Das Boot HD/Bluray DVD

[sonicninja]

Does anyone know where I can obtain a HD/Bluray Directors Cut DVD version of the Das Boot Movie, ive tried all the shops i know and Ebay but no joy?

[FIREWALL]

I don't think it's been done in BlueRay.

I have a version done in "SuperBit".

[frau kaleun]

The Superbit is also OOP if I remember correctly, but you can still pick up a copy here and there. I got one from a third party seller via Amazon. It doesn't come with any of the extras that appear on the other Director's Cut DVD (other than a wider range of possible subtitle languages) but it's not like that one's chock full of bonus goodies either. :)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000844MV/ref=oss_T15_product

What I'd really like to see is some kind of special anniversary edition with mo' better extras, since every available version on DVD seems woefully lacking in that department. Surely if that happens it'll come out on both DVD and Blu-ray.

Oh and BTW this is my first post here, although I've been lurking for a bit. New to the game and the site and really enjoying all the info, etc., that is available here so thanks to everyone who creates/maintains/participates!

Frau Kaleun

[Gabucino]

Does anyone know where I can obtain a HD/Bluray Directors Cut DVD version of the Das Boot Movie, ive tried all the shops i know and Ebay but no joy?

Currently when you want to get the highest quality, you have to make compromises.

The DVD (Director's Cut) has the DTS audio, but low-res video.
The 720p HD release (Theatrical cut) has only AC3, and hardcoded english subtitles (probably not a problem).

There's a custom fan-made encode circulating which features the HD video and the DTS audio cut down to the theatrical release.

[Hitman]

Wrong forum ... moving it :shucks:

[Dowly]

Welcome aboard Frau Kaleun! :salute:

[frau kaleun]

Welcome aboard Frau Kaleun! :salute:

Thanks, glad to have found this site and to be here.

Now that I think of it, isn't the 30th anniversary of the original theatrical release coming up soon? Maybe if we're all very, VERY good, they'll put out something special for it.

*sigh*

A girl can dream, anyway. Was there ever a "making of" documentary or anything that was done for European audiences? I would love to see something like that show up on a DVD re-release someday.

[sonicninja]

Here's an interesting fact about the making of Das Boot, an article taken from Wikipedia and verified by other sites also:-

A mock-up of a conning tower was placed in a water tank at the Bavaria Studios (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bavaria_Film_Studios) in Munich (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich) for outdoor scenes not requiring a full view of the boat's exterior. When filming on the outdoor mockup or the conning tower, jets of cold water were hosed over the actors to simulate the breaking ocean waves. During the filming there is a scene where actor Jan Fedder (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Fedder) (Pilgrim) falls off the bridge while the U-boat is surfaced and lands in the front and breaks several ribs. This scene was not scripted and during the take one of the actors exclaims "Mann über Bord!" in order to draw attention to Fedder. Petersen, who at first did not realise this was an accident said "Good idea, Jan. We'll do that one more time!". However, since Fedder was genuinely injured and had to be hospitalised, this was the only take available and eventually Petersen kept this scene in the film. In this scene, the pained expression on Fedder's face is authentic and not acted. Petersen also had to rewrite Fedder's character for a portion of the film so that the character was portrayed as bedridden. For his scenes later in the film Fedder had to be brought to and from set from the hospital since he suffered a concussion while filming his accident scene. Fedder eventually recovered enough and Pilgrim is seen on his feet from the scene when the U-96 abandons the British sailors

:smug: Now thats hardcore acting!!!



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Das_Boot

[frau kaleun]

I've always been somewhat impressed by the fact that "Lt Werner" didn't break character and yelled out Mann über Bord! instead of something less nautically correct.

[sonicninja]

apparently play.com are going to release a blu-ray version of Das Boot shorlty, i am on the email list for release so i shall post it here when it comes out :yeah:

[frau kaleun]

Blu-Ray is only worth having if you have an HD TV, right? Or some other HD video playback option? Or is the quality just better anyway no matter what you play it on, compared to DVD?

I ask that, like I'm not going to buy it eventually anyway, just on principle.

[Jungmann]

At the moment the directors cut of Das Boot is being shown in HD in the UK on SKY Movies. Next showing is:

FILM: Das Boot: Director's Cut
On: Sky Movies Indie HD (339)
Date: Friday 5th February 2010 (starting in 9 days)
Time: 09:00 to 12:25 (3 hours and 25 minutes long)

As World War II rages, the crew of a German submarine battle for survival when their U-boat is badly damaged in a skirmish with British forces. War drama.
(Widescreen, High Definition, Dolby Digital 5.1, 1981, 12, 4 Star)

It been on a few weeks ago and I can confirm that it is in HD.

[desertisland]

Don't think blu-ray is going to do much to Das Boot since the original print was soaked and have to be baked in an oven to restore. The director's cut we see was a made from a copy of the original. Still, I hope to see a blu-ray release. I wish they include a pop-up map that pinpoints the submarine's position in the Atlantic. Blu-ray Master and Commander has that and it looks great. A depth meter and an oxygen level display would be fine too.

[Bilge_Rat]

I now have both the 1997 Director's cut DVD which I bought about 10 years ago and the 2004 uncut version DVD which I just purchased.

Technically, the director's cut is better. The sound mix which was remade for that DVD has a deeper, more robust sound, especially the underwater noises (i.e. sub creaking, depth charges, breaking up noises). The sound mix in the uncut version is from the TV mini-series and it shows. You wont necessarily notice the difference on a TV, but on a Home Theater system like I have, it is night and day.

In terms of image quality, it is about the same, although I find the image quality on the Director's cut is slightly sharper. On the Uncut version, the image, especially on the newly added scenes is a bit fuzzier.

Having said all that, the uncut version works better as a movie, since the new scenes fill in and complete the movie and tie it in more to Buckheim's original book.

so get both....:salute:

[desertisland]

I have the theatrical release on VHS, the director's cut on DVD, the uncut version on DVD, and the superbit version of the director's cut on DVD. What I need is a life. :D

The uncut version doesn't work for me, I find it long and boring. The director's cut is the best with the best picture and sound. The theatrical release is just right if I need to show it to someone who is not crazy about submarines. If only I have a VHS now.

The superbit version sports a DTS track which vastly surpasses the already excellent track of the director's cut, and I have a cheapo surround system. It boasts a bit-rate double that of the old one (spanning two DVD9s instead of two DVD5s) but the enhancement in picture isn't noticeable unless you hit pause and look hard at Jürgen Prochnow's face.

I highly doubt if blu-ray will do much to improve this movie without massive graphic editing, perhaps just the underwater opening scene. :up:

[desertisland]

At the moment the directors cut of Das Boot is being shown in HD in the UK on SKY Movies. Next showing is:
Sniped
It been on a few weeks ago and I can confirm that it is in HD.

Do you see a graphic improvement over DVD release? I ask because my TV display info says 1080p when I play Das Boot DVD on an upscaling player. It simply means the graphic was upscaled, not necessarily in HD.

[Sailor Steve]

IThe uncut version doesn't work for me, I find it long and boring. The director's cut is the best with the best picture and sound. The theatrical release is just right if I need to show it to someone who is not crazy about submarines. If only I have a VHS now.
I agree that the Director's Cut has the best image and sound, but for some bizarre reason I find it to be the more boring of the two. To me it seems to add an extra hour (over the theatrical release) of just the boring parts. The Uncut version fleshes it out for me.

Or maybe I just think 3-1/2 hours isn't long enough for a u-boat movie.
:rotfl2:

[Subnuts]

I agree that the Director's Cut has the best image and sound, but for some bizarre reason I find it to be the more boring of the two. To me it seems to add an extra hour (over the theatrical release) of just the boring parts. The Uncut version fleshes it out for me.

Or maybe I just think 3-1/2 hours isn't long enough for a u-boat movie.
:rotfl2:

I think it's because the Director's Cut was meant to be watched in one sitting, but since the uncut version was originally a TV series, it doesn't bother me if it takes two or three sittings to watch it. I've watched the Director's Cut in one sitting a few times, and by the end, I'm pretty much exhausted and immobilized. A movie with that much water and no intermission? Those cruel bastards! :down:

[frau kaleun]

I make my own intermission with the DC, at the point where the first half of the movie breaks off. Depending on which version I'm watching I either have to flip a disk over or take out one and put in another. So I don't always sit through the entire 3+ hours in one sitting. I have to say, though, it's not the easiest place to leave off watching!

In fact the very first time I watched it (which was the first time I saw Das Boot, ever), I ended up flipping the disk and watching a bit of the second half and it was really all I could do to take it back out and wait 'til the next evening to finish the movie.

The worst part was, at some point in the process of going through the menu I'd ended up in scene selection and even though I tried not to see any of the chapter titles before I got out of it, I did see one titled "Homecoming."

So when they're sitting on the bottom after getting hit at Gibraltar, my best friend happens to call me. Now, she also called me when I was watching the first half of the movie and I'd told her about it and how good it was. And I tell her I'm now watching the second half and my nerves are SHOT because every time I think it can't get any worse for these lads, somehow it does, and now they're really in dire straits. BUT, I say, BUT I accidentally saw the chapter titles and there's one that said "Homecoming" so I've still got my fingers crossed that everything will turn out okay altho it looks really bad right now!

So, you know, you can just imagine how I felt when I finally got to the "Homecoming" chapter and saw how THAT turned out.

I still remember sitting there all happy and then I hear air raid sirens and I was thinking, WTF YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. After all of that, now this?
:o :stare: :wah:

[piri_reis]

I still remember sitting there all happy and then I hear air raid sirens and I was thinking, WTF YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. After all of that, now this? :o :stare: :wah:

One of the best movie endings ever, so dramatic.

First time me and my cousin sat down to watch Das Boot, about 7-8 years ago, we didn't know anything about it. It was about 2AM in the morning. Had some sandwiches ordered early on, so we thought we'd sit down and take a peak while we wait on the chow. I remember I was pretty sleepy already at the beginning. But as it progressed, we brewed coffee after coffee, and watched the whole thing just hanging on suspense :DL

Since then it's been one of my favorites and I still watch it regularly :arrgh!:

[Sailor Steve]

I've watched the Uncut version so many times that I sometimes put it in my computer and try to guess where each episode ended. By my count it should be every 48 minutes or so, and there are some places where I might even be right.

But I sure wish they would release yet another version - the full-length miniseries with the episode breaks in place.:sunny:

[frau kaleun]

Since then it's been one of my favorites and I still watch it regularly :arrgh!:

Same here.

I don't even bother to file the DVDs away anymore, I just have them out on a shelf near the TV for easy access.

I don't know when I've ever had a more nerve-wracking first viewing of a film, and I mean that in a good way. I was so involved in their survival... don't know I've ever been happier watching a movie than I was when that boat finally surfaced again. Or more devastated by an ending... watching Der Alte watch it sink after all they'd been through to get her afloat again and get themselves home. It's heartbreaking.

C'est la guerre.

[desertisland]

I still remember sitting there all happy and then I hear air raid sirens and I was thinking, WTF YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. After all of that, now this?:o :stare: :wah:

I do find the ending melodramatic. But this is what plagues all German movies about WWII. A gloomy atmosphere and a bad ending is mandatory. It is the only politically correct treatment of WWII there.

Here's part of a review I wrote where I tried to justify the ending:

Das Boot is an allegory for Germany during the second world war. The captain knew that the superiors were wrong and that the mission cannot be accomplished but he followed the orders anyway because he was a good soldier. The scene when the u-boat is trapped at the bottom of the sea after Gibraltar said it all: the chief engineer told Werner that the whole business is madness and that he knew it all along. In the military a soldier cannot do wrong as long as he followed orders. In defeat the blame goes to the commander. Soldiers are only punished for disobedience. However, in the end we see that obedience to a wrong decision is punished anyway. The most common, and futile, argument by the defendants during the Nuremberg Trials was that they were simply following orders. The aftermath of WWII is deeply ingrained in the German psyche and this movie shows it.

The captain isn't entirely innocent, too. He cheered the victories and was zealous in carrying out orders. How can we blame him? I am sure every audience cheered along with the crew at some point in this movie. In any language, the word for "the good guys" is always "us". The perspective of the movie places us right there among the u-boat crew. The captain clearly violated his own conscience and the laws of man when he refused to rescue the sailors. Das Boot put us there and show us that human beings like us, and not some Biblical monsters, are fully capable of carrying out the worst atrocities, if they are put inside a system that shifts responsibility upwards.

[frau kaleun]

I do find the ending melodramatic. But this is what plagues all German movies about WWII. A gloomy atmosphere and a bad ending is mandatory. It is the only politically correct treatment of WWII there.

Peterson says in the commentary that after the movie premiered internationally, people would ask him why they couldn't just let the crew come home safely. His answer was, "What they didn't understand was, this is a German movie about WWII. It can't have a happy ending."

[Bilge_Rat]

Peterson says in the commentary that after the movie premiered internationally, people would ask him why they couldn't just let the crew come home safely. His answer was, "What they didn't understand was, this is a German movie about WWII. It can't have a happy ending."

It would be different now, but in 70's when the movie was made, it was too close to the war to have a happy ending. This was one of the first German postwar movie to portray WW2 German soldiers in a sympathetic light.

Its only now, two generations later, that Germans are allowing themselves to laugh about the war.

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/germany/090903/inglourious-basterds

[Sailor Steve]

Actually the movie ends the way it does because that's the way the book ends.

I've long said something similar to Frau Kaleun's Petersen quote: It's German, so it's opera.

[ReallyDedPoet]

Just bought the un-cut version, what a difference from the Director's Version which I have as well.