The Road To Dunkirk: Das Boot
- Jul 17, 2017
- 2 min read
On July 20th Christopher Nolan's WW2 Thriller, Dunkirk, lands in cinemas. To prepare yourselves, and myself, for what will likely be a wholly memorable war film, each day until release I'll be reviewing some of my favourite WW2 films. Today we dive into the depths of tension and claustrophobia with Das Boot.
U-96, a German submarine in service in October 1941, departs on a special mission, to harass enemy ships in the waters between France and Britain. She is crewed by both veterans and new comers alike. Standing at the helm is Captain Henrich (Jurgen Prochnow), Engineer Fritz Grade (Klaus Wennemann) and newly appointed war correspondent Lieutenant Werner (Herbert Gronemeyer). As they patrols the seas, waiting for a target, they grow bored and agitated, but when a target finally appears, it sets in motion events that none of them could have foreseen.
Das Boot is, to be honest, a masterclass in film making. It is as tense and exciting as any big budget, battle filled movie and it achieves it all, for the most part, within the cramped confines of what seems to be an increasingly small submarine. Jurgen stands tall as the films only fixed, the rock to which the rest of the crew clings as the world around them begins to quite literally tear itself apart. It may cliche to describe the film as being edge of your seat viewing but in this case it is more a state of viewing than a simple comment.
Never have I known a film to use such simple things, the colour of lights, an ever changing gauge, muffled sounds, to such effect. Action scenes are often relegated to a group of tired and dirty men shouting in a damp corridor as they get information from the various devices around them and the crew elsewhere in the submarine. While it may not sound as exhilarating as watching the battle unfold from various viewpoints, I can assure you it is.
Das Boot will have you rooting for the Nazi's to make it out alive and that, if nothing else, is a great achievement in and of itself. It is maybe the greatest WW2 film to ever be made and without a doubt is one of my favourites. If you haven't seen it, go in blind, the cramped and uncomfortable journey is definitely worth it.
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