Mission: Get Girlfriend to watch Das Boot

[Chad]

We have all tried it, few have succeeded, it is now my turn. The weather outside is cold, there's nothing going on around campus, and my girlfriend wants me off the computer to spend time with her, and she used the term, I'll do anything. So, I suggest we watch my full-length copy of Das Boot. She agrees.


The first attempt didn't last long, she fell asleep while they were still in the bar/brothel. But this was before I could really grasp her attention to the setting. I stopped it and waited for a better day, another day when she wasn't so tired and really wanted to give it a try. Enter Today.


My second futile attempt to get my girlfriend, herein known as Jessica, to watch Das Boot seems to be looking brighter. We skipped the first 15 minutes, or the bar scene, and I discussed and shared with her the main characters that would interest her the most. These are:


The Captain aka the Old man
The Chief aka Black slicked back hair guy
The War Correspondent aka Red Hair guy who narrates the story
The IWO aka Nazi dude from Mexico
Thompsen aka red haired drunk
The young guy with the prego girlfriend aka the young guy with prego girlfriend


She loves behind the scenes stuff, so I had to inform her that though U-96 is a real boat, and some of the events are true, it's really a fictional story. I showed her various amounts of information concerning the specific boat U-96, about the Captain, and the ways of the German U-boat force in this time period.


I have to help explain a lot about how a U-boat operates. For example when they did the practice crash dive, I explained that all the available men running to the front of the boat will make the boat bow heavy, and thus make it slip under faster, theoretically. I also had to explain why aircraft were so dangerous to U-boats. She seems, mildly interested in the characters more than the plot or technical information given to us. Of course, being an English major will influence this kind of behavior.


Whenever the crew has discussions of girls, I try to extend it a bit from what I remember from the book. I also try to go into more detail why Ulmann and his girlfriend, Francois were so upset as he was leaving, that being the French resistance. She found it interesting about the anti-Facists aboard the boat, namely, the Captain. I tried to explain it as such:


He's an old man compared to the rest of the crew. He was an old sailor and loves the sea, and as such he loves beautiful ships that sail on it. It breaks his heart when he hears of destruction and sinking of ships. The old man doesn't believe in the war, much less Hitler. He knows now, that the war is lost. He isn't married, but is seeing an ex-Luftwaffe pilot's wife. “Why remain single and not womanize like the rest of his men?” she asked me. Perhaps it's the Officer and Gentleman example. Being an officer is a privilege for him, and he treats the uniform with respect. But with his love of the sea, perhaps Poseidon is keeping him and his crew safe for a greater purpose.


Of which I didn't tell her anything else. I'll disclose this reason to anyone who's interested but if she looks this up I don't want to spoil it for her.


We watched thirty minutes of it tonight. She started getting tired around the time the Captain starts making fun of Churchill and Goebbels, describing Churchill as a, “rotten pig, fat ball, paralytic.” I don't want her to miss anything so of course I offered to stop it for tonight so we can go to bed and watch some more tomorrow or another time.


I'll update this more as we watch more of it. And in the end, if this English-majored, hard headed, spoiled little girlfriend of mine likes it, I'll be a happy camper. Then maybe she can understand the brotherhood we have as subsimmers, and understand why visiting these antique ships is so important as not pieces of metal, but for the men who served on them, and should forever be remembered as heroes, no matter what side of the war they fought on, nor whether it was in a ship or a plane, a tank or a foot soldier.


All gave some, some gave all.


This is Chad signing out.

[Dowly]

I tried it with one of my GF's, she fell asleep before the bar scene was over. :doh:

[kiwi_2005]

The first attempt didn't last long, she fell asleep while they were still in the bar/brothel.

We watched thirty minutes of it tonight. She started getting tired around the time the Captain starts making fun of Churchill and Goebbels, describing Churchill as a, “rotten pig, fat ball, paralytic.” I don't want her to miss anything so of course I offered to stop it for tonight so we can go to bed and watch some more tomorrow or another time.




Falling asleep not once but twice, that right there is signs she's bored sh*tless with Das Boot. Tis far better for a couple to be different in some ways as it keeps the relationship going otherwise if you both like the same things there's no longer any surprises and when there's no surprises the relationship becomes boring. Good luck anyways. :up:

Professor Kiwi PHD in the opposite sex signing out. :har:

[August]

Knowing the movie i'd say that if she isn't interested in the beginning she isn't going to like the middle or end any more.

You are going to have to pay for making her watch that war movie at some point.

[frau kaleun]

my girlfriend wants me off the computer to spend time with her, and she used the term, I'll do anything.


And you picked... watching a movie?

:rotfl2:

I don't know whether to be impressed or very, very sad.

(Just kidding. Sort of. :O:)

If she's an English major, how about giving her a copy of the book and let her get started on reading it? She may get more into the characters that way.

Being female, hardheaded, and something of an English lit geek myself, I can tell you that these things do not predispose one to a lack of interest in or appreciation of Das Boot. It was the human element of the story that first captured me when I watched it, as well as the fine performances of the actors and the overall quality of the film as work of art.

Of course being something of a military history geek as well as an "oooh shiny how does it work?" geek didn't hurt either. :D

[NeonSamurai]

Personally I recommend rope and a riding crop.

Wait wrong forum :oops::D

[SteamWake]

My wife saw Das Boot as a child with her father in the theater. :yep: In german :yep:

She vividly recalls him covering her eyes at the fireboat drill :haha:

[Das Gespenst]

The Captain aka the Old man
The Chief aka Black slicked back hair guy
The War Correspondent aka Red Hair guy who narrates the story
The IWO aka Nazi dude from Mexico
Thompsen aka red haired drunk
The young guy with the prego girlfriend aka the young guy with prego girlfriend




How could you forget everyone's favorite diesel mechanic?

[GoldenRivet]

Dear Chad,

You have a beautiful girlfriend who has said she will do anything.

Avoid Das Boot.

as Kiwi said... some differences are just fine... best leave it at that.

best of luck

John

[bookworm_020]

Personally I recommend rope and a riding crop.

Wait wrong forum :oops::D

:har::har::har::har::har:

My wife watched Das Boot, because I had watched her favorite film, Butterfly effect. I still believe I got the worst end of the deal!:damn:

[Ishmael]

My wife called it:

"The only war movie longer than the actual war."

But she still calls me Herr Kaleun on occasion. Das Boot's effects ARE insidious.

[breadcatcher101]

Well, my wife loves that movie, cries at the end when the captain dies.

I got my daughter to watch it and explained the history of it, she also got a bit tearful at the end.

When it was time for her to get up and get ready for school, I would always stick my head in the door and yell at the top of my lungs "AALLAARRMM!!!"

Never failed. Today we still laugh about it. She still watched the movie whenever she can and tells her friends about her "arlarm clock dad".

[I-25]

3 weeks into my relationship with my girlfriend i got her to watch the directors cut non stop in one session, amazingly she did not fall asleep and actually paid attention to it! i was explaingin the tecnical odds and ends to keep her entertaind but not even i could believe it:up:

[limkol]

I told my girlfriend that it was a film about shoes. After only 2 hours, she realised that I was not quite telling the truth......:D

[martes86]

Good luck Chad!
I doubt that I could get a girl (any girl) to watch the movie, the funnies thing for them to do would be to go party, go out with their friends and walk around, go shopping, or chat via MSN or whatever stuff like Facebook and the likes. And play The Sims game. Having sex is also included, though not as much as the previous items. I've found out that most girls operate this way (not all of them though), at least in Spain (maybe they are more accesible in other countries). And this is the reason why there are as few girls in the subsimming world. :rotfl2:

Hope no girl gets offended. :rock:

[mookiemookie]

My girl watched the 5 hour long version with me. :sunny:

[frau kaleun]

Good luck Chad!
I doubt that I could get a girl (any girl) to watch the movie, the funnies thing for them to do would be to go party, go out with their friends and walk around, go shopping, or chat via MSN or whatever stuff like Facebook and the likes. And play The Sims game. Having sex is also included, though not as much as the previous items. I've found out that most girls operate this way (not all of them though), at least in Spain (maybe they are more accesible in other countries). And this is the reason why there are as few girls in the subsimming world. :rotfl2:

Hope no girl gets offended. :rock:

Um... too late?

Eh, I had a boyfriend who refused to watch Gladiator. Never made sense to me either.

[Torvald Von Mansee]

Um... too late?

Eh, I had a boyfriend who refused to watch Gladiator. Never made sense to me either.

So, he does NOT like gladiator movies?

Has he ever seen the inside of a Turkish prison?

[frau kaleun]

So, he does NOT like gladiator movies?

Has he ever seen the inside of a Turkish prison?


:rotfl2:

[August]

So, he does NOT like gladiator movies?

Has he ever seen the inside of a Turkish prison?

http://www.arcollectibles.com/oveur.jpg

[frontkampfer]

Take it from an old WWII reenactor & Das Boot fan. Just marry her! She knows all you'll every care about is your games & history and she'll leave you alone. Based on years of experience!

[Kapitan_Phillips]

Personally I recommend rope and a riding crop.

Wait wrong forum :oops::D

http://i50.tinypic.com/210xgzr.png

[Chef]

Being in my forties, I learned long ago that there are some films you just don't watch with your GF. We have three kinds of films from Netflix, "mine", "hers" and "ours". We watch "ours" together. I need to try to watch "hers" with her on occasion. I should not try and make her watch "mine".

[Chad]

All good advice!

I'll leave it up to her if we ever finish it together or not :DL

[Das Gespenst]

http://i50.tinypic.com/210xgzr.png

I don't know whether to :down: or :haha:.

[theluckyone17]

I'm luckier than I think I am :up:

My wife not only watched the director's cut, she did so with German audio and English subtitles.

I love my wife. :cool::D:sunny:

[Torplexed]

Ahhh. Men and Women. Seeing eye to eye on everything for centuries. ;)

http://pyxis.homestead.com/CaveCouple.jpg

[SteamWake]

Ahhh. Men and Women. Seeing eye to eye on everything for centuries. ;)

http://pyxis.homestead.com/CaveCouple.jpg

Superb Torp.. your the best ! :salute:

[Weiss Pinguin]

Haha, reminds me of the Budweiser super bowl commercial they had a while back :rotfl2:

[frau kaleun]

Silly caveman. Obviously she's inventing the wheel so they can drive to Applebee's.

[Rilder]

Women and Men are equals and Women are in many ways stronger then us men.

YES HONEY, I'M COMING.

[Chad]

Hah, well we made front page at SubSim! :haha:

Tomorrow, post-Super Bowl, she has agreed to watch the next hour of Das Boot. So yes, either she really loves me to put up with all this stuff, or she falls under the same category as frau kaleun.

[frau kaleun]

Well, you know, the primary thing about Das Boot is that it's first and foremost a wonderful movie, with fully realized characters, great performances, great production values, and tons of other things that make it worth watching.

I don't think a person has to be interested in WWII, u-boats, military history, or whatever to enjoy it. Now it's possible that someone who's not at all interested in some or all of those things might have to put aside their disinterest long enough to give it a chance and get into it.

(I once ran into that sort of thing trying to convince a friend to go see the first LOTR movie. She said she wouldn't enjoy it because she never read the books and would have no idea what was going on. So I very foolishly said, "Well, you see, you don't need to know any backstory, what you need to know is there right at the beginning, and it's basically just a story about men and elves and dwarves uniting to fight an evil power that wants to..." - and she held up her hand and said, "Honey, you lost me at 'elves'." :O:)

At any rate, IMO anyone who loves a compelling story compellingly told, should be able to enjoy Das Boot at least a little bit.

[Von Hinten]

I added a (imho) fun line at my profile on a dating site saying 'has to be able to watch Das Boot'.

Guess that explains why I'm still single ...

[robbierob2005]

I'am still trying guys. I succeeded in watching Saving Private Ryan with her. Trying for 2010 ;-)

[Chad]

I added a (imho) fun line at my profile on a dating site saying 'has to be able to watch Das Boot'.

Guess that explains why I'm still single ...

Hey Von Hinten!

All you need in your profile is exactly what is in your signature:

"Drove the UC3 Nautilus for 45 minutes"

Girls love submarines :rotfl2:

[Rosencrantz]

I'm not sure, if I'm getting cocky now, but...


Das Boot...................... done
K-19 WM...................... done
Movie about the K-219... done

So, I'm quite proud of her, and actually she liked the films. Especially about the Widowmaker (probably because of Harrison Ford, I don't know... :shifty::hmmm::DL)

And she actually read the Schaeffer's book about the U-977... So, quite a girl... :yep::rock:


-RC-

[Deimos01]

Heh, got my Wife, who was my GF at the time to watch the US theatrical version a few years back and she quite enjoyed it. Dont think Ill be able to get her to watch the uncut 8 hr version though.

[[SJ]nailz]

I kinda eased the wife into it, first we watched "Hunt For Red October", during which she didn't even notice a Russian (Lithuanian) Sub Captain with a Scottish accent is odd. Then we did "Below" about the haunted yankee boat. Next came "U571" (which was her favorite... ho-hum) then "Das Boot", which I slipped on whilst she was ironing. She got really stressed with it, a couple of times the iron stopped moving all together! And by the time they got back to port, my teenage daughter was watching too, and the pair of 'em were all red faced, bleary-eyed going oh that's terrible and laughing with embaressment through the tears...

Still got "K19" and "Crimson Tide" to go...

[Chad]

Those last two should be a breeze if they got into Das Boot. Plus, there is something with Harrison Ford as a Russian Commander that women seem to like, or maybe it's just him :O:

[Von Hinten]

Girls love submarines :rotfl2:

They do, huh. Well maybe I'll give that a try for the 2010 Mrs. Von Hinten (man, that sounds nasty :ping:) project.

[frau kaleun]

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/picture.php?albumid=144&pictureid=1154

[Chad]

Welcome to my desktop wallpaper! :har:

[HundertzehnGustav]

I'll do anything. So, I suggest we watch my full-length copy of Das Boot. She agrees.

:wah::wah::wah::wah::wah:
OH NOES how sad is it to read such a thing! i mean both of you!

Oh Noes
Oh Noes
i cannot believe it...

This cant be true!

That girl wants something entirely different from you!

OMG...:cry::cry::cry:

[Jimbuna]

I'd be pretty worried if my missus enjoyed watching a U-boat movie :hmmm:

"What's up? am I not interesting enough? Now about this eel that needs greasing"

[Das Gespenst]

picture

http://rh-webdesign.com/erwinLeder/img/content/maschinist.jpe

Hey, what about guys like him? What don't girls love about diesel fumes, high temperatures, and constant deafening sound?

[frau kaleun]

Hey, what about guys like him? What don't girls love about diesel fumes, high temperatures, and constant deafening sound?

I will freely admit to having a soft spot for poor Johann. Sadly, I don't think he could ever love any woman as much as he loves those infernal machines. :O:

[frau kaleun]

Welcome to my desktop wallpaper! :har:

Glad you liked it! :DL

[Blacklight]

My wife will only watch the scenes that the captain is in (She saw him in another movie and thinks he's hot). Any scene without him in it makes her lose interest. She's never watched Das Boot for more than 5 minutes straight.
My personal mission is to get her to watch 2001: A Space Odyssey all the way through. Thats my favorite movie ever and she always falls asleep in the first five minutes. That, and the fact that there's no hot guys in it for her to oogle at. A movie pretty much has to have at least ONE hot guy in it for her to have ANY interest. :nope:

Then again... I can't sit through her movies either for the reason that they're boring and full of "hot guys".

[kiwi_2005]

:har::har::har::har::har:

My wife watched Das Boot, because I had watched her favorite film, Butterfly effect. I still believe I got the worst end of the deal!:damn:

Butterfly effect loved that movie :oops: thats about a guy who can go back and forth in time where he lives a different life each time if i remeber right. First is good the sequels are rubbish . She will mosty likely like 'The Time Travellers wife' (2009) another 'where the hell am I' movie. :rock:

[TarJak]

I've subjected my missus and 3 daughters to DasBoot on two occasions. Managed to get 3 out of the 4 to sit through the first go around but only the wife sat through the second watching.

Must give it another go. It's been a few years since trying the last time.

My girls always say "Not a submarine movie!" when it's my turn to choose what we are watching.:nope:

[Jimbuna]

Put a tv in each of their rooms....cheapskate :DL

[EugeneEdwards]

I told my girlfriend that it was a film about shoes. After only 2 hours, she realised that I was not quite telling the truth......:D

LMAO!!!!!!!!!

I haven't laughed that hard in a while! Very well done :yeah:

Cheers

[Savage]

she is going to return fire, and force you to watch the "Notebook." In which case make sure you have plenty of the motion sickness pilss dramine or whatever. those should put you to sleep in 20 mins or so.

[GermanGS]

Got my Girl to watch Das Boot :D

She was actually interested, to my surprise, even though she knows nothing about U-boats, she was sitting there all curious wanting to see what is going to happen next.

She told me that i should get the next game, i think that she is trying to trick me, into getting it so she can play it herself :hmmm:

Mission Completed. :rock:

[Chad]

she is going to return fire, and force you to watch the "Notebook." In which case make sure you have plenty of the motion sickness pilss dramine or whatever. those should put you to sleep in 20 mins or so.


Worse, I had to watch Dear John.. :nope::nope:

While I think it was a decent enough of a movie to watch, the ending SUCKS.. I won't spoil it for anyone though. Typical Nicholas Sparks movie.

[SteamWake]

(She saw him in another movie and thinks he's hot).

Dune I would suspect.

I still expect him to say "The tooth" everytime I watch Das Boot :haha:

[frau kaleun]

Dune I would suspect.

I still expect him to say "The tooth" everytime I watch Das Boot :haha:

Lol, I did it backwards then. So impressed was I with Herr Prochnow in Das Boot - and so interested in seeing other films in which he played a somewhat leading, non-villainous role - that I actually rented a copy of Dune (the director's cut, no less - more pain for your dollar!)... a movie that I had successfully avoided for lo these many years.

I turned it off right after he died and not even the memory of him in that still-suit is going to make me watch it again.

[August]

Lol, I did it backwards then. So impressed was I with Herr Prochnow in Das Boot - and so interested in seeing other films in which he played a somewhat leading, non-villainous role

Y'know he reprises his role as a U-boat captain (of sorts) in another movie.

"I start to feel all cooped up in these U-Boats; I had a bad experience once."

[FIREWALL]

@ Chad. :DL I hope your "next" girlfriend likes your taste in movies. :haha:

[Chad]

GASP! Next girlfriend?!

Despite our movie preferences, I'm hoping this one sticks around longer than the other ones :O:

[Barra1]

I think I have gone one step better. I got my girlfriend to watch Das Boot some time ago, and the best part? She is Polish!

Of course watching and enjoying are two different matters:03:

[audessy]

I win. 5 years ago I had my 20 year old girlfriend who is german/polish origin, has done modeling for clothing and is going to school to be a plastic surgeon.

She didn't lose focus for all 3+ hours and at the end when the captain dies as he's watching his boat sink she said it was one of the saddest movies she'd ever seen. We discussed the movie for an additional 30 minutes after it was over.

And my dumbass didn't follow her when she moved. :damn:

[FIREWALL]

Just remember this guys. What's good for the Goose is good, for the Gander.

You make her watch 6 hrs of Das Boot you, WILL have to watch the same hr amount of "Chick Flicks".

Let's see now... On Golden Pond, Driveing Miss Daisy, Brokeback Ridge, ect. And I'm sure there's more. LOTS MORE.:eek:

Get the picture now ? :p2:

[TarJak]

Having sat through hours of Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility and Mansfield Park I've gotta get a look in occasionally right?:cry:

[frau kaleun]

you, WILL have to watch the same hr amount of "Chick Flicks".

Let's see now... Gladiator, Troy, Patton

Fixed. :D

[frau kaleun]

I was waiting for your come back. :haha:

TBH I've also seen the movies you mentioned and enjoyed all of them.

But then my definition of "chick flicks" is "movies I like" so the possibilities for inclusion are somewhat expanded. :O:

(However given the choice between my trio and yours, whilst channel surfing for instance, ATM I would probably opt for one of mine. Unless Groundhog Day is on another station, then it's a no-brainer.)

[Aur0ra145]

Well, my girlfriend works at Blockbuster and most of our evenings together are generally ended with watching some movie at either of our places. I must say this tends to be alot of fun because I'm also a movie fanatic (she owns more than 200 movies.)

Anyhow, I have two movies I want her to watch, the first being Fandango which is my honest opinion the best movie ever made, especially the flying parts. Note: I'm a pilot, so the idea of Truman Sparks is the coolest and funniest thing I've ever seen or heard of.

The second movie I want her to see is Das Boot. I'm hoping for good results and hopefully her love for extremely good dramas will take effect. Wish me luck.

On a side note, tonight after watching "The Box" and the opening to the Olympics she told me she loved me for the first time.

Best to ya'll,
-Aur0ra145

[Kapitan_Phillips]

Fixed. :D

I think every guy here just sighed dreamily. Start running. :haha:

[JackAubrey]

My Wife is not that much into "Chick Flicks". Ok, she likes "You've got Mail", "Six Days Seven Nights" and "Father of the Bride" (The Remake), but these are films that I can watch too, without being bored to death.

Years ago, when she asked me what my favourite Movie is, I said, of course, "Das Boot".

She had never seen it, so I told her it's veeeery looooong, about an U-Boat and it's Crew in WW2 and, above all, very well made. She agreed to watch, sat through the whole experience and cried at the end because so many died.
She thinks, it's one of the greatest Movies ever made.

After "Das Boot" she became more and more fond of movies and series that are not typically considered "girly".

Now, after 16 years living together, she nearly loves her "Band of Brothers" DVD-Box just as much as the "Firefly"-Box.
She likes "Master and Commander", "Captain Horatio Hornblower", "Deadwood", "Star Wars", "Die Hard", cried while watching "Gladiator" and "Saving Private Ryan" and is looking forward when "The Pacific" is released on DVD in Germany.

I consider her my Soulmate. :yeah:

[frau kaleun]

On a side note, tonight after watching "The Box" and the opening to the Olympics she told me she loved me for the first time.


Awwwww. Group hug!

http://forums.randi.org/images/smilies/grouphug5.gif

[frau kaleun]

I think every guy here just sighed dreamily. Start running. :haha:

Eh, I'm more of a stand-and-fight girl.

http://forums.randi.org/images/smilies/duel[1].gif

Besides, they might not chase me, and where's the fun in that? :O:

[seaniam81]

I managed to get one of my ex-girlfriends to watch Das Boot with me once. Half way in she said the movie "sucks" :nope: so i kicked her out of the apartment and fired up SH3 and continued to watch the movie :up:.

[Onkel Neal]

My daughter Vickie and I watched it Friday night, all the way through in one sitting. :smug:

[FIREWALL]

My daughter Vickie and I watched it Friday night, all the way through in one sitting. :smug:

The price they'll pay for a weekly allowance. :haha:

[Chad]

My daughter Vickie and I watched it Friday night, all the way through in one sitting. :smug:

Oh man, Neal's girl's I tell ya, class act :D

You can tell they really love him.

[Jimbuna]

Oh man, Neal's girl's I tell ya, class act :D

You can tell they really love him.

Behave yersel....a few of us noticed your wandering eyes/glances at the Texas Meet :hmmm:

:O:

[EAF274 Johan]

No problem here. My wife loves a good war movie. This weekend we'll be watching Gods & Generals and Gettysburg together :salute:

[Yak]

Never managed to get the GF to sit through Das Boot (But then again even I struggle with it these days, burn me like the heretic that I am... :cry:)

Did manage to get her to sit through just about every other military movie out there without payback, but then I am bulletproof when it comes to retaliation, I'll generally be able to sit through and enjoy most chick flicks (But I'm still scarred for life after 27 Dresses and want to curl up in the foetal position whenever I hear Benny & The Jets now:damn:)

That said, if ever a woman said she would do anything to get me off the 'puter, dang, break out the air hostess outfit and my pilots hat! :rotfl2:

[Sailor Steve]

That said, if ever a woman said she would do anything to get me off the 'puter, dang, break out the air hostess outfit and my pilots hat! :rotfl2:
Roger that!

"I'd do anything to make you stop doing that for awhile!"

"Anything???"

[Camaero]

I believe my girlfriend would watch it all the way through... but only because I am excited about it, and that alone would make her curious. Still... I probably wouldn't put her through it lol... I must make sure I watch it a few more times before she moves in and I lose the last of my free time! :O: