GAMES: GameSpot | GameFAQs | SportsGamer MUSIC: Last.fm | MP3.com MOVIES: Metacritic | Movietome TV: TV.com
Home | About Metacritic | About Metascores | What's New | Wireless Versions | Discussion Forums | Advertising Inquiries | Contact Us | RSS
Metacritic.com: We Deal With Criticism
     Help
> Switch to Advanced Search  
Film Video/DVD Music Games TV

DVD and Video

Upcoming Release Calendar
Awards & Bests By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Film In Our Forums

 

Recent Releases in DVD and Video

sort by name sort by score

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.



 

Printer-Friendly Version Email This Page Discuss In Our Forums

Das Boot
Columbia Pictures

Das Boot reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 86 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
9.6 out of 10
based on 15 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 16 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: R

Starring Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, Klaus Wennemann, Hubertus Bengsch, Martin Semmelrogge, and Bernd Tauber

It is 1942 and the German submarine fleet is heavily engaged in the so called "Battle of the Atlantic" to harass and destroy English shipping. With better escorts of the Destroyer Class, however, German U-Boats have begun to take heavy losses. Das Boot is the story of one such U-Boat crew, with the film examining how these submariners maintained their professionalism as soldiers, attempted to accomplish impossible missions, while all the time attempting to understand and obey the ideology of the government under which they served. (Sony Pictures)


GENRE(S): Drama  |  War  
WRITTEN BY: Wolfgang Petersen
Lothar G. Buchheim (novel)
Dean Riesner
 
DIRECTED BY: Wolfgang Petersen  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: December 11, 2001 
Video: January 1, 2000 
Theatrical: February 10, 1982 
RUNNING TIME: 149 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 
LANGUAGE(S): German (dubbed in English) 

The film was nominated for six 1983 Academy Awards.

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Wolfgang Petersen's direction is an exercise in pure craftsmanship. [Director's Cut]
Read Full Review
100
Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
The most convincing war movie ever made.
100
The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps
At once a devastating condemnation of war and an exciting action film...The additional running time only adds to Petersen's masterfully bleak, claustrophobic atmosphere. Das Boot is by no means a pleasant experience, but it's an intelligent and emotionally gripping one that you won't forget. [Director's Cut]
Read Full Review
100
ReelViews James Berardinelli
Takes all of the drama and suspense inherent in a submarine-based story and delivers it in a near-perfect package, establishing Das Boot as not just a terrific adrenaline rush, but one of the best movies ever made. [Director's Cut]
Read Full Review
100
USA Today Mike Clark
A great movie just got greater, thanks to this thorough restoration. [Director's Cut; 27 June 1997, p.D3]
100
Washington Post Desson Thomson
You emerge from this experience rather like a returning U-boat crewman -- drained, blinking in the light, but oddly triumphant. [Director's cut]
Read Full Review
90
Salon.com Max Garrone
Absolutely devastating filmmaking that makes you simultaneously feel the glory and the absolute futility of war. [Director's Cut]
Read Full Review
89
Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
One of the most suspenseful films of all time, its wartime action setting makes it easy to forget it's also one of the most spiritually righteous. [Director's Cut]
Read Full Review
83
Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
Sweaty and claustrophobic, exciting and horrifying at the same time, it never lets us forget we're riding aboard a giant, primitive tin can, a hunk of industrial machinery that mingles the illusion of omnipotence with the reality of a floating prison cell. [Director's Cut]
Read Full Review
80
TV Guide Staff (Not Credited)
Racing through the sub, squeezing through tiny openings, director Wolfgang Petersen's camera brilliantly evokes the claustrophobia and clamor of undersea battle.
Read Full Review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jay Scott
As torpedoes shoot through the seas and depth charges pass by, carrying their whining cargo of destruction, Das Boot brings the presence of death to within a whisper of the eardrum.
Read Full Review
75
San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann
A visually spectacular film, distinguished by strong performances and brilliant Steadicam photography that snakes through the U-boat as its patrols the North Atlantic during World War II. [Director's Cut]
Read Full Review
60
Chicago Reader Dave Kehr
The film has no qualities beyond its formal polish--and its careful avoidance (or rather, displacement) of the moral and political issues involved can seem too crafty, too convenient.
Read Full Review
60
Washington Post Rita Kempley
Unlike Hollywood's hygienic undersea dramas, Das Boot graphically depicts the nasty intimacy of a long mission.
Read Full Review
60
Variety Staff (Not Credited)
A descent into the pit of hell with slim odds of ever returning.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 9.6 (out of 10) based on 16 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

J D gave it a10:
Probably the best war movie ever made. Forget garbage like 'Saving Private Ryan'. This movie truly captures the futility of war no matter what side you are on. Claustrophobic, non stop action that literally had me cringing throughout the long (nearly 4 hours) journey. You get so absorbed into the movie, you get to know the characters so well. Great acting, filming, dialogue and music. A masterpiece. 10/10

Pat C. gave it a10:
Just too drawn out, even though that's necessary to a point to develop the tension of the underwater attacks. But still rates a 10 as the best submarine warfare movie ever made. One of those rare movies that, once viewed, is never forgotten.

Andrew H. gave it a9:
One of the most suspensful movies I've ever seen. Great pacing. Simple story. Amazing.

Dave C. gave it a10:
Four hours edge-of-your-seat suspense. I didn't avert my eyes for a second. The audience is never asked to either sympathise or condemn these characters. Das Boot is instead a haunting testament to the futility of war.

[Anonymous] gave it a5:
OK, but the 6 part, subtitled series is much, much better. (The film was made by just chopping up and dubbing the series) There is so much substance missing from the film that I cannot give it a good score. As for where you can find the series ... Good Luck, It was on TV BBC a while back, or maybe amazon.de.

Chimp gave it a 10:
This is, without any doubt, the best submarine movie ever made. If you think otherwise than you dont understand anything. This is also one of the best war movies ever made, and one of the best movies ever made. From the haunting theme to the pinging sound of the british ASDIC device, this movie takes you to the depths and shows you what it was really like to be in a German U-Boat. The acting is perfect, especially the captain. You grow to know the crew, and feel what they are feeling. When they finally get the breath of fresh air after so long, i could.....well, feel the relief too. The dialogue is perfect, and the music is amazing. It is very long (especially the directors cut) but i dont think there should be one second of it taken out.

Christopher S. gave it a 10:
One of the best warfilms ever made. Accurately portrays the reality and horror of war, not to mention from a differant perspective that americans are used to seeing from hollywood. A long journey, but excellent.

Read more user comments...

Discuss this movie in our forums

Return to top of page
Home | FILM | DVD/VIDEO | MUSIC | GAMES | TV | Forums | About Metacritic metacritic.com

Popular on CBS sites: MLB | Spore | iPhone 3G | Paris Hilton | Antivirus Software | GPS | Recipes | Shwayze | NFL

About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2008 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use