Stars: Kelli Maroney, Tony O’Dell, John Terlesky, Suzee Slater, Barbara Crampton, Russell ToddĬalling Chopping Mall the best film by director Jim Wynorski isn’t saying much-at all-but it remains a minor ’80s horror/sci-fi classic despite that. To the viewer, the U-96 crew’s excursions into fear and madness seem like perfectly reasonable responses to an unimaginable situation. Author Lothar-Gunther Buchheim considered his novel butchered, with Petersen’s film an unrealistic “re-glorification” of the German combatant in WWII, but there seems nothing glorious or inauthentic about Peterson’s adaptation. We the audience spend the days down there in the depths with the crew, stalking enemy vessels and tensing up under hull-busting pressure, petrified at the sound of approaching depth charges, elated at successfully escaping through into safe waters. Wolfgang Peterson’s breakout is an experience, a thing to endure alongside the solemn, silly, cynical men of the U-96.
Only “movie” seems an inadequate description.
But in any version, Das Boot is the finest submarine movie in all of cinema. Or, if you have the time, you can see it in its original uncut form, or as a five-hour miniseries. You can watch it as a feature, either the 150-minute theatrical iteration or the 208-minute director’s cut.
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