It is handsome, but unflinchingly grim a brief shot of a blood-soaked tooth on the floor does plenty to convey the extent of the torture unfolding before us. It has the swaggering certainty of a blockbuster movie it gives the impression it would work as well on the big screen as it does on the small. The battle scenes are stifling and seem to take viewers far beyond the point of comfort, which is apt. Even without outside forces, the U-boat is a combustible space for such conflicts and extremely effective at building a sense of impending doom.ĭespite its second world war setting (or perhaps because of it), this is ultra-modern television. His conflict-hardy first officer particularly resents the hierarchical imposition, as he resents Hoffman’s bluffing attempts to approach war by the book. Hoffman, the fast-tracked son of a famed war hero, struggles to impress even the slightest bit of authority on his crew. Photograph: Sky Deutschland AGįrank’s boat, meanwhile, is captained by the inexperienced yet flashy Klaus Hoffman, whose crisis of confidence comes early on, when he condemns a man to death by firing squad. The U-boat is extremely effective at building a sense of impending doom. The Americans responsible for its annihilation reflect on the scene: “Fuck ’em.” But this is no gung-ho good-versus-evil story it is far too clever for such easy trappings. A U-boat finds itself under attack, under water, and the crew’s terrified realisation that the game is up dissolves into near-unbearable tension. The opening scene is breathtaking, awful and a claustrophobe’s worst nightmare, all panic, yelling and flashing red lights. We join the action in 1942, by which point the Enigma code has been cracked by the allies, but the Germans are not yet aware of the enemy’s advantage. (For those who haven’t seen the original, or whose German extends to counting to three or asking for directions to the swimming pool, it is “The Boat”). This allows the thrilling show to stand on its own two feet – and it does so with impeccable taste and self-possession. New story,” tweeted its production company – Bavaria Films, the same one that made Petersen’s original – in October. T he makers of Das Boot (Sky Atlantic) let viewers know early on that it would not be a do-over of Wolfgang Petersen’s classic anti-war film, nor the series that followed it.
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