Friday, September 12, 2008

Das Boot and the classic movies for Fine Arts

Fine Arts students should take time this year to view and write about the classic movies. Das Boot, a story of a German WWII submarine told from the point of view of the Germans, is such a flic.

Wikipedia says,
Das Boot (German for The Boat/The Submarine) is a 1981 feature film directed by Wolfgang Petersen, adapted from a novel of the same name by Lothar-Günther Buchheim. Hans-Joachim Krug, former first officer on U-219, served as a consultant, as did Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock, the captain of the real U-96.

The movie has an anti-war message. One of Petersen's goals was to guide the audience through "a journey to the edge of the mind" (the film's German tagline [Eine Reise ans Ende des Verstandes]), showing "what war is all about." Petersen heightened suspense by very rarely showing any external views of the submarine unless it is running on the surface and relying on sounds to convey action outside the boat, thus showing the audience only the claustrophobic interior the crew would see. The original 1981 version cost DM 32 million to make. The director's meticulous attention to detail resulted in a historically accurate movie that was a critical and financial success, grossing over $70 million worldwide between its two releases in 1981 and 1997. Its high production cost ranks it among the most expensive films in the history of German cinema. It was the second most expensive up until that time, except for Metropolis. However, Metropolis was made in the 1920s, a period of hyperinflation in Germany, which makes direct cost comparisons between the two eras difficult.

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