[Andreas86]

I first saw the movie on VHS in 1992, in it's shortest form, 2h 28min. German language, and I've never seen the english dub. At the time I never knew there was a miniseries version. Loved the movie and must have seen that version dozens of times. In the mid 90s I got the original 1981 soundtrack on CD. Then in 1998 we found the Director's cut on VHS, 3h 36min. Loved that version too, was thrilled to have even more footage. Bought the DC on DVD couple years later and must have watched that version countless times. The Director's Cut is the best of the movie versions. I also bought the Director's Cut "remastered" soundtrack CD. Here I was disappointed. The sound quality on this "upgraded" release is not only overly compressed but also muddled and dull. This is in sharp contrast to the original 80s release which is not only crystal clear mixed, but also has great dynamics and mastering. Sadly this was typical of 90s "remasters". Early 2000s I got the miniseries on import DVD, and now I have the blu-ray version of the same. And it is THE definitive version of Das Boot. It is hard now to go back and lose all the small touches, the narration, the deeper character descriptions, the important incidents not in the movie versions, etc. And as has been said by others, the quality is outstanding, like it was recently shot. If you're a submarine fan and history enthusiast you must see it. I have read the book, and not only did Wolfgang Petersen do great justice to the characters and general feel, but he improved the story hugely. This is one of those *rare incidents where the movie outshines the book enormously. It is a masterpiece. But if you want a movie length version for a normal evening watch try the Director's Cut. Fantastic piece of film art, which sadly will never be equalled.


This was the VHS we had back in the day: