Directed by Wolfgang Petersen - 1981 Poster
This is the first of the Great War series of films - the 35th - which I have stopped and watched the last part on the following day. It was very long! The all-new restoration, with a completely new stereo soundtrack, included one hour of additional footage. One wonders which bits they added. The film certainly achieved what it said on the DVD sleeve - it was a graphic and gripping tale, which clearly showed the life-and-death struggle by the U-96 crew. It skilfully meshed the never-ending claustrophobic environment with the hours of boredom being suddenly broken by the terrors of the depth charges, the straffing from the air and the final catastrophe back at the La Rochelle base.
The story is quite a straightforward one. The opening scenes of the raucous behaviour at a French bordello are swiftly contrasted with the silent and - to me - sinister putting out to sea. I find both helicopters and submarines intensely sinister and would hate to be in either. Once at sea, the film explores the various characters - the three which stood out for me were the Captain (Jürgen Prochnow), who is openly ant-Nazi and critical of the way the war is being waged; Lieut Werner (Herbert Grȍnemeyer), a naive war correspondent who quickly realises the horrors of submarine life; Chief Mechanic Johann (Erwin Leder), who worships his engines and whose mental breakdown is a marvellous piece of acting.
Tension mounts!
A few reflections on the film. The very first screen shot, fish-pond green, seemingly empty - then a U-boat slowly comes out of the murk toward you; brilliant. The comment by the Captain at the bordello: The old bunch has gone. Look at these new heroes. All wind and smoke. Big mouths. When the sub is 'grounded' on the sea floor in the Gibraltar Straits: To be fearless and alone. The only thing I feel is to be afraid. The knowledge that out of 40,000 serving in the U-Boats, 30,000 never returned. The steadily mounting level of the water as it pours in through the damaged hull; the destroyer looming out of the sea-mist straight for the surfaced U-Boat; the eerie look of all the various crew wearing oxygen masks; and, the awful final scenes, as 'safe' home, the U-Boat dockyard is attacked by Allied planes, leading to the deaths of several of the main characters - in particular, the Captain, whose last vision is that of his U-Boat sinking.
Surfacing
The production of the movie took two years (1979-1981) and was the most expensive German film at the time. Scenes were filmed in sequence over a year and this ensured the natural growth of beards and hair and increasing skin pallor (they were forbidden to go outside during the filming!). It is not surprising that the actors showed signs of strain, as, just like real U-Boat sailors, they spent months in the unhealthy and cramped atmosphere. The movie opened in 220 theatres in West Germany and grossed a record $5,176,000 in the first two weeks. Deservedly so.
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