uncle what it was like being in a U-boat. He wouldn't answer her, but she was persistent, and he finally answered and told her, "Go into the basement, sit facing the corner and turn the lights off. That is what it is like."

This is brilliant. The drunken opening scene fits with my Dad's tales from his days in the Royal Navy, and the sinkings with my Grandfather's experience on HMS Firedrake as told to my Dad (too brutal for me as a child). Anyone who has ever served their country will recognise the realism. Superb direction, lighting, special effects and cinematography. Superb.

Sooo happy you went with the non-dubbed version! So much better to see films in their original language. Well done commentary too! You guys are my favorite reactors. ❤️👍

I remember seeing this at the theater when I was a kid with my dad, and for the first time in a war film I found myself caring about the “enemy.” It was then that I realized that wars may be started and ended by governments, but it is human beings doing the fighting and dying. Great movie, great reaction.👍

The director build the Submarine in a massive warehouse, within a salt water pool. The actors were shut in for most of the weeks of filming, not allowed out into the sun nor allowed to wash properly or shave, so by the end of the movie they looked filthy, dishevelled and exhausted, because they simply were. During the filming one of the men slipped and fell off the U-boat 'stage' and badly hurt himself, breaking ribs and getting a concussion, this was then written into the film as the man overboard, so it's all real blood and pain in that scene.

My grandpa, dad, and uncles used to put this on to keep up boys busy during family holiday parties.. ah, memories.

2023 ... still a " MASTERPIECE " !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A true masterwork: cinematography, writing, acting, Das Boot may seem absurd when you say we're going to watch a 4 hour submarine movie from a WWII German's perspective, but everyone I've shown it to comes away impressed. It's that good.

The actors in this are great. Almost everyone of them was a prominent German actor, or became one because of this film. Most of them influenced German TV and Film through the 80s and 90s. This is one of the very few really great German films. Herbert Grönemeyer, who plays the guy coming on board as a war correspondent is one of the most prominent German singers. And still active too: Latest album came out in 2018. Little bit of movie trivia: The full-size submarine mockup for exterior shots was re-used in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

My Uncle was on U-588. I studied the log book. They helpt a lot people wich are on boats after an attack (if there was not a destroyer in the near). They repaired the rescue boats and gave them food, alcohol, and cigarettes. Nobody talks about that.

My grandfather was in a submarine in WW2, HMS Thrasher. He told me some stories when I was a kids (back in the 70’s) but like all old soldiers he never told me about the bad stuff. I was fascinated, however it was really hard for him and he asked my older sister to ask me not to ask him about the war anymore. He lost a lot of friends and it would bring back painful memories.

Downfall is another German WW2 movie that you should consider watching 👍

I watched this when it was first shown on British TV in the early 80s, as a 6 (?) part weekly series. I'd never seen anything like it, before or since. So atmospheric, especially in German with sub-titles, you were in there with them, experiencing the alternate panic and elation. My favorite movie of all time.

They go deep with underwater bombs, because the deeper you dive, the water pressure weakens the explosions.

6:50 is actually not him laughing. German "Na na na" is like "now, now! I didn't hear that!" (that's the best I can translate with my mediocre English :-) )

Goggles are to "preserve" night vision. Inside the sub it's brighter than outside at night. Every second the periscope is up is a second you can be detected. You don't want to wait until your eyes have adjusted to the dark light outside. Hence the goggles to pre-adjust to the outside low light. Scope up, fast look around, scope down.

Glad you liked the film. Here’s some tidbits: The Submarine set was constructed as a completely enclosed set, meaning unlike traditional sets which are segmented for ease of removing sections to accommodate camera and sound crews for certain angle shots, the production had to develop a smaller camera that could easily operate in the confines. If you notice, as the film progresses, the crew get paler and paler. This was not done with makeup. The cast were actually kept out of sunlight for the entire duration of filming, so the paleness is real. One day during filming, the cast and crew went down to the dock where the full sized surface prop was moored. When they got there, the submarine was gone, the anti aircraft gun (on the rear of the Sail or conning tower) had been removed and was sitting there, and all the ropes nicely coiled. Unbeknownst to the cast and crew, Bavarian Studios had made a deal with an American director to briefly use the submarine for an adventure movie. The director was Seven Spielberg, and the movie was Raiders of the Lost Ark. The “Nazi sub” in Raiders is the Das Boot sub. The scenes of the secret base were also filmed at Port LaRochelle as well. In building the set, the designers actually had to fly to the United States. Specifically the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry which holds the most perfectly preserved Type VIII U-Boat. The set is still preserved, though, it has been cut into sections, and can be visited at Bavarian Studios.

2:19 Forty thousand German sailors served on U-boats during WWII. However, the number that returned is blocked by TBR Schmitt's head. So I looked it up. 75% did not return. So the number blocked by TBR's head would have been 10,000. Great! Just great! Thirty thousand men died for what?? More than anything in the folly of the human condition, nothing makes my blood boil more than the futility of war. All that war does is provide fodder for tales of bravery and endurance, like this film. Thankfully, my two sons managed to be born into a time and place where they didn't get dragged into fighting a war that ultimately serves no purpose.

I love this movie (one of the cuts is actually a TV series with 6 parts with a lot of more scenes). So intense and impressive with awesome effects. You won’t see such a great piece of movie history nowadays.

12:37 That's condensed, sweetened milk. You can find it in the grocery store, in the baking section. Back then, it was used as a source of protein & fat that could be stored (canned) for long-term voyages. The reason you saw them eating so well when they frist started out was that the food would quickly spoil, so they got to (had to) feast on it pretty quickly.

The Director's Cut is 209 minutes. The original cut was 150 minutes. The Miniseries is 300 Minutes. The Final Cut is 290 minutes.

They weren't rescued, because it was policy of the convoys to not stop and pick up survivors with Uboats being around. Speed was their only defence in the vastness of the Atlantic, and the escort ships were busy fending off/hunting down the subs. The Germans were forbidden from rescuing anyone, due to them doing it before, and when they went to rescue people from the sunk Laconia in the Mediterranean and even calling in a couple other subs to pick up survivors, they were attacked by US planes... they broadcast on open frequency, that they were doing rescue operations, flew Red Cross flags on the ships' hulls, and asked for Allied assistance in getting these people out. The Americans instead sent bombers to attack the submarines, packed with civilians they had rescued, forcing them to emergency dive and abandoning them. The Brits knew what the Americans were doing and that there would be a lot of collateral, and did nothing to either ask them to stop or warn the Germans... After that Adolf ordered that no survivors were to be picked up. Also a British commander of a submarine, who retired in the 50s as a Vice Admiral (2nd highest rank in the Navy) and with a Victoria Cross (highest decoration), murdered German sailors in the water on at least two different occasions, and even bragged about it in his log book. He machine gunned them in their life boats. Plenty of war crimes to go around on both sides, but you only ever hear about what the Germans, Japanese etc. did....

I'm German. I think this is the best submarine movie ever. Thank you for watching the film. Not all Germans at war are pigs! We also know love, loss and everything else you feel too!!!

"The guy on the left" at 3:00 is Herbert Grönemeyer - he became one of the most famous German songwriters after that movie. 😀

"Does everyone on this sub have crabs?" Not sure how many have crabs, but considering they share bunks, it's probably an even number.

I’m so glad someone reacted to this and with the subtitled version as well. Great video, guys!

Just for your concern: When the crew talks to the chief, many people think they are saying "Eddie". In fact, they are saying "LI", which is the short form for "Leitender Ingenieur" = chief engineer

The young man's French girlfriend hid her engagement and pregnancy because the French resistance would strike at collaboraters and girlfriends were by definition collaborating with the enemy. He kept it secret as well because he would become a special target as well. They were teens thrown togeather during the war but had to fear the reaction to them coming to love each other.

i saw this when the mini series got shown on British TV in the early 80's, having grown up surrounded by people that had fought in the war and having only seen Allied representations of the war it was a huge eye opener, the first time i saw the Germans as people and not just the enemy

My all time favorite movie, it inspired me in so many ways, the music, the u-boat and the actors! Greatest and most realistic movie about u-boat men roaming the Atlantic

The Air Raid in the end makes it felt like: Yeah we made it back alive. Nope here comes the back stabber and end you.

I want to add that this movie is based on the book "Das Boot" from Lothar Gunter buchheim. It's his true story what he experienced in world War 2 on a submarine and the role of Leutnant Werner (herbert Grönemeyer), the photographer, is basicly the role of buchheim. In Germany we still concider this one as probably the best German movie in terms of acting(!) , technique, score, setting and storytelling. My father showed it first to me and still loves to watch it with me. I am looking foward to the day when I will look this one with my son.

Such an incredible movie. The tension just grows with the beards.

Great review of this classic film, you guys are awesome! Thank you. The authentic realism in this movie was intense; this is one of THE best German big-budget movies ever made after 1945. Greetings from Northern Germany

I really enjoyed this review. Das Boot was shown as a 6 part mini series of 50 minute episodes in the UK in the 1980s. You really started to feel you were on the submarine with the crew and felt their claustrophobia. It was brilliant in that format.

That movie was the beginning of the international career of Wolfgang Petersen, later he made movies like Air Force One or Troja. The captain of the boat is Jürgen Prochnow in Hollywood movies he played mostly the villain, the main role for a German actor if they made it to Hollywood, he played in Beverly Hills Cop 2, Twin Peaks, Judge Dredd or The English Patient. Leutnant Werner is played by the German singer songwriter Herbert Grönemeyer, a lot of these actor's started their career with that movie, of course not everyone in the US film industry, but a very good one in Germany and Europe. Jost Vacano the camera operator of this movie went to the US as well and did movies like Total Recall, RoboCop and Starship Troopers.

The german movie Stalingrad is also a unique take on the WW2 battle. I would highly recommend.

11:00 Yes, they were massive (like most of the torpedoes from that time). The G7e (for electric) were 7 meters long and weighed a little more than 1.5 metric tons each.

The film is not only within the Top Ten of war movies but launched the careers of the director Wolfgang Petersen and all actors for the following 30 years. All of them became quite famous and are still in Germany. Sadly the actor of the chief engineer here died in his fifties, and the war correspondent here became an even more popular singer in Germany, mostly ballads. Not to forget he composed the unofficial anthem of the Ruhr steel region in Germany - called Bochum after a town here.

My dad was a submariner in the 70s - still diesel submarines, and he smoked then. There was so little oxygen in the air you couldn't light your cigarette. I think they might have had 3 to a bunk, because you just get 8 hour shifts. The food was often stale and mouldy. The submariners get so messed up by being at sea they have a 24 hour acclimation to being back on shore before they go off duty. And that was peacetime. Alcoholism was common, including with my dad. Submarines compress under pressure, so if you hang a string tightly across the inside, at depth the string will hang lower.

Having spent a good portion of my own service sailing those same waters, there is no such thing as "good" weather in the North Atlantic.

When you guys comment about his anger at men still on the ships, remember these were civilian cargo vessels, not military ships. He would have torpedoed a cruiser or destroyer with men on it with few qualms. But most people in militaries around the world are not psychopaths. And my impression is that amongst professional sailors in particular, military or civilian, there is a strong ethic of "peril on the sea" that you always aid. Always. And here he simply could not. They attack shipping because supplies are strategic. Not because they WANT a body count.

The German Kriegsmarine were the last of the old guard from their old Imperial days. Hitler was not a fan, he thought them too aristocratic & disdainful of the Nazi party, which their senior officer corps were (Rommel was a similar type). Between the old 'honourable combat between worthy adversaries' ethos & the general superstition most sailors (probably still) had, it was all the more demoralising to have to watch enemy seamen burn &/ drown. Once your ship was sunk or disabled, you were effectively off the playing board & usually every effort was made to pick up survivors & deposit them at neutral ports or take them as prisoners. As well as the war itself, all participants were fighting the sea itself which is cruel in its indifference & can brutally reward any mishap or bad luck - so everyone at sea knew at heart 'that could be me'.

Fun fact: Otto Sander (Kapitänleutnant Philipp Thomsen) who was lying in his own puke in the bathroom, was actually really drunk and wasted during the shoot of this scene. He admitted this later in an interview and some of the cast confirm this in a documentary. He was so much in character, that he wanted to play this as real as possible. AND...the (real) Captain does not die at the end. He actually survived the war and died 1986 in Bremen.

The movie is made after a book of a guy called Lothar Günther Buchheim. Buchheim was a military journalist himself, just like Lt. Werner in the movie. The Book is based on the summary of experiences of 3 tours buchheim made on different boats. So in a way almost everything you see in the movie, except some exagerations for dramtic purposes did actually happen, but not on one tour or boat.

Thanks for reviewing this excellent film. One thing I really like about the film is how it captures the fog of war. The crew of U96 aren't sure exactly how many other U boats are around the convoy, where they are or if they're even there. Also, due to the bad weather and storms, they're not even quite sure where they are.

"Man overboard!" - That was actually a genuine accident during filming, and the guy on watch was so in character that he yelled "Mann über Bord!", so they left it in. The actor was washed from the tower onto the reilings, and actually broke a rib, I think.

This movie I always watch in German with subtitles. There is no other way.

All 300-ish minutes comprise the best version of _Das Boot._ You can’t go back to watching the director’s cut, much less the theatrical cut, after experiencing all five hours.

Absolute respect for the U boat crews, heroes. From a Briton whose uncle was torpedoed and survived. They did their job.

A few pieces of info to better understand the situation. 1. Depth charges explode on pre-set depth. They not only damage submarine by the explosion. The pressure wave in the water also damages the hull of a submarine to a degree. And also some pieces of equipment on a submarine don't exactly like being tossed around. But crucial pieces of machinery are typically very sturdy. 2. Back in WWII sonars weren't as advanced. So this was basically a blind war. A submarine was trying to hide while the destroyer was trying to guess where the submarine is. 3. Destroyers have passive sonar too. They would HEAR it if the sub was hit, taking water and sinking. So just dropping trash to fool the enemy wouldn't work. 4. Firing a torpedo is not silent. So a submarine can only attack with element of surprise. After the enemy destroyer notices a sub in the area firing a torpedo would give away sub's position so pretty much all a submarine can do is pretend to be a hole in the water and hope depth charges won't explode close enough to sink the boat.

The U Boat used in the movie is the same one used in Raiders of the Lost Ark, which today is the 40th Anniversary.

I've seen this movie oh dozen times. And I loved watching it with someone you hadn't seen it. So I loved seeing this with you two. You guys catch all the fine points without anyone pointing them out to you. Well done.

Excruciatingly tense, heart-wrenching and simply unforgettable.

first "Das Boot" reaction video on youtube and made the correct choice of having subtitles, respect.

You should definitely check out Master and Commander: Far Side of The World. It does for sailing vessels what Das Boot does for submarines. Amazing film.

I've watched the movie several times (all cuts + the mini series), and was still surprised by Samantha's observation that if Johann had got off the Boat in Vigo, the rest of the crew would probably have perished on the bottom of the Gibraltar Strait. She has a sharp eye for details.

Dear Both, remember watching this in the early / mid 80s. Is considered to be one of the very best and balanced war stories films ever. The crew and captain quickly become the heroes. I have a friend who served in a senior position in the RN submarine service and says that life on board was very accurate, particularly how the crew deals with boredom - incl flicking boggies at each other and ignoring that fact that boggieds are being flicked - just to playfully annoy each other x Graham W x ps submariners are very special people !

What a brillant cast! Jürgen Prochnow, the captain, turned 80 some days ago. And Herbert Grönemeyer, the reporter, is one of the most important German singer-songwriters.

Fantastic movie, one of my favs ^^ "Stalingrad" from 1993 is also a great WW2 movie from the germans perspective.

This is my favorite movie of all time. I've watched it many times. It MUST be seen in German. Dubbing does not do this movie justice. The German language is an integral part of this movie.

I don't know what I love more: that you guys did a great reaction video for "Das Boot"....or that it currently has 124,864 views after a little more than a month. :D

A masterpiece, and the most realistic submarine film ever made, despite being a fiction.

I love how you guys take the time to review and share your thoughts at the end of the movies you watch

I’ve watched the movie a dozen or two times and (as a military history buff and History BA) I really enjoyed and appreciated the commentary from both of you. Liked how you noticed details. Good job. If you have the director’s cut, watch it with the commentary. Great stuff about making the movie and the war, itself. This movie is great because it isn’t Hollywood.

My dad served on subs during Korea, so he knew the smaller diesel vessels. He said this is the most accurate depiction of a bubblehead's life he'd ever run across.