Das Boot on Blu-Ray June 7

[frau kaleun]

Originally Posted by Penguin

Sorry, was some days off the forums. (No, the reality is that I need 6 days for an apropriate reply )
Actually I was hoping to blackmail you to send me a case of your finest breweries, as being drunk helps to understand other drunks - but there's also the scene in the bar - impossible to understand withour french champagne....

A German in Germany is publicly asking for beer from the US? I think there's a potential blackmail situation here, but the victim will not be me.

Apart from the song: what voiceovers did you mean? The text at the beginning is not dubbed in my version, neither in german, nor english, nor mexican...

Voiceover = Narration

On my DVDs at the beginning when they're driving down the coast road toward the nightclub, there is a voiceover by Werner's character. The English subtitles are something like, "The last night on land... [can't remember these bits]... the aces, there aren't many of them left... Schepke, Kretschmer, lost to the British [or something like that]... and Endrass, with a nervous breakdown [WHICH MAKES ME VERY ANGRY, THEY SHOULD HAVE USED A MADE UP NAME BECAUSE ENDRASS DID *NOT* HAVE A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN HE WENT OUT FIGHTING!]..."

I think there is more of Werner narrating in voiceover later on in the movie, for sure there is in the Uncut version but I think in the DC as well.

[Penguin]

Originally Posted by frau kaleun

A German in Germany is publicly asking for beer from the US? I think there's a potential blackmail situation here, but the victim will not be me.

That's why I asked for fine brews, not the usual "sex in a canoe" beers...
In addition: all my friends know that I have a bad taste - so no blackmail sit here

Originally Posted by frau kaleun

Voiceover = Narration

On my DVDs at the beginning when they're driving down the coast road toward the nightclub, there is a voiceover by Werner's character. The English subtitles are something like, "The last night on land... [can't remember these bits]... the aces, there aren't many of them left... Schepke, Kretschmer, lost to the British [or something like that]... and Endrass, with a nervous breakdown [WHICH MAKES ME VERY ANGRY, THEY SHOULD HAVE USED A MADE UP NAME BECAUSE ENDRASS DID *NOT* HAVE A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN HE WENT OUT FIGHTING!]..."

I think there is more of Werner narrating in voiceover later on in the movie, for sure there is in the Uncut version but I think in the DC as well.

strange, I checked it out, the narration is included in the European version, but not in the US version of the UC (from Sony) - I checked the later out first....
It certainly does add immersion, especially at the beginning.
Another fun fact, which Peterson mentions in his audio comment: when the first WO talks about his experience with the crew, he says in the english audio that he was initiated- they made him say this for the english tv version. However in the english subs on the euro disc it is correctly translated from the german version: "I was peed on". The rest of the english subs don't seem to differ between the US/Euro versions.

At the time the first scene plays, Endrass is still alive
In the original Werner says, he is "mit den Nerven fertig", which is like a step before a nervous breakdown - something along the lines of emotional distress, or more bold: a nervous wreck.

[Subnuts]

Well, as we sit around waiting for Sony to release Das Boot on blu-ray in the US, I found a website that compares 10 shots from the 1997 DVD with the 2010 German blu-ray. Just click on "1920 x 1080 fullscreen comparison."

http://www.caps-a-holic.com/hd_vergl...leich=das_boot

Wow. A bit like watching the movie with glasses on. I hear Sony is working on a new master, so let's keep our fingers crossed!

[vienna]

Regarding subtitles or dubbing, I was hopping around the various television stations and I came across an American film dubbed in Spanish. My knowledge of Spanish is sketchy and the Spanish speakers tend to speak much too fast for me to get a clear listening, but I did notice something interesting; whenever a character in the original dialogue would speak a word that would be considered coarse, instead of translating the actual word, skipping over the word entirely, or substituting the Spanish equivalent of, say, "gosh" or "darn", the dubbed in voice would say "maldicion". The literal translation is "malediction" in English meaning to speak badly or curse. So, in the dubbed dialogue rather than say the word in question, they simply say "curse word" leaving it up to the viewer to supply his or her chosen foul language...

[Subnuts]

Managed to dig up a little more information about this upcoming release:
http://j-entonline.com/blu-ray-dvd-r...y-disc-review/

The actual review doesn't give much information (lots of exclamation points, little real analysis), but it gives some info on the special features:

DISC 1:

• Filmmakers Commentary – Featuring a new audio commentary by Wolfgang Petersen revisiting the director’s cut version of the movie along with Ortwin Freyermuth.

DISC 2:

• The Perfect Boat – The Director’s Cut – (13:02) The process of “Das Boot”, the theatrical movie, the TV series and the making of the longer version of the film and the challenges to make the longer version in 1996.
• Maria’s Take - (9:16) Maria Petersen (assistant director) reflects with husband/director Wolfgang Petersen on working on the set of “Das Boot”.
• Historical Material – Featuring the original “Behind-the-Scenes” 1981 featurette (1:00:20) and “The Battle of the Atlantic” (1983) featurette (40:18) which is a German documentary with interviews with former WW2 veterans from both the German and British side.
• Captain’s Tour – Inside the Boat – (8:12) Actor Jurgen Prochnow gives us a tour of a submarine – Rooms Overview, Entry Conning Tower, Torpedo Room and Crew Quarters, Captain’s and Officer Rooms, The Control Room, Petty Officers Room & Gallery and Diesel & Electric Motor Rooms.
• Wolfgang Petersen – Back to the Boat – (44:48) Wolfgang Petersen, Jurgen Prochnow, Director’s Cut Producer Ortwin Freyermuth visit the original location of where “Das Boot” was shot and visiting the submarine and reflecting on memories from the past.

[Sailor Steve]

Those are some pretty cool features!

[frau kaleun]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Those are some pretty cool features!

Yes they are!

Captain’s Tour – Inside the Boat – (8:12) Actor Jurgen Prochnow gives us a tour of a submarine – Rooms Overview, Entry Conning Tower, Torpedo Room and Crew Quarters, Captain’s and Officer Rooms, The Control Room, Petty Officers Room & Gallery and Diesel & Electric Motor Rooms.

*swoon*

[Captain Nemo]

Originally Posted by frau kaleun

Voiceover = Narration

"... and Endrass, with a nervous breakdown [WHICH MAKES ME VERY ANGRY, THEY SHOULD HAVE USED A MADE UP NAME BECAUSE ENDRASS DID *NOT* HAVE A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN HE WENT OUT FIGHTING!]..."

Or they could have substituted Endrass with Bleichrodt who did have a nervous breakdown whilst at sea in December 1942. Although this might not have fitted in with the timing of the movie, which if I remember rightly, was set in 1941.

Nemo

[Subnuts]

Another new review, this time with full-size screenshots:
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film3/blu-r...ot_blu-ray.htm

The first 15 minutes of the movie has always looked soft and somewhat washed out, but the rest of the movie seems to look a lot better. I've heard that DVD Beaver's screenshots don't always reflect the actual picture quality as good as they should, so take them with a grain of salt. However, it looks like the devil is in the details as always. Looking at these shots, I was startled by little details like Herbert Gronemeyer's crocheted sweater, the hat and breast insignia (you can actually see the swastikas now!), every bead of sweat on the crew's faces, individual drops of condensation on the boat, Jurgen Prochnow's awesome blue eyes, and Erwin Leder's really awful teeth. Nothing really mind-blowing, but when you've seen a movie a dozen times, you start to notice these kind of things.

The old Director's Cut DVD will be 14 years old, and while it looked amazing back then, it looks pretty dated now - check out all the blockiness and pixelation in the underwater shots, iffy black levels, and haloing around flashlight beams and lights in the boat's interior. Still, it's a dark, grainy movie from the early 80s. It's never going to look like an epic nature documentary, but I think this new blu-ray probably depicts Das Boot the way it was meant to be see.

Oh, and a little preview for Frau Kaluen:

[frau kaleun]

Originally Posted by Subnuts

Oh, and a little preview for Frau Kaluen:

....huh? wha? oh, sorry, I got to Jurgen Prochnow's awesome blue eyes and then sort of forgot what we were talking about.

[Sailor Steve]

NOTE: This Blu-ray package contains the 208 minute (director's cut) and the original theatrical 149 minute version. It does NOT contain the 293 minute (uncut version).

We kind of knew that, but it's good he said it anyway. It gives me hope that the Uncut version will be following soon. I just hope that when it does it's not uncut, but rather the actual miniseries.

Of course I can't actually see it at all until I get my new computer, and that means I'll have to include a Blu-Ray player as part of the package. Oh well, Blu-Ray prices are coming down fast.

[Subnuts]

So, spent a couple hours today trying to snag a day-early copy of the new blu-ray. Tried all the major local stores, but finally found a copy at a little store at the mall. Paid way too much ($24.99, but still slightly cheaper than buying it from Amazon), but didn't feel too bad since Best Buy wanted $22.99 for a copy of Birdemic.

Anyway, watched some of the new extras, and while they're tastefully done and fairly low-key, there's not a whole lot said in them that wasn't already said on the commentary on the 1997 DVD. There's some behind-the-scenes stuff I hadn't previously seen, like footage of the film crew scouring the French coast for pieces of the boat. There's some funny stuff from Wolfgang Petersen's wife, who was an (uncredited) Assistant Director on the movie, but the extras seem a little superficial in all. I was hoping the Captain's Tour would be more substantial, but it's basically just 8 minutes of Jurgen Prochnow walking around the set at the Bavaria Filmstadt, looking really uncomfortable while reciting some basic facts ("this is the bow torpedo room, here you see the four torpedo tubes, and the bunks on the side. Four more torpedoes were stored in this room, and when they were fired, more room was made for the crew. Moving on the captain's quarters...").

I got about five minutes into the 1981 "making of," which is the same one that's been available on YouTube the last couple years. However, it looks a lot clearer in this version, and the German narration has been redone in English, though all of the set-dialog is in German (duh!) with English subtitles. I'll finish watching that tomorrow, watch the 1983 Battle of the Atlantic documentary, and get back to you guys then. Maybe I'll watch the theatrical cut tomorrow, too. I only saw it once, in 1998, and I remember severely disliking it the first time around. So this is now the forth version (Director's Cut VHS, Director's Cut DVD, Uncut DVD, DC/Theatrical Blu-Ray) I've bought in 11 years of a movie I hated the first time I saw it!

[frau kaleun]

I guess that means they didn't bump back the release date again... kept meaning to check but never got around to it. Which means I should also have my copy this week. WOOT!

Glad to know about that "making of" thing, I tried to watch it on You Tube but with it all being in German it was mostly an effort in frustration.

BTW, this will make the fourth copy I've bought of a movie I loved the first time I saw it.

[Subnuts]

Originally Posted by frau kaleun

Glad to know about that "making of" thing, I tried to watch it on You Tube but with it all being in German it was mostly an effort in frustration.

I just noticed that the "making of" was taken off of YouTube recently. Copyright police are really on their toes! It's titled Das Boot: Die Feindfahrt von U96, and there's still a 44 minute version of that on YouTube. However, the blu-ray making of is a full hour long - maybe that's a "director's cut" too!

Fun fact: There are so many home video releases of Das Boot, that if one were stack one of each version vertically in chronological order, and somehow manage to place that stack in the water, the original VHS version would be so deep that the water pressure would crush it.

[frau kaleun]

Just checked my email and my copy shipped from Amazon on Saturday.

It was only $17.99, though, did they drop the price from the initial listing?