Das Boot (1981)
97%RT Audience Score: 95%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 6 Oscars
13 wins & 11 nominations total
Taut, breathtakingly thrilling, and devastatingly intelligent, Das Boot is one of the greatest war films ever made.
If you’re looking for a movie that’ll have you on the edge of your seat, Das Boot is the one for you. It’s got everything you could want in a war film – action, suspense, and some seriously smart writing. I mean, I’m no expert, but I was blown away by how well-crafted this movie was. It’s definitely up there with the best of ’em. So if you’re in the mood for a heart-pumping, mind-bending cinematic experience, give Das Boot a watch. You won’t regret it.
Production Company(ies)
Bavaria Film Twin Bros., Productions, Radiant Film GmbH,
Distributor
Columbia TriStar Home Video, Columbia Pictures, RCA/Columbia
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
North Sea near Heligoland
MPAA / Certificate
Year of Release
1982
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:2h 30m
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Language(s):German
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Country of origin:Germany
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Sep 17, 1981 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 21, 2003
Genre(s)
War/Drama
Keyword(s)
Worldwide gross: $11,487,676
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $36,320,725
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,483
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 3,960,821
US/Canada gross: $11,487,676
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $36,320,725
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,206
US/Canada opening weekend: $26,994
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $85,347
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,997
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): DEM 32,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Herbert Grönemeyer – Lt. Werner, Correspondent
Klaus Wennemann – Der Leitende, Der LI, Chief Engineer, Fritz Grade
Hubertus Bengsch – 1st Lieutenant, Number One, 1WO
Martin Semmelrogge – 2nd Lieutenant, 2WO
Bernd Tauber – Kriechbaum, Chief Quartermaster, Navigator
Director(s)
Wolfgang Petersen
Writer(s)
Lothar G. Buchheim, Wolfgang Petersen, Dean Riesner
Producer(s)
Günter Rohrbach, Ortwin Freyermuth
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 6 Oscars
13 wins & 11 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (55) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (54) | Rotten (1)
This is the finest submarine movie ever made. Although director Wolfgang Petersen emphasizes the claustrophobia of undersea life, his above-surface scenes are powerful as well.
November 9, 2021
Scott Cain
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
TOP CRITIC
Peterson has captured the teamwork, the claustrophobia and the peril of underwater warfare. He draws compelling performances from the crewmen, many of them quite young.
March 29, 2019
Bob Thomas
Associated Press
TOP CRITIC
Das Boot is a psychological thriller of the first order. The fact that the setting is a war is, amazingly and interestingly, only incidental to its points.
April 28, 2018
Bruce McCabe
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
Everything described in the film is authentic.
February 23, 2012
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
The film has no qualities beyond its formal polish.
December 9, 2011
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
The execution is second to none; taut, claustrophobic and overwhelming.
September 21, 2011 | Rating: 5/5
Nick De Semlyen
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Director Wolfgang Petersen has rigorously discarded war movie clichés, both American and those of the Nazi regime, to show the very human fears and real courage of Germans who battled for, and lost, supremacy of the seas.
November 11, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
Judy Stone
San Francisco Examiner
Effective as an anti-war movie and as thrilling as any disaster flick, Das Boot is a humanistic masterpiece.
June 21, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
Tom Cassidy
Common Sense Media
Massively compelling.
March 1, 2021
Russ Frushtick
Polygon
For all its intensity and excitement and fighting and destruction is, perhaps more than any other film, an anti-war film.
September 5, 2020 | Rating: 4.0/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
Das Boot comes across as cold and distant, but the work of Wolfgang Petersen is nevertheless rigorous and skillful, the actors are effective, and the camerawork is risky. [Full Review in Spanish]
August 21, 2019
Diego Galán
El Pais (Spain)
Wolfgang Petersen’s exceptional anti-war, war film is a long haul but never boring — as the captain, officers and crew face terror, ennui, excitement and occasional joy in the North Atlantic in 1941. (Director’s Cut)
January 29, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
Sarah Cartland
Caution Spoilers…
Plot
It is 1942 and the German submarine fleet is heavily engaged in the so-called “Battle of the Atlantic” to harass and destroy British shipping. With better escorts of the destroyer class, however, German U-boats have begun to take heavy losses. “Das Boot” is the story of the crew of one such U-Boat, with the film examining how these submariners maintained their professionalism as soldiers and attempted to accomplish impossible missions, all the while attempting to understand and obey the ideology of the government under which they served.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
NA
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