Das Boot (1981) TV Series Adaption?

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Having finally gotten around to watching the directors cut of 'Das Boot' during my naval marathon (can't yet decide if it's better than Master and Commander, both are based on excellent books) I recently heard that it's being adapted or continued into an eight part TV series by Sky and Bavaria Films, with director Andreas Prochaska at the helm.

Aside from its amazing camera work, realistic film set, etc. I loved the small-scale plot and lengths taken to create empathy towards the German crew. Love to hear what aspects stood out to others if you watched it. Anyways.

Looking at the upcoming TV adaption there a couple of reasons why those who like the 1981 version may be in for some bad news, depending on your stance. It's larger budget ($28 million roughly), an arguably more varied global audience thanks to online distribution, and a distinctly anti-war objective according to Christian Franckenstein are some of the larger factors.

There is a debate as to whether the original film is anti-war or not and no doubt most would say yes after seeing the ending. Personally, I think that an anti-war outlook came secondary to firstly making a realistic portrayal of submarine warfare. This is partly why I enjoyed the first adaption so thoroughly. However, I think that this 2018 series has the potential to lose some of that by focusing on the former too much and getting dragged away from the naval crew to the French resistance and other parts of Europe. Apparently the series will "follow the war at sea as seen through the eyes of the young U-boat crew, and events on land, and the French Resistance".

This all seems to indicates that the adaption coming next year is shaping up to show a broader overlook of WW2 instead of the refined, intensely focused narrative of solely following a U-Boat submarine crew. Of course I think that this (if it is to happen as I suggest) would be a detriment. I looked to Band of Brothers, and similar series, when I was thinking about this and determining the benefits of following the journey of a single military unit rather than a wider range of perspectives.

Thoughts?



You did look at the dates listed in your link there, right? All the articles I linked are for a new TV series slated for a 2018 release. What you have there is the original film I was talking about.

Das Boot (1981) has had various releases during the 1980s, each with varying lengths of footage used. There are multiple films or 'theatrical releases' and a TV series that aired in Germany, which broke up the original film into episodes.

A good comparison to explain is Stephen King's IT (1990).