Video Review

Das Boot (1994)

EW's GRADE
A-

Details Movie Rated: R; Genres: Drama, Foreign Language, War; With: Herbert Gronemeyer and Jurgen Prochnow

In the Line of Fire director Wolfgang Petersen put himself on the international map with this realistic, cinematically fluent World War II submarine flick that remains highly impressive despite its troubling Nazis Were Victims Too theme. This new laserdisc edition marks Das Boot's first video appearance in wide-screen, essential for appreciating Petersen's carefully claustrophobic compositions. And there's another, somewhat surreal, bonus: With the digital and analog soundtracks, you can access the film either in German or skillfully dubbed English. Since English subtitles remain on screen either way, you'll note that some of the translations seem to have been scrambled by Woody Allen. When a crossword-puzzling sailor announces a clue as ''desert animal with two humps,'' for example, the titles inexplicably render it as ''deep affection — four letters.'' A-

Originally posted Jul 22, 1994 Published in issue #232 Jul 22, 1994 Order article reprints
You Might Also Like

Add your comment

The rules: Keep it clean, and stay on the subject or we might delete your comment. If you see inappropriate language, e-mail us. An asterisk * indicates a required field.

500 characters remaining
Advertisement