Happy 79th Birthday, Wolfgang Petersen! Born today in 1941, this German screenwriter, film producer and film director is best known for writing and directing the 1981 German adventure drama/history thriller film 'Das Boot' ('The Boat').
Based off of the eponymous 1973 war story fiction novel by German author and painter Lothar-Günther Buchheim, the film follows a German submarine of which patrols the Atlantic Ocean during World War II. The U-boat is manned by a crew that must contend with tense conflicts and long stretches of confined, claustrophobic boredom.
While war correspondent Lt. Werner (Herbert Grönemeyer) observes day-to-day life aboard the U-boat, the grizzled Capt.-Lt. Henrich Lehmann-Willenbrock (Jürgen Prochnow) struggles to maintain his own motivation as he attempts to keep the ship's morale up in the face of fierce battles, intense storms and dwindling supplies.
'Das Boot' was shot silent (because of exaggerated camera noise in the submarine interiors) and all German and English dialogue had to be looped. While it was being filmed in rougher weather, the sub cracked in two and sank.
The following year, 'Das Boot' was nominated for two Oscars at the 54th Academy Awards in late March 1982. However, the film did not win.
Afterwards, Petersen supervised the editing of six hours of film, from which was distilled a two hundred and nine-minute version, 'Das Boot: The Director's Cut'.
Released to cinemas worldwide in 1997, this cutcombines the action sequences seen in the feature-length version with character development scenes contained in the mini-series.
Released to cinemas worldwide in 1997, this cutcombines the action sequences seen in the feature-length version with character development scenes contained in the mini-series.
Petersen has been active from 1965–present.
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