Das Boot made you feel like you were in a submarine.
#1 war movie of all time
I saw that movie with my dad one week before going to Boot Camp and entering the submarine service
Wolfgang actually had his Das Boot actors stay indoors for 40 days without sunlight to have a real anemic look before the cameras.
That’s the length of measures taken to make the film as realistic as possible.
Nuclear submariners like me who saw the film in the early 80s, came away as if we had just went through a mission.
RIP Wolfgang.
“Das Boot made you feel like you were in a submarine.”
Yep, very claustrophic. One of the most intense movies I’ve ever seen. I saw it when it was initially released at the old Garden Hills Cinema in Buckhead (Atlanta). Old fashioned single theater, a big screen with a red curtain. Everyone walked out kind of wrung out afterwards.
Srednik took his buddy, a young attack submarine officer, to see Das Boot. During the uncontrolled dive (dive planes jammed in down angle), the friend gripped my knee and begged “They hit bottom, don’t they!?” I let him stew a few more seconds and then gave a little nod. He relaxed back into his seat and was visibly relieved.
Reality check sat.
And I loved the skipper’s line, “Zeh devil held out a shovel full of sand . . .”
BTW - the author of the book was an acknowledged liar, but the movie actually made you feel sorry for the Nazi shlubs, even if only for a moment.