Das Boot Revisited: An Underwater Success Story (2021)

The 1982 film Das Boot, the story of the crew on a German U-Boat during World War Two, became one of the highest grossing German films of all time. The cast and crew discuss the making of Wolfgang Petersen's claustrophobic epic, a landmark in German cinema. The basis of the production is the novel by a contemporary witness. In 1973, the former war correspondent Lothar-Gunther Buchheim published his book DAS BOOT, based on his war experiences on the 7th war patrol of the U 96 in 1941. He documented the patrol and boat with photographs and wanted to "see decent German heroes", as the ship's commander, Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock, instructed the crew shortly before departure. The book became an international bestseller. In 1976 Bavaria Studios, at that time the largest film studios in West Germany, secured the filming rights. A Hollywood blockbuster is to be created - as a German-American production with a star cast, with Robert Redford and Paul Newman. Still without a script, an external and internal boat mock-ups are recreated in original size. The cost is three million DM. But Buchheim vetoed two scripts, claiming that they were too cliche, grossly exaggerated. The Americans get out of the planned feature film production "Das Boot". The sets are rusting left unused on the studio premises. The idea is only revived when a new head of the studio comes along. Then nationally celebrated but internationally unknown Wolfgang Petersen takes over the helm, he writes a script and takes over the direction. Petersen's script shows what war means and how it changes people. He wants to create an authentic war film, and a mammoth project is being planned. Never before has so much money been spent on a film in Germany. Most of the filming was done in one year; to make the appearance of the actors as realistic as possible, scenes were filmed in sequence over the course of the year. Young actors like Herbert Gronemeyer, Uwe Ochsenknecht or Martin Semmelrogge became well known through the film, leading actor Jurgen Prochnow even made a career in America afterwards. The film premiered in 1981. The German press is critical, either the film is denounced as glorifying war or, from exactly the opposite direction, portrayed as desecration of the honorable German marines. Production also functions as a reflection of German society in the early 80s. But the international reception is overwhelming: the way the film was made was appreciated - a determining aspect that got lost in German reviews due to the ideological discourse. Six Oscar nominations seal the global success, including the supreme disciplines: best direction, best editing, best camera, best adapted screenplay. Something that a German production never again achieved. In Germany, "The Boat" only became a legend through TV broadcasts as a series and a "Director's Cut" revived the boat in the 1990s and made it a legend. The production is in every respect a timeless and extremely captivating modern classic.