Das Boot

"On land they dreamed of being heroes. Beneath the sea they pray to be survivors."

1981 2h 30m DE

🙌

8.1

BANGER

★8.1TMDB · 2,656

DramaHistoryWar

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A German submarine hunts allied ships during the Second World War, but it soon becomes the hunted. The crew tries to survive below the surface, while stretching both the boat and themselves to their limits.

“On land they dreamed of being heroes. Beneath the sea they pray to be survivors.”

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Cast

Jürgen Prochnow
Lieutenant 'Der Alte'
Herbert Grönemeyer
Leutnant Werner
Klaus Wennemann
Chef Ingenieur
Hubertus Bengsch
First Watch Officer
Martin Semmelrogge
Second Watch Officer
Bernd Tauber
Kriechbaum
Erwin Leder
Johann 'Das Gespenst'
Martin May
Ullmann

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Writers: Wolfgang Petersen, Dean Riesner
Languages: German, English, French
Countries: Germany

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 150 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 6.1× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

45 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: German, English, French.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Wolfgang Petersen, shot by Jost Vacano. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Original score by Klaus Doldinger. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Hannes Nikel shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jürgen Prochnow and Herbert Grönemeyer and Klaus Wennemann carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Wolfgang Petersen directs. Jost Vacano behind the camera. Klaus Doldinger scores. Hannes Nikel cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in Germany. Dialogue in German, English, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 150 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
2Made its money back 6.1× over at the box office.
345 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Dialogue crosses 3 languages: German, English, French.
5Directed by Wolfgang Petersen, shot by Jost Vacano. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Klaus Doldinger. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Hannes Nikel shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Jürgen Prochnow and Herbert Grönemeyer and Klaus Wennemann carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "On land they dreamed of being heroes. Beneath the sea they pray to be survivors.".
10IMDB entry: tt0082096 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 16 themes, including "based on novel or book", "submarine", "war correspondent", "atlantic ocean".
12Released under 28 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Jost Vacano
Original score: Klaus Doldinger
Editing: Hannes Nikel
Production design: Rolf Zehetbauer
Costume design: Monika Bauert
Makeup / hair: Rüdiger von Sperl
Runtime: 150 min · 2h 30m
Status: Released
Budget: $14,000,000
Box office: $85,000,000
Return: 607% of budget
Original language: DE
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Das Boot (1981)

Also by

Wolfgang Petersen

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2020-09-17
★ 7/10
Life on a German U-boat During WW2, the German submarine U-96 (with Jürgen Prochnow as the captain) leaves the French harbor of La Rochelle for war adventures & misfortunes in the North Atlantic when they’re eventually commissioned to go through the Strait of Gibraltar. The men experience the challenging claustrophobic life of serving on a U-boat with its highs and lows. Who will make it back alive? “Das Boot” (1981) is a well done accounting of what it was like to live on a U-boat in WW2 – the claustrophobic living conditions, boredom, filth, sheer terror and… no women. One great scene is when the submarine surfaces after torpedoing a couple ships in a British convoy; it’s like hell came to Earth. The flick focuses on the Germans in the restricted spaces of the U-boat and it’s amazing that a compelling film can be made from that limited dramatic angle. While this is a war picture, it doesn’t glorify war. It’s “anti-war” simply by showing the way it was for sub-mariners. The film runs 2 hours, 29 minutes, and was shot in North Sea near Heligoland; the Atlantic Ocean; La Rochelle, France; and Bavaria, Germany. GRADE: B
janeyee2023-12-25
★ 10/10
"Das Boot" stands out as a masterful epic of war cinema, not just for its thrilling combat sequences but for its in-depth look at the human element of warfare. Wolfgang Petersen's direction brings to life the claustrophobic world of a German U-boat, filled with men who are far more than the enemy caricatures often depicted in war films. Jurgen Prochnow's performance as the Captain is especially noteworthy, bringing a palpable sense of leadership, humanity, and burden. The film's slow pacing allows for an immersive experience, making viewers feel a part of the crew's long, tense moments of silence followed by the chaos of battle. The technical details and the psychological depth explored in the characters break down the traditional barriers of war movies, showing the crew as skilled, complex individuals rather than one-dimensional soldiers. "Das Boot" is a powerful, nuanced, and visually arresting film that captures the futility, dread, and sometimes the mundanity of war. It's a unique perspective that offers a gripping narrative and an emotionally resonant experience, making it a classic in both war and world cinema."
CinemaSerf2024-10-25
★ 8/10
In many ways, this reminded me of "Aces High" (1976). An example of young, barely pubescent, men sent to a war that would test their mettle to the extreme as they lived each day, perilously, as it came. This time, these young men are encased in a few hundred tons of creaking metal submarine and are tasked with harrying the Allied convoys travelling to and from the UK as World War II continued. The crew are led by an unorthodox captain (Jürgen Prochnow) and with the combination of underwater claustrophobia and paranoia now coupled with far more effective protection tactics from their enemy, the atmosphere in their sweaty and sweating sardine tin grows more and more tense. The film depicts with effective plausibility the lives of these submariners who have their successes, but as they gradually realise the war isn't quite going their way, they also face dangers on an increasing basis. The photography is expertly delivered using the natural dinginess of the boat's interior, the frequent hostility of the ocean and the failing mechanics of their home to present us with something that really does make for uncomfortable viewing - even if we ought not to have been "on their side" for a moment. Prochnow works well as the commander with a purpose, but also with a compassion for his struggling crew and a sense of decency that provides him with what might be a little too delicate a respect for his "fat slob" bosses in Berlin. The dialogue and it's cast-wide delivery also manages to create a real feeling of life-and-death scenarios as these men lurch from manmade risk to equally treacherous natural ones. Erwin Leder probably stands out more from the supporting cast as his "Johann" character epitomises most potently the strains under which these youngsters must prevail, but there are generally strong performances all around from an ensemble that illustrates powerfully the camaraderie and inter-dependence of a crew constantly living on the edge of it's nerves. It's almost perfectly paced, with moments of high drama and moments of quiet reflection which Wolfgang Petersen has crafted into an enthralling story of human endurance, temperament and determination. Big screen if you can, it does much more justice to the whole aesthetic of this drama, but even on the television it's an honest and compelling look at war.