Watched Das boot DVD today.

[Matador.es]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Which version was it?


I don't recall him playing a bigger part in the book, either.

He did not play any significant role in the book. The storm did... Took some efforts to pass the storm..... Literally...

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Matador.es

He did not play any significant role in the book. The storm did... Took some efforts to pass the storm..... Literally...

Two chapters of Storm, two chapters of "Frigging Around". I'd say the full-length version got it pretty close.




@ Gimpy117: I've seen it but had forgotten it. Thanks for bringing it back.

I'm thinking I'll order me one of those. "I have ze Gherman aggsent, zo of course I love beer."

[ABBAFAN]

The subtitles are a hell of a lot different in the DVD to the 6 episodes I had taped off the TV. They don't even match the English dubbing, which, I have to say is dreadful in most places. Almost as bad as the 2 hour dubbed version I saw in '93. There are a few dirty jokes in this version that surprised me. The cork in the bum hole springs to mind. It's subtitled but not dubbed, in the English audio something else is said. Amusing though.

I did wonder why the destroyer attack during the storm does not feature the use of ASDIC.

[Oberon]

In regards to Thomson, I do believe Otto Sander was actually drunk during the filming of the bar scene.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Oberon

In regards to Thomson, I do believe Otto Sander was actually drunk during the filming of the bar scene.

I do believe that was in fact the case:

In the scene at La Rochelle harbor near the beginning, actor Otto Sander, playing a drunk Phillip Thomsen really was drunk. Originally another actor was slated to play that part, but he was fired before filming began...ironically enough, because he was too drunk all the time.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DasBoot

[Penguin]

Ah, a Das Boot thread, nearly missed this one

Originally Posted by ABBAFAN

Haha, I'd forgotten the scene were Thomsen is in the bogs at the Uboat base at the beginning of the film pissed up and says ;I am not in a postioin to ****!'.

I wonder why the filmmakers had him say that in english.

Many sailors were previously in the merchant fleet (like Der Alte) and as those international travellers, thus most of them spoke some English and it was en vogue among them to do so.
I read stories of German captains from the 30s-50s, they used quite a lot of english expressions in their tales. Many expressions where the sailor of today uses a (nautic) german word for have been in English.

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Which version was it?

I don't recall him playing a bigger part in the book, either.

True to an extent.
The famous Churchill speech of Thomsen was in the book delivered by a guy called Trumann. This was also the guy who tried the tablecloth stunt, which was performed in the movie by the 2nd WO.
However the movie is missing on scene, when Thomsen tells a story of a depth charge pursuit and an underwater attack. This scene plays in the afternoon, with Thomsen sitting in a big leather chair - this would have looked great in the movie!
In the screenplay that Buchheim wrote after the american authors screwed up, "U-96 Szenen aus dem Seekrieg", he added a scene at the beginning where Thomsens boat enters the port with several injured onboard. His boat has a dented con tower, made by a destroyer's ram attempt.

[frau kaleun]

Originally Posted by Penguin

Ah, a Das Boot thread, nearly missed this one

Many sailors were previously in the merchant fleet (like Der Alte) and as those international travellers, thus most of them spoke some English and it was en vogue among them to do so.
I read stories of German captains from the 30s-50s, they used quite a lot of english expressions in their tales. Many expressions where the sailor of today uses a (nautic) german word for have been in English.

In addition I expect foreign language studies, including English, were part of the officer candidate curriculum at the naval academy. Not to mention the fact that some officers had already been exposed to English in an educational or even everyday setting before joining up. Cremer, I think, had an English grandmother and Kretschmer spent the better part of a year living and going to school in England.

[frau kaleun]

Originally Posted by Oberon

In regards to Thomson, I do believe Otto Sander was actually drunk during the filming of the bar scene.

Peterson and Prochnow talk about this in the DC commentary.