Boot, Das (1981)

A "real" war movie
One of the few films about war that is realistic. The viewer can feel the tension and the fear and enjoy the occasional moments of humor. When the action moves onto the submarine, you can almost smell the sweat, the spoiled food, the diesel fuel. I am not normally a big fan of war movies, but this doesn't feel like a movie it feels like real life. There is no "Hollywood" here.

Deserves A Sixth Star
There isn't much to add to what's been said about Das Boot, because the acclaim this motion picture has gathered over nearly thirty years speaks loudly enough. I will note that Das Boot is not only the greatest movie about naval warfare that's ever been made, it ranks as one of film's most intense portraits of human psychology. I don't care how anti-German a person might be in his or her feelings about the Second World War, I guarantee anyone possessing common humanity will quickly bond with this U-boat's crew and be pulling with all his or her might in hope of their survival in the brutal crucible of mechanized war. Just as it has validly been said Stanley Kubrick achieved the impossible in 2001: A Space Odyssey and compelled audiences to suspend disbelief long enough to forget they were not actually watching a mission taking place in deep space, so viewers quickly set aside the fact that Das Boot was shot inside a set, albeit one that recreated a German submarine down to the tiniest detail. Das Boot radiates authenticity and not only suspends all disbelief as to the reality of what one is seeing, it obliterates it. A fine motion picture by any scale, though not for one second for the faint of heart.

best sub film ever
This is simply the best submarine film. And for fans of Das Boot, this uncut version does some good. Lets you really think about life for these people during that time. A good film should do that. A good film should let you get lost in the story and the period of that time.

This uncut version of nearly 5 hours is a treat, and it goes by so fast that the only thing you notice while immersed into the storyline is that you have to get up to change the DVD's in the player.

After it is all done you start to wonder when are the movie people going to remake their movies in-dept and longer for the DVD's? But then you realize that it works for THIS film because it's so good, and it may or may not work for other films.