1981 Hit Named Among the Best World War 2 Movies Ever - It Will Make You Claustrophobic
Imagine being packed into a tiny cylinder, a submarine, that is cruising deep in the rough waters of the North Atlantic. Now imagine that destroyers are shooting torpedoes at you. Now imagine one hits you, and you're desperately trying to patch the leaks as the submarine sinks to depths that no human can bear. All with the ping-ping-ping echoing throughout the sub.
Now you see why the iconic German-language submarine movie, Das Boot, makes audiences claustrophobic. The 1981 hit commonly ranks among the best World War 2 movies ever, buttressed by exceptional acting from its lead, Jurgen Prochnow, whose determined facial expressions camouflage his growing terror inside the fictional U-96. Some film buffs name it the BEST World War 2 movie ever, with one Reddit user declaring, "It's incredibly intense, unpredictable, has interesting likable characters, brilliant writing, an amazing story, and is all around one of the best movies I've ever seen." The movie means "The Boat." A director's cut was released in 1997.
'Das Boot' Was Based on a Novel by a Man Who Served on a U-Boat During World War II
One thing that makes this movie stand out is that it tells a war story through the viewpoint of a German U-Boat crew, although it unflinchingly captures the horrors of war as visited on young men of all sides. However, it doesn't really get into the politics of the German regime's reign of terror, but, rather, focuses on the experiences of the men inside the tube. In the end, though, they don't meet a happy fate just as the German military effort crumbled.
According to Military.com, which ranked it among the best World War 2 movies ever, "This West German movie is an adaptation of Lothar-Günther Buchheim's novel of the same name, which draws heavily from his own experiences aboard a U-boat during World War II." However, that was an anti-war novel, and Buchheim was critical of the movie for not fully capturing that sentiment and for some technical mistakes, according to War History Online.
In addition to ranking among the best World War 2 movies, the film is ranked among the best submarine movies ever made. It also made the Rotten Tomatoes list of the top 100 best war movies ever. It ranked fifth on Entertainment Weekly's list of the 23 best World War 2 movies in history. That list praised the movie's "stunning realism," revealing, "The film was shot in chronological order over the course of a year to capture a pale, bearded crew hardened by months at sea that feel like a lifetime."
'Das Boot's' Painstaking Realism Has Landed It on Lists of the Best World War 2 & Submarine Movies Ever Made
Collider namedDas Boot the 12th best World War 2 movie ever made, writing that it is "a widely acclaimed classic directed by Wolfgang Petersen," and concluding, "Das Boot is among the best submarine movies ever made." The pings, which echo through the Atlantic, capture the suspense. The movie was nominated for six Academy Awards.
"The film shows every aspect of life in the submarine: unrelenting boredom, the sudden excitement of battle and the dangers that faced submarines at every turn," Film Music Central noted.
According to War History Online, "A mock-up of the U-96 submarine was created for the movie to be shot in. The interior of the sub was mounted five meters off the floor. To simulate depth charge attacks the submarine set was shaken, rocked and tilted 45 degrees with a hydraulic apparatus and vigorously shaken."
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 13, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published June 13, 2026 at 11:28 AM.