Classic film 'Das Boot' to be continued as TV series
June 23, 2016
Considered one of the best films of all time, it's been 35 years since the submarine classic "Das Boot" hit cinemas. Now the World War II film is to be followed up on with eight hour-long sequels.
Image: picture-alliance/KPA
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It was a moving drama that conveyed the claustrophobia - and sheer danger - of life on a submarine and the tragedy of war. "Das Boot," or "The Boat" also boosted the careers of director Wolfgang Petersen and lead actor Juergen Prochnow. It also starred Herbert Groenemeyer, who would go on to become one of Germany's most successful musicians.
Now, pay-TV channel Sky and Bavaria Film have announced they will produce a German-language series of eight one-hour episodes that will pick up where the tragic ending to the movie left off, Germany news agency dpa reported Thursday (23.06.2016).
While the new series has a budget of 25 million euros ($28 million) and is slated for released in 2018, details concerning the director and cast have not yet been revealed. Filming is to take place in the Bavaria Studio near Munich.
Like the original 1981 "Das Boot," the series will also be based on the 1973 novel by Lothar-Günther Buchheim, which tells the story of the fictional submarine U-96 and its crew as they endure the trial of battle and the tediousness of the hunt. The original "Das Boot" was nominated for six Oscars.
11 films by German director Wolfgang Petersen
Wolfgang Petersen, the director of "Troy," "Air Force One" and "Das Boot," turns 80. Here's a look back at 11 of the most important films of this German filmmaker who conquered Hollywood.
Image: picture-alliance/akg-images/Binde
Overwhelming success: 'Das Boot'
Wolfgang Petersen's war epic "Das Boot" was a spectacular movie success in the 1980s — first in Germany, and then in the US. Moviegoers got a strong adrenaline rush through this claustrophobic German submarine mission set in 1941 in the Atlantic Ocean. The film was nominated for six Oscars.
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Germany's most popular crime TV series
Among Wolfgang Petersen's work for the cult German crime series "Tatort," one episode from 1977 was so popular that it was later released in theaters as "For Your Love Only." It not only boosted his career; it was also a springboard for the then 16-year-old actress Nastassja Kinski, who played a student having an affair with her professor. The film still regularly airs on German television.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/NDR
Breaking taboos on homosexuality
Petersen's next film, "The Consequence" (1977) had many detractors in Germany. It described a gay couple's relationship — a taboo topic back then. Scenes were cut out in the TV version and the Bavarian local TV broadcaster refused to show the film at all — but it nevertheless made its way to movie screens, and received different awards.
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Hollywood in Germany: 'NeverEnding Story'
Petersen directed the multi-million dollar epic fantasy film "The NeverEnding Story" in 1984. Based on the novel by German author Michael Ende, this blockbuster was filmed in West Germany. Hollywood was awaiting the ambitious filmmaker.
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Farewell to Germany: 'Enemy Mine'
The 1985 science fiction film "Enemy Mine" was partly shot in Germany, but was mainly Hollywood-financed, and US actors Dennis Quaid and Louis Gossett Jr. played the lead roles. For Petersen, it was to be the last film he would shoot in Germany for a long time.
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'In the Line of Fire' with Clint Eastwood
The thriller "Shattered" (1991) was actually Petersen's first US film, but it was the 1993 action film "In the Line of Fire" (1993) that marked the real breakthrough for the German director. The film about an obsessed, ageing former CIA agent (Clint Eastwood) was a box office success.
In 1995, movie theaters released Petersen's "Outbreak," a captivating medical disaster thriller about the outbreak of a deadly new fictional virus in a small African village that then spreads to California. Starring Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman and Donald Sutherland, it was a box office success.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/United Archives
A truly American film: 'Air Force One'
"Air Force One" (1997) was another box office hit. The German director convinced the crowds with a suspenseful action plot involving the kidnapping of the airplane carrying the US president (Harrison Ford) — who defeats the terrorists in the end. The film was criticized in Europe for its heavy US patriotism.
The disaster drama "The Perfect Storm" (2000), based on a non-fiction bestseller by the same name, tells the story of a commercial fishing boat lost at sea. The film featured George Clooney in the role of weather-beaten Captain Billy Tyne.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/Warner
Long and expensive: 'Troy'
Production costs for "The Perfect Storm" were high, but they were topped for "Troy," which had a $175-million budget. Not everyone was convinced by the 162-minute tale of the Trojan War starring Brad Pitt. Three years after the premiere, Petersen created a director's cut, adding an extra 40 minutes to his lengthy epic.
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Shipwreck with 'Poseidon'
Petersen's last Hollywood movie, the 2006 disaster film "Poseidon," was a box office flop. The director finally returned to Germany for his following project, a crime comedy about four urban professionals who plan to rob a bank. "Four Against the Bank" was released in 2016. (This picture gallery has been updated from 2016).
