Boot: The Director's Cut

UPC: 043396389724

Studio: Sony Pictures

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Violence, Adult Language]

Summary: Das Boot is one of the most gripping and authentic war movies ever made. Based on an autobiographical novel by German World War II photographer Lothar-Guenther Buchheim, the film follows the lives of a fearless U-Boat captain (Jurgen Prochnow) and his inexperienced crew as they patrol the Atlantic and Mediterranean in search of Allied vessels, taking turns as hunter and prey. There's very little plot, so the movie's power comes from both its riveting, epic battle scenes and its details of the boring hours spent waiting for orders or signs of the enemy. With the exception of one staunch Hitler Youth lieutenant, none of the crew is particularly loyal to the Nazis, and some are openly hostile toward their Fuhrer; this allows viewer sympathy with the men as they perform their laborious, monotonous duties in cramped, filthy quarters, or await death as depth charges explode all around the sub. Prochnow is excellent as the nerves-of-steel commander, and many of the supporting actors -- all German -- are solid as well, although the characterizations border on war movie clich?s (the young crewman who has left behind his pregnant girlfriend, the Chief Engineer whose wife is seriously ill). The real star, however, is cinematographer Jost Vacano, who makes the sub's grimy, claustrophobic interior come to vivid life, as his camera follows the crew through hatches, up ladders, into bunks, and under pipes, creating a palpable sense of claustrophobia while injecting it with movement. Originally edited by writer/director Wolfgang Petersen as both a two-and-a-half hour theatrical release and a six-hour German miniseries, Das Boot was re-released in a restored version in 1997 with nearly one hour of added footage which made it even more suspenseful than before. ~ Don Kaye, Rovi

Category: War

Awards: Best Director – Directors Guild of America Best Foreign Film – null Best Adapted Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Cinematography – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Director – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Sound Effects – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Foreign Film – National Board of Review Best Foreign Film – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: Commentary with director Wolfgang Petersen

Boot: The Director's Cut

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 01/31/2012

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Audio: DHMA null, DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo

Runtime: 208 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,German,French

Subtitles: French

Richard Gilliam

Das Boot is among the most realistic of all World War II films and one of the most spectacular object lessons in manipulating and choreographing the space on the screen. Director Wolfgang Petersen manages to convey the long periods of boredom for the crew of a submarine while making that boredom interesting for the audience. The film is largely unconcerned with the issues surrounding World War II, instead focusing on the individual sailors aboard the sub. Cinematographer Jost Vacano is continually creative in finding new things to reveal aboard the cramped quarters of the sub, and the film's intensity is impressive. The scene in which the sub's captain (J?rgen Prochnow) sinks what he thinks is an unoccupied enemy ship, only to find that it isn't, is among the most memorable scenes in any war film. There are few films that can maintain interest for such a lengthy running time with so few sets to work with, but Das Boot does exactly that for all 210 minutes of the expanded, post-release director's cut. ~ Richard Gilliam, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Joachim Bernhard  Actor 
U.A. Ochsen  Actor 
Martin May  Actor 
Günter Lamprecht  Actor 
Uwe Ochsenknecht  Actor 
Mark Damon  Executive Producer 
Klaus Doldinger  Composer (Music Score) 
John W. Hyde  Executive Producer 
Wolfgang Petersen  Director 
Wolfgang Petersen  Screenwriter 
Edward R. Pressman  Executive Producer 
Dean Riesner  Screenwriter 
Günter Rohrbach  Producer 
Lutz Hengst  Executive Producer 
Jürgen Prochnow  Actor 
Herbert Grönemeyer  Actor 
Klaus Wennemann  Actor 
Hubertus Bengsch  Actor 
Martin Semmelrogge  Actor 
Bernd Tauber  Actor 
Erwin Leder  Actor 
Claude-Oliver Rudolph  Actor 
Jan Fedder  Actor 
Ralf Richter  Actor 
Heinz Hoenig  Actor 
Martin Hemme  Actor 
Lutz Schnell  Actor 
Oliver Stritzel  Actor 
Otto Sander  Actor 
Rita Cadillac  Actor 
Edwige Pierre  Actor 

Country: West Germany