Got three hours to kill?

NOTE: THIS IS MICHAEL SIROIS POSTING UNDER SAM SHEPLER'S ACCOUNT (BECAUSE BLOGSPOT DOESN'T SEEM TO WORK FOR ME)

Got three hours to kill?..

...then watch "Das Boot". It's a 1981 film by Wolfgang Peterson, director of the recent films "Troy" and "Poseidon". Though the previous two films were disappointments, "Das Boot" is not just Peterson's greatest film but it is also the greatest submarine film of all time.

The plot [from imdb.com]:

"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."

I love this film. It was nominated for six Academy awards: best director, best cinematography, best writing adapted from another medium, best sound effects, best film editing and best sound. Though it didn't win anything, it's been both popular and critically acclaimed.

Here is a sample scene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtUw_JnmYQ0



It's loooong, though. But it's mezmerising.