(; ) is a 1981 West German war film written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen, produced by Günter Rohrbach, and starring Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer and Klaus Wennemann. An adaptation of Lothar-Günther Buchheim's 1973 semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, the film is set during World War II and follows the and her crew, as they set out on a hazardous patrol in the Battle of the Atlantic. It depicts both the excitement of battle and the tedium of the fruitless hunt, and shows the men serving aboard U-boats as ordinary individuals with a desire to do their best for their comrades and their country.
Development began in 1979. Several American directors were considered three years earlier, before the film was shelved. During production, Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock, the captain of the real U-96 during Buchheim's 1941 patrol and one of Germany's top U-boat "tonnage aces" during the war, and Hans-Joachim Krug, former first officer on , served as consultants. One of Petersen's goals was to guide the audience through "a journey to the edge of the mind" (the film's German tagline ), showing "what war is all about".
Produced on a DM32 million budget (about $ million, equivalent to € million in ), the high production cost ranks it among the most expensive films in German cinema, but it was a commercial success, grossing nearly $85 million worldwide (equivalent to $ million ). The film has been exhibited both as a theatrical release (1981) and a TV miniseries (1985). Several different home video versions, as well as a director's cut (1997) supervised by Petersen, have also been released. Columbia Pictures issued both German-language and English-dubbed versions in the United States theatrically through their Triumph Classics label, earning $11 million.
received positive reviews, and was nominated for six Academy Awards, including for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for Petersen himself. He was also nominated for a BAFTA Award and DGA Award, and the film won the German Film Award for Best Film. It was the German film with the most Oscar nominations until the release of All Quiet on the Western Front in 2022.
Plot Lieutenant Werner, a war correspondent on the in October 1941, is driven by his captain and chief engineer to a French bordello, where he meets some of the crew. Thomsen, another captain, gives a drunken speech to celebrate his Ritterkreuz award and mocks Adolf Hitler.
The next morning, U-96 sails out of the harbour of La Rochelle, and Werner is given a tour of the boat. He observes ideological differences between the new crew members and the hardened veterans, particularly the captain, who is cynical about the war. The new men, including Werner, are mocked by the rest, 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, but they are soon spotted by a British destroyer and attacked with depth charges. They escape with light damage.
The next three weeks are spent enduring relentless North Atlantic gales. Morale drops after various misfortunes, but the crew is cheered by a chance encounter with Thomsen's boat. After the storm ends, the boat encounters an Allied convoy and launches four torpedoes, sinking two ships. The convoy's escorts counterattack, and they are forced to dive below test depth, the submarine's rated limit. As depth charges explode around them, the chief machinist, Johann, has a panic attack and has to be restrained. The boat sustains heavy damage but manages to surface when night falls. A British tanker they torpedoed is still afloat and on fire, so they torpedo it again, only to learn that sailors are still aboard. The crew watches as the sailors leap overboard and swim towards them. Neither able nor willing to accommodate prisoners, the captain orders the boat to back away.
The exhausted crew looks forward to returning home to La Rochelle for Christmas, but the boat is ordered to La Spezia, Italy, which means passing through the Strait of Gibraltar—an area defended by the Royal Navy. The U-boat makes a secret night rendezvous at the harbour of Vigo, in neutral but Axis-friendly Spain, with the SS Weser, an interned German merchant ship that clandestinely provides U-boats with fuel, torpedoes, and other supplies. The filthy submariners appear at the opulent dinner prepared for them and are warmly greeted by the ship's clean-cut officers. The captain learns from an envoy of the German consulate that his request for Werner and the chief engineer, whose wife is ill, to be sent back to Germany has been denied.
The crew finishes resupplying and depart for Italy. As they approach the Strait of Gibraltar and are about to dive, they are attacked and badly damaged by a British fighter plane, wounding the navigator, Kriechbaum. The captain orders the boat south towards the North African coast at full speed, determined to save his crew even if he loses the boat. British warships begin shelling, and they are forced to dive. When attempting to level off, the boat does not respond and continues to sink until, just prior to exceeding its crush depth, it lands on a sea shelf at a depth of 280 metres. The crew works to make repairs before running out of oxygen. After over 16 hours, they manage to surface by blowing their ballast tanks, and limp back towards La Rochelle under 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 are killed; Frenssen, Lamprecht, and Hinrich are wounded. After the raid, Werner leaves the U-boat bunker in which he had taken shelter, and finds the captain badly injured by shrapnel, watching his U-boat sink. After the boat disappears, the captain collapses and dies. Werner rushes to his body and surveys the scene with tears in his eyes.
Cast
Jürgen Prochnow as (abbr. "", ) and also called "" ("the Old Man") by his crew: A 30-year-old battle-hardened but good-hearted and sympathetic sea veteran, he complains to Werner that most of his crew members are boys.See comment by Wolfgang Petersen in 'Extra Features'; 'The Making Of/Behind The Scenes, Das Boot: The Director's Cut (1997). DVD. He is openly anti-Nazi, embittered and cynical, being openly critical about how the war is being handled. Herbert Grönemeyer as (Ensign) Werner, war correspondent: Naive but honest, he has been sent out to sea with the crew to gather photographs of them in action and report on the voyage. Werner is initially mocked for his lack of experience, and soon learns the true horrors of service on a U-boat. Klaus Wennemann as chief engineer ( or LI, Rank: ): 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. As the second most important crewman, he oversees diving operations and makes sure the systems are running correctly.
Hubertus Bengsch as first watch officer (I. WO, Rank: ): A young, by-the-book officer, he is an ardent Nazi and a staunch believer in the . 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. He was raised in some wealth in Mexico by his stepparents, who owned a plantation. His German fiancée died in a British air raid. He spends his days writing his thoughts on military training and leadership for the High Command. When the boat is trapped underwater near Gibraltar, he becomes pessimistic and begins to let go of his adherence to Nazi ideas as he finally stops shaving every day and wearing his proper uniform all the time. Martin Semmelrogge as second watch officer (II. WO, Rank: ): 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. Bernd Tauber as ("Chief Helmsman") Kriechbaum: The navigator and 3rd Watch Officer (III. WO) always slightly skeptical of the Captain and without enthusiasm during the voyage, he shows no anger when a convoy is too far away to be attacked. Kriechbaum has four sons, with another on the way. Erwin Leder as ("Chief Mechanic") Johann, also called "" ("The Ghost"): He is obsessed with a near-fetish love for U-96s engines. Johann suffers a temporary mental breakdown during an attack by two destroyers. He is able to redeem himself by valiantly working to stop water leaks when the boat is trapped underwater near Gibraltar. Speaks a lower Austrian dialect. Martin May as (Senior Cadet) Ullmann: A young officer candidate who has a pregnant French fiancée (which is considered treason by the French partisans) and worries about her safety, he is one of the few crew members with whom Werner is able to connect. Werner offers to deliver Ullmann's stack of love letters when Werner is ordered to leave the submarine. Heinz Hoenig as (Petty Officer) Hinrich: The radioman, sonar controller and ship's combat medic gauges speed and direction of targets and enemy destroyers. Hinrich is one of the few crewmen whom the Captain is able to relate to. Uwe Ochsenknecht as ("Boatswain") Lamprecht: The severe chief petty officer shows Werner around U-96, and supervises the firing and reloading of the torpedo tubes. He gets upset after hearing on the radio that the football team most of the crew supports (FC Schalke 04) are losing a match, and they will "never make the final now". Claude-Oliver Rudolph as Ario: The burly mechanic who tells everyone that Dufte is marrying an ugly woman, and throws pictures around of Dufte's fiancée in order to laugh at them both also has a disdainful relationship towards the Bibelforscher, as evidenced throughout the miniseries. Jan Fedder as (Petty Officer) Pilgrim: Another sailor (watch officer and diving planes operator) who gets almost swept off the submarine during a storm – a genuine accident during filming in which Fedder broke several ribs and was hospitalised for a while. Ralf Richter as (Petty Officer) Frenssen: Pilgrim's best friend. Pilgrim and Frenssen love to trade dirty jokes and stories. Joachim Bernhard as ("Bible scholar", also the contemporary German term for a member of Jehovah's Witnesses): A very young religious sailor who is constantly reading the Bible, he is punched by Frenssen when the submarine is trapped at the bottom of the Strait of Gibraltar for praying rather than repairing the boat. Oliver Stritzel as Schwalle: A tall and well-built blond torpedoman. Jean-Claude Hoffmann as Benjamin: A red haired sailor who serves as a diving plane operator. Lutz Schnell as Dufte: The sailor who gets jeered at because of his upcoming marriage, and for a possible false airplane sighting. Konrad Becker as Böckstiegel: The Viennese sailor who is first visited by Hinrich for crab lice.