Das Boot

The television Das Boot expands beyond the confined submarine setting associated with the film. It follows wartime lives at sea and on land, where military orders, private loyalties and survival are difficult to separate.

The submarine passages remain the immediate attraction. A crew has to function in a place where a small mistake cannot easily be escaped, and waiting can be as tense as action. The land-based stories provide a wider view of occupation and conflicting allegiances, although they also change the rhythm for anyone expecting an entirely underwater drama.

It is important to approach this as a separate series, not a longer cut of Wolfgang Petersen's film. The broader scope allows more characters and relationships, but sometimes weakens the claustrophobia that makes the title so memorable.

For viewers interested in a multilingual wartime drama with a deliberate pace, there is worthwhile material here. Band of Brothers is more tightly focused on a single unit; Das Boot spends more time moving between people experiencing different parts of the same war.