Das Boot

U-418 · 06-17-07, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thniper

Have any of you read the book the movie was based on ('Das Boot' by Lothar Günther Buchheim)?

I don't know whether it was ever translated though.:hmm:

You get pretty more details concerning 'real u-boat life' and some nice little stories about other german submarines, too.

So, if you can, go for it!!!

Yeah, I found this book in the school library. I made it to chapter 8! sadly I had to return it to the library because...I missed the origanal return date june 1rst...

anyways, the book is a good read and yeah it was trasnlated. I hope to finish reading because I left my bookmark to mark the page I was last reading.

Crimguy · 06-17-07, 07:36 PM

Give the book a hearty thumbs up. Read it 15 years ago while on a 9 day sail from the Chesapeake to the Virgin Islands. I kept yelling ALLLLAAARRRRM into the cabin. My dad wasn't amused after the first 3 times.

joegrundman · 06-17-07, 08:11 PM

awesome film, but my wife who has been watching me play SH3 for while now, complained about the tactics used.

I also didn't much rate the ending. Kinda contrived. For me I would have just left it with him looking at the even younger recruits he's expected to take out next time.

Kaleun_Saxi · 06-18-07, 01:05 AM

Attention! All hands to battle-stations!

Das Boot - THE TV SERIES will be on air for the next six fridays from 10-11 pm on WDR station Germany. So for all the Germans out here, set your recorders!

I will tape the series on my hard disk recorder and compile a dvd, if anyone's interested I can make a copy.

Happy hunting!

Captain Nemo · 06-18-07, 04:16 AM

I agree Das Boot is a great movie and I have the mini series on DVD and the Directors Cut on VHS. However, I believe the film has often been criticised by former u-boat personnel for being a bit over the top, especially the depth charge scenes where the crew scream in terror, which apparently was not the case in real life. In fact I remember seeing a documentary sometime ago and a former u-boat crewman said that they remained quiet throughout a depth charge attack and often carried out small tasks that helped take their minds off of what was happening to them. Of course, it goes without saying that they were terrified.

Nemo

Thniper · 06-18-07, 04:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kaleun_Saxi

Attention! All hands to battle-stations!

Das Boot - THE TV SERIES will be on air for the next six fridays from 10-11 pm on WDR station Germany. So for all the Germans out here, set your recorders!

I will tape the series on my hard disk recorder and compile a dvd, if anyone's interested I can make a copy.

Happy hunting!

You're right! Thanks for the reminder!

And it's the old tv mini series, the one I was searching for so long.

Kaleun_Saxi · 06-18-07, 01:02 PM

Keine Ursache, Thniper!

Sailor Steve · 06-18-07, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by joegrundman

awesome film, but my wife who has been watching me play SH3 for while now, complained about the tactics used.

I also didn't much rate the ending. Kinda contrived. For me I would have just left it with him looking at the even younger recruits he's expected to take out next time.

Unfortunately that's the way the book also ends (except he doesn't mention who gets it and who doesn't, outside of the captain himself).

Myself, I always complain about the underwater external shots. I'd rather not see the depth charges and torpedoes going off, or the sub hitting the bottom; just their reactions.

Thniper · 06-18-07, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Quote:

Originally Posted by joegrundman

awesome film, but my wife who has been watching me play SH3 for while now, complained about the tactics used.

I also didn't much rate the ending. Kinda contrived. For me I would have just left it with him looking at the even younger recruits he's expected to take out next time.

Unfortunately that's the way the book also ends (except he doesn't mention who gets it and who doesn't, outside of the captain himself).

Myself, I always complain about the underwater external shots. I'd rather not see the depth charges and torpedoes going off, or the sub hitting the bottom; just their reactions.

IMHO it's the best ending this movie could ever have, showing in a symbolic way the futility of war.

For the external shots: you should keep in mind that not everybody is an expert in submarine warfare, so I see them more as 'explaining the situation to the common man'. I know many people who actually don't know what a DC is and what it may do to a submarine.

Sailor Steve · 06-19-07, 11:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thniper

[IMHO it's the best ending this movie could ever have, showing in a symbolic way the futility of war.

Sometimes I joke that it's because Germans invented opera, so of course it has an operatic ending.:rotfl:

Quote:

For the external shots: you should keep in mind that not everybody is an expert in submarine warfare, so I see them more as 'explaining the situation to the common man'. I know many people who actually don't know what a DC is and what it may do to a submarine.

Good point; I never looked at it that way.

Rhodes · 06-19-07, 01:19 PM

About the depth charges in "Das Boot", I wanted to post here what I am about to put, but many times forgot or slip my mind. Hope this thread is the right place.

I readed in a book, wrote by the Leutnant (Ing) of U-190, Werner Hirschmann, and quote:
"On 27 August, we were hunted by an enemy surface force of four destroyers and pinned down for more than 3 hours while they tried to establish our exact location by Asdic. This time they came closer and launched four depth charges.
At this point, I would like to make a comment about the films that portray life on submarines during the WW2, including the famous German epic "Das Boot". (...)
When depth charges explode, people inside the boat must be falling all over each other, if not desperately hanging onto something to keep themselves upright,while the boat rolls throught 30-degree arcs.
In reality that submarine isn't moving a fraction of an inch as it is a mass of a thousan tons, surrounded by an almost solid mass of whater. In my experience, an exploding depth charge felt like a blow with a giant hammer on an immovable object - valve shafts break, fuses blow, light fixtures shatter, but the boat doesn't move.
The chaos, the panic, the screaming portrayed by the crew in Das Boot was entertaning and interesting but had no connection with reality."

The (...) in the book, he is refering that sub movies have to be entertaning and dramatic, since life on a submarine was usuallt as visually interesting as watching paint dry.
After the part that a wrote here, the author says that none of the engineering officers in real life would have the talent and abilities ouf the chief enginner in the film. Mr.Scott syndrome? (this one is mine).

I liked the book and has many photos and details about training and life in and out the u-boat. But many book's also have.

06-17-07, 07:36 PM	#2
Crimguy A-ganger Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: In a trench outside Vicksburg Posts: 73 Downloads: 6 Uploads: 0	Give the book a hearty thumbs up. Read it 15 years ago while on a 9 day sail from the Chesapeake to the Virgin Islands. I kept yelling ALLLLAAARRRRM into the cabin. My dad wasn't amused after the first 3 times. __________________ -=-=-=-=-=- Crimguy

06-17-07, 08:11 PM	#3
joegrundman Ocean Warrior Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 2,689 Downloads: 34 Uploads: 0	awesome film, but my wife who has been watching me play SH3 for while now, complained about the tactics used. I also didn't much rate the ending. Kinda contrived. For me I would have just left it with him looking at the even younger recruits he's expected to take out next time. __________________ "Enemy submarines are to be called U-Boats. The term submarine is to be reserved for Allied under water vessels. U-Boats are those dastardly villains who sink our ships, while submarines are those gallant and noble craft which sink theirs." Winston Churchill

06-18-07, 01:05 AM	#4
Kaleun_Saxi Torpedoman Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Germany Posts: 112 Downloads: 2 Uploads: 0	Attention! Das Boot on telly!!! Attention! All hands to battle-stations! Das Boot - THE TV SERIES will be on air for the next six fridays from 10-11 pm on WDR station Germany. So for all the Germans out here, set your recorders! I will tape the series on my hard disk recorder and compile a dvd, if anyone's interested I can make a copy. Happy hunting! __________________ Kaleun Saxi USS Drum

06-18-07, 04:16 AM	#5
Captain Nemo Ace of the Deep Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: London, England Posts: 1,144 Downloads: 54 Uploads: 0	I agree Das Boot is a great movie and I have the mini series on DVD and the Directors Cut on VHS. However, I believe the film has often been criticised by former u-boat personnel for being a bit over the top, especially the depth charge scenes where the crew scream in terror, which apparently was not the case in real life. In fact I remember seeing a documentary sometime ago and a former u-boat crewman said that they remained quiet throughout a depth charge attack and often carried out small tasks that helped take their minds off of what was happening to them. Of course, it goes without saying that they were terrified. Nemo __________________ "I'm afraid there is no disguising the fact that King's obsession with the Pacific and the Battle of Washington cost us dear in the Battle of the Atlantic". Sir John Slessor GCB, DSO, MC, DL AOC-in-C Coastal Command RAF ___________________________________________

06-18-07, 01:02 PM	#7
Kaleun_Saxi Torpedoman Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Germany Posts: 112 Downloads: 2 Uploads: 0	Keine Ursache, Thniper! __________________ Kaleun Saxi USS Drum

06-19-07, 01:19 PM	#11
Rhodes Silent Hunter Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Figueira da Foz, Portugal Posts: 4,520 Downloads: 110 Uploads: 0	About the depth charges in "Das Boot", I wanted to post here what I am about to put, but many times forgot or slip my mind. Hope this thread is the right place. I readed in a book, wrote by the Leutnant (Ing) of U-190, Werner Hirschmann, and quote: "On 27 August, we were hunted by an enemy surface force of four destroyers and pinned down for more than 3 hours while they tried to establish our exact location by Asdic. This time they came closer and launched four depth charges. At this point, I would like to make a comment about the films that portray life on submarines during the WW2, including the famous German epic "Das Boot". (...) When depth charges explode, people inside the boat must be falling all over each other, if not desperately hanging onto something to keep themselves upright,while the boat rolls throught 30-degree arcs. In reality that submarine isn't moving a fraction of an inch as it is a mass of a thousan tons, surrounded by an almost solid mass of whater. In my experience, an exploding depth charge felt like a blow with a giant hammer on an immovable object - valve shafts break, fuses blow, light fixtures shatter, but the boat doesn't move. The chaos, the panic, the screaming portrayed by the crew in Das Boot was entertaning and interesting but had no connection with reality." The (...) in the book, he is refering that sub movies have to be entertaning and dramatic, since life on a submarine was usuallt as visually interesting as watching paint dry. After the part that a wrote here, the author says that none of the engineering officers in real life would have the talent and abilities ouf the chief enginner in the film. Mr.Scott syndrome? (this one is mine). I liked the book and has many photos and details about training and life in and out the u-boat. But many book's also have. __________________ http://www.flickr.com/photos/16416646@N05/ Last edited by Rhodes; 06-19-07 at 04:56 PM.