I did it....I finally did it....

[Sailor Steve]

I was talking about Das Boot, not 20,000 Leagues. And I agree - The Enemy Below is wonderful, despite their u-boat being a bit silly.

[Red October1984]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

I was talking about Das Boot, not 20,000 Leagues. And I agree - The Enemy Below is wonderful, despite their u-boat being a bit silly.

The Enemy Below's submarine was terrible...I thought the Captain of the sub was a good actor but I didn't like anything else about it. You see how he pushes up the periscope with his hands? And that boat is WAAAAYYYY too roomy.

[Sailor Steve]

As I've said, it looks to me like they took some fake submarine stuff and shot it in a square room; as opposed to Das Boot, which, despite my several complaints, looks and feels like a real Type VII u-boat. A friend of mine sat through the entire movie complaining about claustrophobia.

[AVGWarhawk]

Originally Posted by Red October1984

The Enemy Below's submarine was terrible...I thought the Captain of the sub was a good actor but I didn't like anything else about it. You see how he pushes up the periscope with his hands? And that boat is WAAAAYYYY too roomy.

Enemy Below to me focused more on the Captains. Their strengths, weakness, stubborn personalities and desire to win at all costs. The actual sub had little to do with character development. Authenticity of the sub is not what they were going for. Drama of two strong wills going head to head.

[Red October1984]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

As I've said, it looks to me like they took some fake submarine stuff and shot it in a square room; as opposed to Das Boot, which, despite my several complaints, looks and feels like a real Type VII u-boat. A friend of mine sat through the entire movie complaining about claustrophobia.

Looks like they put stuff from a "submarine" into a mansion living room.

The filming for Das Boot was amazing....

[AVGWarhawk]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

As I've said, it looks to me like they took some fake submarine stuff and shot it in a square room; as opposed to Das Boot, which, despite my several complaints, looks and feels like a real Type VII u-boat. A friend of mine sat through the entire movie complaining about claustrophobia.

As I stated above concerning Enemy Below. As for Das Boot...yeah...if you let your mind wander as you watch claustrophobia certainly sets in. Given all of the inconsistencies and other botched items in Das Boot overall it is the Holy Grail of sub movies IMO. Also, we are a bit biased as we read about, studied and played games on the subject. To someone like my wife, she would accept Das Boot as a accurate depiction.

[Red October1984]

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

As I stated above concerning Enemy Below. As for Das Boot...yeah...if you let your mind wander as you watch claustrophobia certainly sets in. Given all of the inconsistencies and other botched items in Das Boot overall it is the Holy Grail of sub movies IMO. Also, we are a bit biased as we read about, studied and played games on the subject. To someone like my wife, she would accept Das Boot as a accurate depiction.

Das Boot seems pretty darn real doesn't it? I first read that it was Fiction a couple years back and I had an extreme moment.

[sharkbit]

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

Enemy Below to me focused more on the Captains. Their strengths, weakness, stubborn personalities and desire to win at all costs. The actual sub had little to do with character development. Authenticity of the sub is not what they were going for. Drama of two strong wills going head to head.

Imagine that....a movie relying on character development and a good story line instead of most of the tripe they call movies now days that rely so much on special effects.
I can always overlook a fake looking movie set if the story is good.

[sharkbit]

I do agree that "Das Boot" is a good movie. Very powerful and seemingly realistic movie. I saw it when it first came out in the eighties and I bought the Director's Cut a few years ago. Never seen the long version though.

I've read the book numerous times as well. As somebody mentioned above, it is still a work of fiction even though it based on fact .

With that being said, and at risk of being branded a heretic, I read in Michael Gannon's book "Operation Drumbeat" some of the crewmen of Hardegan's U-123 discussing both the book and the movie.

Quoted from the book:

Hans Seigel:It wasn't at all like what people saw in Bucheim's movie, Das Boot.

Walter Lorenz: No, not at all. In the movie when the depth charges hit you see men falling all about. It was just not like that. Sure, your nerves jangled, but falling about on each other? No, no.

Seigel: When you heard the ASDIC, and when you heard the depth charges, you knew that you were still alive. But it's true, when the destroyer's propeller noises grew louder and closer, and when the pinging reverberated throughout the boat, and when you heard the click of the explosives reaching their depth, sure it rattled your nerves. But there was never any screams or shouts like in the film. It just didn't happen. It couldn't happen-they'd locate you immediately. If just one man shouted-

Richard Amstein: I don't think there was man on board who wasn't scared.

Walter Kaeding: The man who says he wasn't scared, he's a liar. The difference was that in a U-boat you couldn't show your fear. So we didn't. But in Bucheim's film Das Boot, where the men are so scared they go in their pants, not one of us had that happen, not one.

Karl Latislaus: Did you know that Bucheim also wrote a book? He is truly crazy. He made only one trip in a U-boat, as a photojournalist. How could he presume to write about U-boatmen? Some things are factual, but most are not. Before a mission we didn't drink that much or go around without our shirts-

Kaeding: We always knew where we stood. We understood from the beginning that we could be hit out there. But discussing that was taboo. Not in the family, not in the homeland, nowhere did we discuss it. We didn't even discuss with our shipmates.

Seigel: Every boat was different. The commander of every boat was different. And I believe that if we had a commander who was very tense, we wouldn't have been so calm either. But with Hardegen we had confidence that we would make it. And we were a well-experienced crew. You could trust your life to every single man.

[AVGWarhawk]

Originally Posted by sharkbit

Imagine that....a movie relying on character development and a good story line instead of most of the tripe they call movies now days that rely so much on special effects.
I can always overlook a fake looking movie set if the story is good.

Yes sir! I watched stage production of Master Harold and the Boys. It starred James Earl Jones (voice of Darth Vadar in Star Wars). The set was two chairs and a table. The story and acting were so well done any other props other than what was used were not necessary to complete the story.

[AVGWarhawk]

Originally Posted by sharkbit

With that being said, and at risk of being branded a heretic, I read in Michael Gannon's book "Operation Drumbeat" some of the crewmen of Hardegan's U-123 discussing both the book and the movie.

Great book. I read it 3 times.

[sharkbit]

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

Great book. I read it 3 times.

If you haven't already, check out his "Black May". Very good.

[Cybermat47]

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

James Earl Jones (voice of Darth Vadar in Star Wars).

...and Mufasa in The Lion KIng, and Admiral Greer in The Hunt for Red Ocrober.

[Sailor Steve]

...and Lt. Zogg in Doctor Strangelove.

And almost 200 other great roles over the past 50 years.

[Cybermat47]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

...and Lt. Zogg in Doctor Strangelove.

I should watch that sometime. It looks interesting.