Movies and Films
This is the forum for Movie and Film discussions. Again, our topic is naval warfare in WWII for the most part.
Re: Das Boot Film mistakes, comments?
Posted by:
cate
()
Date: December 05, 2002 12:02PM
<HTML>hi Jimbo
The point about the beards wasn't a mistake as such, but quite deliberate. Many of these u-boat crews were simply too young to grow beards, or at best sprouted fairly sparse 'bum fluff'. Most of them would have been under twenty yrs, the petty officers a year or two older, senior Petty oficers and Junior Commissioned officers mid twenties. The 'Old Man' was the oldest member of the crew at thirty.
The actors who played most of these roles (other than the theatre school trained professional leads) were recruited, according to Petersen on the DC commentary, from colleges, sports clubs etc from around Germany and Austria, anywhere that young people with 'interesting faces') might be expected to congregate.
The movie was filmed in sequence, so the beards that we see, other than for a few shots and retakes that were done post production, were the real thing, grown during the course of shooting.
The only member of the crew who regularly shaves as such during the voyage is the IWO, a spit and polish type 'true believer' in the National Socialist cause and adherent to dress codes and regulations. the rest of the crew it is made clear find this a pain in the butt, since as you so rightly perceived, with one head for fifty men and limited fresh water this gummed up the works for everyone else aboard.
Except for teeth brushing BTW ablutions were supposed to be performed with salt water (for which special soap was provided), and underwear was rarely if ever changed. In the novel a strip wash out of a bucket provided was permitted in honour of the Sabbath for those keen enough. Basically though they just resigned themselves to festering personal hygiene for the duration of their tour, indulging in fantasies about bathing in luxurious bathrooms in the meantime.
Bet that long soak felt good at the end (or would have done if they had made it.)
Cate</HTML>
The point about the beards wasn't a mistake as such, but quite deliberate. Many of these u-boat crews were simply too young to grow beards, or at best sprouted fairly sparse 'bum fluff'. Most of them would have been under twenty yrs, the petty officers a year or two older, senior Petty oficers and Junior Commissioned officers mid twenties. The 'Old Man' was the oldest member of the crew at thirty.
The actors who played most of these roles (other than the theatre school trained professional leads) were recruited, according to Petersen on the DC commentary, from colleges, sports clubs etc from around Germany and Austria, anywhere that young people with 'interesting faces') might be expected to congregate.
The movie was filmed in sequence, so the beards that we see, other than for a few shots and retakes that were done post production, were the real thing, grown during the course of shooting.
The only member of the crew who regularly shaves as such during the voyage is the IWO, a spit and polish type 'true believer' in the National Socialist cause and adherent to dress codes and regulations. the rest of the crew it is made clear find this a pain in the butt, since as you so rightly perceived, with one head for fifty men and limited fresh water this gummed up the works for everyone else aboard.
Except for teeth brushing BTW ablutions were supposed to be performed with salt water (for which special soap was provided), and underwear was rarely if ever changed. In the novel a strip wash out of a bucket provided was permitted in honour of the Sabbath for those keen enough. Basically though they just resigned themselves to festering personal hygiene for the duration of their tour, indulging in fantasies about bathing in luxurious bathrooms in the meantime.
Bet that long soak felt good at the end (or would have done if they had made it.)
Cate</HTML>
