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I know this is about a movie but there are not many WW2 movie buffs over in the movie threads.
Anyway i saw on AMC today a great and very realistic movie (Das Boot) about a WW2 German sub and it's journey's of what they went thru in attacking destroyers and also being attacked themselves.
It made me wonder about those who survived the war didn't wind up mad. Anyway don't know if any others seen it or not but it really opened my eyes about U-Boat crews. Out of 40,000 U-Boat crewman 30,000 sunk to the bottom.
I saw that movie several years ago, although I don't remember much about the movie. I will try and watch in again, if it is still being shown on AMC. I know that Germany commissioned over a 1000 U-boats in WW2 with an average crew of around 40 men. Therefore I can see that about 40,000 crewmen assigned to these boats during that war, but I don't know where you got the facts that 30,000 of them went to the bottom. Can you post a source on those numbers..?
AWESOME Movie - one of my absolute favorite war movies - most of which actually can easily be categorized as anti-war films.
First saw this movie on a REAL scorcher of an evening, in a jam-packed movie house with the air-conditioning out. We were all packed together in there like sardines and the air was thick, heavy and still and we were sweating like pigs. Felt like I was right there with the crew when they were stuck on the bottom in that cramped, hot and airless sub. The theatre also had an incredible sound system so when the depth charges went off, I could feel the pressure thumping on my chest.
It was not exactly a pleasant experience and had the movie been anything other than what it was, I probably would have hated the evening. As it was however, the brutal conditions added to the experience.
I believe the closing credits of the movie mention those stats as well.
Brave men, one and all.
Ken
Yeap and the actors are German too i believe as i was looking at their names although they spoke english well.
What stuck out to me also was at the end of the movie they actually looked like they had been at sea for months and the stress of it all showed on their faces. Their hair was long and they all grew beards and their eyes were bugged out as do to very little sleep and the incredible stress of going thru what they encountered especially thinking thay were forever sunk at the bottom.
Noticed that even when they made it to the top and they opened the hatches to get oxygen in how all the crew gathered around to suck in the fresh air as again that was very realistic as alot of war movies don't show those kind of details.
It gave me respect for all U-Boats Crews and Submariners of all countries envolved in WWII. Im sure i'll be researching more about them. Also thanks for the plug on the book .....Yeledaf......
I checked AMC schedual for march and it's not on there so i E-Mailed AMC and told them how nuch i enjoyed the movie and hope they'll show it again.
Yeap and the actors are German too i believe as i was looking at their names although they spoke english well.
6/3
Actually it was in German - released originally with sub-titles (as we saw it in the theatre) and then later dubbed (very GODD dubbing though). It was at the time (not sure about now) the highest grossing German film in history - and of course it's director (Wolfgang Petersen) then went on to direct many American made, English-language films such as Air Force One, Troy, and the Perfect Storm. The lead actor (Jürgen Prochnow), likewise went on to Hollywood and appeared in several American & British made films such as The English Patient, Judge Dredd, the Divinci Code, and Air Force One - though he still mainly does German films.
It's one of the finest films ever made. I watched it ... the 4+ hour version while I was on bedrest with my first pregnancy. Doctor said I couldn't get out of bed, so I had to fill the time, come to think of it, being on bedrest, I felt like those guys on the bottom of the ocean sometimes!
If you're ever in Chicago, go to the Museum of Science and Industry and take the U-Boat tour .. you'll truly get a feel for what those guys went through!
If you watch the DVD, you'll see the mistakes reel, it's worth checking out!
That is a great movie. I have heard many times that it is the most realistic portrayal of life on a German submarine. More of a documentary than just movie.
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