The miniseries is one of my strongest memories of growing up. As I recall it was a regular fixture on BBC2 at about 6pm in the late 80's / early 90's. I guess I really didn't stand much chance of not being a silent hunter fan... I've no idea how many times I must have seen Das Boot over the years!
As for the best version, I suppose this all comes down to personal preference, though I will be controversial and say that I prefer the full, uncut version. The subtitles differ in some ways to those of the Director's Cut (I own both), but with my scant knowledge of German I feel the full version has the more accurate subtitles. Neither are perfect, but I think the DC version tends to gloss over some of the more crass lines to make them less rude, something which seems rather petty given the sort of men the film is about (Frenssen's farts and the infamous violin string spring to mind). It also has a tendency to be rather apologetic, particularly by "explaining" apparently controversial scenes with subtitles that just aren't spoken or even suggested in any way, a prime example being the scene with the survivors fleeing the burning ship.
To draw my conclusions to a close, I feel the DC version has been cut to be more palatable and easily understood by British and American audiences or those who don't quite understand the realities of war and the lifestyle these men had to endure. I also reckon the uncut version matches the pace of the book much better, as it really draws out the frustration and impatience of certain scenes. For a first time viewer, I would probably advise the Director's Cut. For anyone familiar with the film, do yourself a favour and check out the uncut version!
As an aside, my copy of the DC has an amusing error in it:
In the scene where Thomsen has collapsed on the toilet floor in the brothel, even with German audio on he gets up and declares (in English) "I AM NOT IN THE CONDITION TO ****!" before continuing in German
