![]() The small scale model of the boat thus required high-speed filming in the range of 50-100 frames per second. For the front-projection plates we needed the front and rear end of the boat within the shot so that we could combine them later, in the studio, with the bridge and the actors on it. ![]() Here we expected to shoot all the high speed running shots with the 40' boat, and all storm scenes. ![]() One 20', 1:12 scale model was built for all underwater filming and, finally, a 10' model (along with various destroyers, tankers and other ships) were made for special-effects photography.Īfter a long period of pre-production, shooting began on the North Sea Island of Helgoland in March of 1980. In addition a 40', 1:6 scale model, submersible and remote controlled was built for running shots in the ocean, during the storm, and for front projection plates. He built one interior model as well as a complete exterior in the original size (240' long). Rolf Zehetbauer, the Oscar winning set designer, therefore created a whole armada of U-boats authentic down to the most minute detail. However, none of the VIIC U-boats had withstood time since the war in good enough condition for filming of all interior and exterior scenes. ![]() The main character in the film is most certainly the boat itself. The documentary style of the film also led to the choice of the negative we used, which was Fuji 8517/8518 with its subtle colors and contrasts. Did not a big expensive movie have to be especially perfect in its technical aspects, without the minor flaws which one accepts very often when there is a lack of time and budget? How does hand-held camera work and almost no lighting fit into this concept? But I have long learned that a major ingredient of our profession has to do with guts, and this was ultimately what helped me make the decision. The requirement of extreme mobility within the narrow confines of the boat would not even allow the use of a “Steadicam.” It had to be a hand held camera!įrom left, Vacano, author Lothar-Günther Buchheim, Wolfgang Petersen, and Jürgen Prochnow on the U-96 set at Bavaria Studios.Īt first, this presented a major problem. no removable walls, cranes or dolly tracks, etc. It had to play the role of an observer, i.e. The camera had to subject itself to the same confines as the actors. Rather, absolute authenticity was required, above all in the lighting. Glamour and obvious technical slickness had no place in the movie. Indeed, only the part of the commander was cast with an internationally known actor, Jürgen Prochnow. A large part of the crew was cast with lay actors, and only the important parts were cast with professional actors. For this very reason there are no stars in this film. It tells the story of young men who are still half-children, adventurous, misguided by fascist propaganda, fascinated by technology and almost without exception volunteers, unknowns. I further had to deal with the resulting restrictions in lighting, the matching of various scale models both above and below water, storm scenes and explosives, a large number of optical effects, and the development of special camera systems and mounts.ĭas Boot is not a war movie, but rather a movie about people during war as seen in the microcosm of a U-boat. Rather, absolute authenticity was required, above all in the lighting.”Īs director of photography, I was confronted with a new problem, never before encountered: the enormously confined interior of the U-boat. “Glamour and obvious technical slickness had no place in the movie. It was not only to become the most expensive German film ever made, but also technically the most complex and elaborate. As director, Wolfgang Petersen, who also wrote the screenplay, was chosen. Finally, in 1979 Bavaria Studios again created the opportunity to realize this production as a purely German undertaking by making the feature film in combination with a simultaneous five-part television series. The building of the boat had already been commissioned when unexpected differences between various American screenwriters and Buchheim caused the project to collapse. Robert Redford was originally cast in the role of the U-boat commander. The director was to be John Sturges at first, and later Don Siegel. Already in 1976 this project was planned as a feature film with U.S.
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