World War II films from different eras

Das Boot

A scene from Das Boot. [Photo/Mtime]

Das Boot is a 1981 German epic war film written and directed by Wolfgang Peterson. It is an adaptation of the 1973 namesake German novel.

Set during World War II, the film tells the fictional story of U-96, a type of military submarine operated by Germany in World War II, and its crew. It depicts both the excitement of battle and the tedium of the fruitless hunt, and shows the men serving aboard U-boats as ordinary individuals with a desire to do their best for their comrades and their country. In the end of the film, Allied planes bomb and straf the submarine with many of the crew killed.

The film drew highest critical acclaim and is seen as one of the greatest of all German films. The critical consensus states "Taut, breathtakingly thrilling, and devastatingly intelligent, Das Boot is one of the greatest war films ever made."