Das Boot
The story is told from the viewpoint of Lt. Werner (Herbert Gronemeyer), who has been assigned as a war correspondent on the German submarine U-96 in October 1941. He meets its captain (Jurgen Prochno…
Das Boot
The story is told from the viewpoint of Lt. Werner (Herbert Gronemeyer), who has been assigned as a war correspondent on the German submarine U-96 in October 1941. He meets its captain (Jurgen Prochnow), chief engineer (Klaus Wennemann), and the crew in a French nightclub. The captain is a 30-year-old battle-hardened but a good and sympathetic sea veteran, he complains to Werner that most of his crew members are boys. He is openly anti-Nazi, and embittered and cynical about the war, being openly critical about how the war is being handled. The Chief Engineer is a quiet and well-respected man, at age 27, he is the oldest crew member besides the Captain and is tormented by the uncertain fate of his wife, especially after hearing about a British air raid on Cologne. Thomsen (Otto Sander), another captain, gives a crude drunken speech to celebrate his Ritterkreuz award. Thomsen is an alcoholic and shell-shocked U-boat commander, who is a member of "The Old Guard", when introduced is extremely drunk and briefly mocks Hitler on the stage of the French bordello. The crew includes first watch officer (Hubertus Bengsch) a young, by-the-book officer, he is an ardent Nazi and a staunch believer in the Endsieg. He has a condescending attitude and is the only crewman who makes the effort to maintain his proper uniform and trim appearance, while all the others grow their beards in the traditional U-Bootwaffe fashion. Second watch officer (Martin Semmelrogge) a vulgar, comedic officer, he is short, red-haired and speaks with a mild Berlin dialect. One of his duties is to decode messages from base, using the Enigma code machine. Chief Helmsman Kriechbaum (Bernd Tauber) the navigator and 3rd Watch Officer (III. WO) always slightly skeptical of the captain and without enthusiasm during the voyage. Chief Mechanic Johann (Erwin Leder) who is obsessed with a near-fetish love for U-96's engines. Senior Cadet Ullmann (Martin May) a young officer candidate who has a pregnant French fiance. Petty Officer Hinrich (Heinz Hoenig) The radioman, sonar controller and ship's combat medic gauges speed and direction of targets and enemy destroyers. Boatswain Lamprecht (Uwe Ochsenknecht) the severe chief petty officer shows Werner around U-96, and supervises the firing and reloading of the torpedo tubes. Ario (Claude-Oliver Rudolph) a burly mechanic. Petty Officer Pilgrim (Jan Fedder), Petty Officer Frenssen (Ralf Richter). Pilgrim and Frenssen love to trade dirty jokes and stories. Dufte (Lutz Schnell) a sailor. Bible scholar (Joachim Bernhard). A very young religious sailor who is constantly reading the Bible. Schwalle (Oliver Stritzel) a tall and well-built blond torpedo-man. Benjamin (Jean-Claude Hoffmann) a red-haired sailor who serves as a diving plane operator. The next morning, they sail out of the harbor of La Rochelle to cheering crowds and a playing band. Werner is given a tour of the boat. As time passes, he observes ideological differences between the new crew members and the hardened veterans, particularly the captain, who is embittered and cynical about the war. The new men, including Werner, are often mocked by the rest of the crew, who share a tight bond. The first watch officer is particularly disliked due to his pro-Nazi beliefs and meticulous grooming habits, which tie up the only bathroom. After days of boredom, the crew is excited by another U-boat's spotting of an enemy convoy. They soon locate a British destroyer but are bombarded with depth charges. They narrowly escape with only light damage. The next three weeks are spent enduring a relentless storm. Morale drops after what seems like an endless series of misfortunes, but the crew is cheered temporarily by a chance encounter with Thomsen's boat. Shortly after the storm ends, the boat encounters a British convoy and quickly launches four torpedoes, sinking two ships. However, they are spotted by a destroyer and have to dive below the submarine's rated limit. During the depth-charge attack, the chief mechanic, Johann, panics and has to be restrained. The boat sustains heavy damage but is eventually able to safely surface in darkness. An enemy tanker remains afloat and on fire, so they torpedo the ship, only to realize that there are still sailors aboard. They watch in horror as the sailors, some on fire, leap overboard and swim towards them. Following orders not to take prisoners, the captain gives the command to back the ship away. The worn-out U-boat crew looks forward to returning home to La Rochelle in time for Christmas, but the ship is ordered to La Spezia, Italy, which means passing through the Strait of Gibraltar - an area heavily defended by the Royal Navy. The U-boat makes a secret night rendezvous at the harbor of Vigo, in neutral Spain, with the SS Weser, an interned German merchant ship that clandestinely provides U-boats with fuel, torpedoes, and other supplies. The filthy officers seem out of place on the opulent luxury liner but are warmly greeted by enthusiastic officers eager to hear their exploits. The captain learns from an envoy of the German consulate that his request for Werner and the chief engineer to be sent back to Germany has been denied. The crew finishes resupplying and departs for Italy. As they carefully approach Gibraltar and are just about to dive, they are suddenly attacked by a British fighter plane, wounding the navigator. The captain orders the boat directly south towards the African coast at full speed. British ships begin closing in and she is forced to dive. It is later implied that the ships used HF/DF (high-frequency direction finding) to locate the sub. When attempting to level off, the boat does not respond and continues to sink until, just before being crushed by the pressure, it lands on a sea shelf. The crew work desperately to make numerous repairs before running out of oxygen. After over 16 hours, they are able to surface by blowing out their ballast of water, and limp home under the cover of darkness. The crew reach La Rochelle on Christmas Eve. After Kriechbaum is taken ashore to an ambulance, Royal Air Force planes bomb and strafe the facilities. Ullmann, Johann, the second watch officer, and the Bibelforscher are killed; Frenssen, Bootsmann Lamprecht, and Hinrich are wounded. After the raid, Werner leaves the U-boat bunker in which he had taken shelter and finds the captain, with multiple bullet wounds and bleeding from the mouth, watching the U-boat sink at the dock. The captain collapses after the boat disappears under the water. Werner runs to the captain's lifeless body (revealed to have survived by the director when questioned about this), recoils, and quickly glances around at the destruction, his face frozen with horror.
Das Boot
Drama,War
Film Details
The story is told from the viewpoint of Lt. Werner (Herbert Gronemeyer), who has been assigned as a war correspondent on the German submarine U-96 in October 1941. He meets its captain (Jurgen Prochnow), chief engineer (Klaus Wennemann), and the crew in a French nightclub.
The captain is a 30-year-old battle-hardened but a good and sympathetic sea veteran, he complains to Werner that most of his crew members are boys. He is openly anti-Nazi, and embittered and cynical about the war, being openly critical about how the war is being handled. The Chief Engineer is a quiet and well-respected man, at age 27, he is the oldest crew member besides the Captain and is tormented by the uncertain fate of his wife, especially after hearing about a British air raid on Cologne.
Thomsen (Otto Sander), another captain, gives a crude drunken speech to celebrate his Ritterkreuz award. Thomsen is an alcoholic and shell-shocked U-boat commander, who is a member of "The Old Guard", when introduced is extremely drunk and briefly mocks Hitler on the stage of the French bordello. The crew includes first watch officer (Hubertus Bengsch) a young, by-the-book officer, he is an ardent Nazi and a staunch believer in the Endsieg.
He has a condescending attitude and is the only crewman who makes the effort to maintain his proper uniform and trim appearance, while all the others grow their beards in the traditional U-Bootwaffe fashion. Second watch officer (Martin Semmelrogge) a vulgar, comedic officer, he is short, red-haired and speaks with a mild Berlin dialect. One of his duties is to decode messages from base, using the Enigma code machine.
Chief Helmsman Kriechbaum (Bernd Tauber) the navigator and 3rd Watch Officer (III. WO) always slightly skeptical of the captain and without enthusiasm during the voyage. Chief Mechanic Johann (Erwin Leder) who is obsessed with a near-fetish love for U-96's engines.
Senior Cadet Ullmann (Martin May) a young officer candidate who has a pregnant French fiance. Petty Officer Hinrich (Heinz Hoenig) The radioman, sonar controller and ship's combat medic gauges speed and direction of targets and enemy destroyers. Boatswain Lamprecht (Uwe Ochsenknecht) the severe chief petty officer shows Werner around U-96, and supervises the firing and reloading of the torpedo tubes.
Ario (Claude-Oliver Rudolph) a burly mechanic. Petty Officer Pilgrim (Jan Fedder), Petty Officer Frenssen (Ralf Richter). Pilgrim and Frenssen love to trade dirty jokes and stories.
Dufte (Lutz Schnell) a sailor. Bible scholar (Joachim Bernhard). A very young religious sailor who is constantly reading the Bible.
Schwalle (Oliver Stritzel) a tall and well-built blond torpedo-man. Benjamin (Jean-Claude Hoffmann) a red-haired sailor who serves as a diving plane operator. The next morning, they sail out of the harbor of La Rochelle to cheering crowds and a playing band.
Werner is given a tour of the boat. As time passes, he observes ideological differences between the new crew members and the hardened veterans, particularly the captain, who is embittered and cynical about the war. The new men, including Werner, are often mocked by the rest of the crew, who share a tight bond.
The first watch officer is particularly disliked due to his pro-Nazi beliefs and meticulous grooming habits, which tie up the only bathroom. After days of boredom, the crew is excited by another U-boat's spotting of an enemy convoy. They soon locate a British destroyer but are bombarded with depth charges.
They narrowly escape with only light damage. The next three weeks are spent enduring a relentless storm. Morale drops after what seems like an endless series of misfortunes, but the crew is cheered temporarily by a chance encounter with Thomsen's boat.
Shortly after the storm ends, the boat encounters a British convoy and quickly launches four torpedoes, sinking two ships. However, they are spotted by a destroyer and have to dive below the submarine's rated limit. During the depth-charge attack, the chief mechanic, Johann, panics and has to be restrained.
The boat sustains heavy damage but is eventually able to safely surface in darkness. An enemy tanker remains afloat and on fire, so they torpedo the ship, only to realize that there are still sailors aboard. They watch in horror as the sailors, some on fire, leap overboard and swim towards them.
Following orders not to take prisoners, the captain gives the command to back the ship away. The worn-out U-boat crew looks forward to returning home to La Rochelle in time for Christmas, but the ship is ordered to La Spezia, Italy, which means passing through the Strait of Gibraltar - an area heavily defended by the Royal Navy. The U-boat makes a secret night rendezvous at the harbor of Vigo, in neutral Spain, with the SS Weser, an interned German merchant ship that clandestinely provides U-boats with fuel, torpedoes, and other supplies.
The filthy officers seem out of place on the opulent luxury liner but are warmly greeted by enthusiastic officers eager to hear their exploits. The captain learns from an envoy of the German consulate that his request for Werner and the chief engineer to be sent back to Germany has been denied. The crew finishes resupplying and departs for Italy.
As they carefully approach Gibraltar and are just about to dive, they are suddenly attacked by a British fighter plane, wounding the navigator. The captain orders the boat directly south towards the African coast at full speed. British ships begin closing in and she is forced to dive.
It is later implied that the ships used HF/DF (high-frequency direction finding) to locate the sub. When attempting to level off, the boat does not respond and continues to sink until, just before being crushed by the pressure, it lands on a sea shelf. The crew work desperately to make numerous repairs before running out of oxygen.
After over 16 hours, they are able to surface by blowing out their ballast of water, and limp home under the cover of darkness. The crew reach La Rochelle on Christmas Eve. After Kriechbaum is taken ashore to an ambulance, Royal Air Force planes bomb and strafe the facilities.
Ullmann, Johann, the second watch officer, and the Bibelforscher are killed; Frenssen, Bootsmann Lamprecht, and Hinrich are wounded. After the raid, Werner leaves the U-boat bunker in which he had taken shelter and finds the captain, with multiple bullet wounds and bleeding from the mouth, watching the U-boat sink at the dock. The captain collapses after the boat disappears under the water.
Werner runs to the captain's lifeless body (revealed to have survived by the director when questioned about this), recoils, and quickly glances around at the destruction, his face frozen with horror..