DAS BOOT is one of the best war movies ever made, and it is definitely the best submarine movie ever. The movie features a great cast, excellent direction, and the best acting performance by Jurgen Prochnow in his whole career.

Der Alte has to be my favorite captain of any ship. I would want a captain like him. He cares about his men and tries to make the best out of any situation (good or bad). He is teh kind of man who doesn't like the war and the horrors of it, but he does do his duty. He has a general dislike for the people in charge (especially the Naval officers (and Nazis) who think the war is great)

You get to know and care for the submarine crew in DAS BOOT, feel their terror, share their moments of joy and relief, and be pulled through by the suspense of many scenes (whether it is an attack on a ship or making repairs on the-Boat). DAS BOOT is a cinematic masterpiece. It is a movie that will be hard to beat because one may never see a submarine movie as good as this one for a long while.

VIDEO/AUDIO: The movie is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. Most of the video is in great quality. Some scenes do show some wear (like some very visible grain in some scenes and a line in the middle of the screen in one scene) and they are probably the scenes inserted back in for the full uncut version. Colors are good and blacks are excellent. The quality of the video is a little better on disc two overall.

You have the choice of viewing the movie in English or German (each have 2.0 Dolby Surround and Dolby 5.1 tracks). There is also the option of English or French subtitles.

SPECIAL FEATURES: There are three previews for Wolfgang Peterson movies- DAS BOOT: THE DIRECTOR'S CUT, AIR FORCE ONE, and IN THE LINE OF FIRE. There is a six minute behind the scenes featurette called THE MAKING OF DAS BOOT which features interviews from director Wolfgang Peterson and actor Jurgen Prochnow. This featurette was clearly created for the director's cut of DAS BOOT. There is an insert which has a note from Wolfgang Peterson about DAS BOOT.

FINAL ANALYSIS: Depending on whether you want the Director's Cut or the Original Uncut version, DAS BOOT is a fine movie to own on DVD. The Uncut version shows the full vision that Wolfgang Peterson intended for German TV as a mini-series, and the uncut version doesn't dull the suspense of the movie one bit.

Go here for a review (by Bill Hunt- editor of the Digital Bits) comparing all DVD editions of DAS BOOT:

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/reviews3/dasbootallversions.html

this review is (c)6-26-2004 David Blackwell and this review cannot be reprinted without permission. Send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com  and look for additional content (and site updates) at http://www.livejournal.com/users/enterlinemedia