And the freedom of the camera in those tight corridors came as an incredibly pleasant surprise. And despite the fact that most of the film takes place inside a cramped submarine, Das Boot is never boring to look at in fact, it's a visually spectacular film (given the dated special effects, who hold up reasonably well and add to the old-school charm). Unlike Leone, once the torpedos are launched and the depth charges dropped, the cat-and-mouse game is ongoing and relentless, but never boring. The underwater battles somewhat remind me of Sergio Leone in that Wolfgang Peterson takes forever and a day to get the fights started. It truly does feel like an epic about a submarine crew, and I'm interested in some day viewing the 6 hour TV version. Then when the action finally starts: how they deal with the possibility of dying deep underwater, how they react to the sounds of a sub going deeper than it should, the look on their faces as a destroyer is heard pinging them, and dozens of little personality quirks-subtle details that bring the crew to life. Das Boot gives us plenty of time to know these characters, discover how they kill time while waiting for orders, how they feel about their job and each other. I love the flow and pacing of the Director's Cut it takes its time, and does not feel like typical Hollywood formula "first major plot point at minute 12" cookie-cutter routine. Patriotism for my own country would tend to make me hate the crew on this ship by definition (especially if portrayed as typical mindless killing machine Nazis), but these characters are so well developed and played like human-beings facing difficult decisions that I find myself sympathizing with these guys. What impresses me the most about the film, as the title makes apparent, is that it's a German made film about a German U-boat.
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