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An extraordinary depiction of life aboard a German U-boat and the courage of those who manned it, this suspenseful, exciting and realistic war drama set in 1941 chronicles the horrific experiences of an inexperienced crew and their courageous captain as they battle the Allies in World War II naval operations. The crew of the submarine are exposed to a myriad of dangers (not the least of which is madness) as they hunt and are in turn hunted throughout the Atlantic and Mediterranean oceans. Much of the film was shot in a real submarine to create a genuinely claustrophobic atmosphere. The film features little dialogue and goes to great lengths to display the boredom of the crew as they wait for instructions, and the terror that ensues when they do. Interestingly the crew’s loyalty lies with the navy and their captain rather than with the Nazis as the film adopts anti-Nazi overtones. Adapted from the German novel by Lothar G. Buchheim, which was based on his own experiences as a photographer aboard a U-boat in World War II. The film was originally released as a two and a half theatrical release as well as a six-hour German miniseries. This version is the extended director’s cut, released in 1997.
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How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
316900
Languages
Arabic
Danish
Dutch
English
English
Finnish
French
French
German
German
German
Norwegian
Swedish
Audience classification
MA
Subject categories
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Foreign language films
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Motion picture trailers
Armed Forces, Military, War & Weapons → Submarine boats
Armed Forces, Military, War & Weapons → World War, 1939-1945 - Germany
Armed Forces, Military, War & Weapons → World War, 1939-1945 - Naval operations
Armed Forces, Military, War & Weapons → World War, 1939-1945 - Psychological aspects
Communications, Infrastructure, & Transport → Submarine boats
Feature films → Feature films - Germany
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
DVD; Access Print (Section 1)