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Das Boot (1981)

Posted on July 24, 2013 | 6 comments

Das Boot (“The Boat”)
Directed by Wolfgang Petersen
Screenplay by Wolfgang Petersen from a novel by Lothar B. Buchheim
1981/West Germany
Repeat viewing
#670 of 1001 Films You Must See Before You Die
IMDb users say 8.4/10; I say 9/10

[box] Captain: [looking at one of the LI’s pictures] Funny. I haven’t seen snow in years.[/box]

This movie had my heart pumping vigorously for 149 minutes and me wishing that I was watching the 209-minute director’s cut.

It is autumn 1941 and the war for control of the Atlantic is turning against the Germans. This is the story of the voyage of u-boat U-96 which set out from La-Rochelle, France. It is seen through the eyes of a young military journalist who is along for the ride. The crew of the U-96 endures boredom, celebrates strikes against the enemy, and struggles to survive hits on its boat.

I have seen this film at least twice before – once in the theater in what I assume was the theatrical cut and once on DVD in the director’s cut. The version I rented this time was the theatrical cut. The theatrical cut is gripping and well-acted and edited, with amazing special effects. However, I really had the sense that the story suffered from the cuts. There were several awkward gaps and the ending was extremely abrupt. One minute they were surfacing after the Gibraltar episode and the next minute they were in La Rochelle. I also think this is the kind of thing that is best seen fresh the first time. I kept asking questions about little details when I should have been caught up in the action.

Don’t get me wrong. I highly recommend this film to anyone looking for a well-made action adventure. It is one of my very favorite war films.

German trailer (no subtitles but really not needed)

6 Comments

Posted in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, Movie Reviews

Tagged 1981, Germany

Body Heat (1981)

Posted on May 26, 2013 | 4 comments

Body Heat
Directed by Lawrence Kasdan
1981/USA
The Ladd Company through Warner Bros
Repeat viewing
#673 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

[box] Matty: [to Ned] You aren’t too smart, are you? I like that in a man.[/box]

It’s 1001 Movie Sunday and the Random Number Generator has come through again, this time with a neo-noir gem from the ’80’s.

Ned Racine (William Hurt) is a womanizing lawyer, with few scruples and less brains, in a small Florida town. During a scorching summer, he meets Mattie (Kathleen Turner), a seductive married lady, and decides he must have her. So begins a plot a bit reminiscent of Double Indemnity with several differences. It would be criminal to give anything away. With Richard Crenna as Mattie’s husband; Ted Danson as Ned’s friend the Assistant D.A.; J.A. Preston as Ned’s friend the police detective; and Micky Rourke as an arsonist.

A modern-day Medusa

This was screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan’s directorial debut and he worked from his own script which perfectly captures the cynicism and irony of classic film noir. He shows a deep understanding of the noir style and sensibility and updates it seamlessly. It is as if the film makers for such classics as Out of the Past were suddenly given a budget to shoot in color and the opportunity to make the sexual hold of the femme fatale over the protagonist explicit instead of implied. Heat permeates the film and a kind of red glow blankets the lovers to replace some of the chiaroscuro lighting of the films noir.

Body Heat 4

The ingenious story works well on its own but is doubly delicious in the context of the older films to which it refers. The cast is uniformly excellent. I am particularly fond of Kathleen Turner’s Mattie, who must be one of the most thoroughly ruthless vamps in film history. The jazz-inflected score by John Barry adds to the atmosphere.