La Rochelle / Munich – For the shooting of the series “Das Boot”, a U-Boat replica, which has been refurbished especially for this production, has been shipped to the harbor of La Rochelle. Its arrival marks the return of “Das Boot” to La Rochelle, as Wolfgang Petersen’s original movie was also partially shot in the harbor. At a length of 67m and width of 6.5m, the 240 ton heavyweight mock-up, which had been built at a Maltese shipyard, was brought from Malta to France. After the arrival of the vessel, its precious cargo was lifted up and lowered into the harbor basin with two cranes. The process took two hours. Directly afterwards the shooting of event series “Das Boot”, a Bavaria Fiction, Sky Deutschland and Sonar Entertainment production, continued in La Rochelle.
Before the replica was lifted onto the vessel several months of advance planning was necessary. The mock-up has no normal ship keel but is able to navigate with a speed of 9 knots through the water. It is not, however, made for diving, which is why it had to be shipped to France on a separate vessel. Before it departed Malta, eight special slings had to be created and placed around the submarine so it could be lifted up onto the vessel with the two cranes. In addition two days of underwater welding was necessary to round off sharp edges to avoid any damage to the submarine as well as the slings. Two divers needed to ensure that the slings were properly placed under water.
About “Das Boot”: A story of choices and survival, Das Boot starts in autumn 1942, as U-boat warfare becomes increasingly brutal. While a very young crew put out to sea on a dangerous combat patrol, the Résistance rises in the U-boat port of La Rochelle. The plot is enriched with the warfare of the Allies on land and at sea. Buchheim’s key message - blind fanaticism pushing young men into a pointless war - will be the overall focus, which, unfortunately, in these times of terrorism hasn’t lost any of its relevance.
The impressive international cast includes:
Tom Wlaschiha (“Game of Thrones”), Lizzy Caplan (“Masters of Sex”), Vincent Kartheiser (“Mad Men”), James D’Arcy (“MARVEL’s Agent Carter”), Thierry Frémont (“Juste un regard”), August Wittgenstein (“The Crown”), Rainer Bock (“Inglourious Basterds”), Rick Okon (“Tatort”), Vicky Krieps (“Phantom Thread”), Leonard Scheicher (“Finsterworld”), Robert Stadlober (“Summer Storm”), Franz Dinda (“The Cloud”) and Stefan Konarske (“The Young Karl Marx”).
The eagerly anticipated series is directed by Andreas Prochaska, one of the most renowned German-speaking filmmakers, credits include “Das finstere Tal” (“The Dark Valley”) and “Das Wunder von Kärnten” (“A Day for a Miracle”), which was awarded the International Emmy. Prochaska’s further accolades include the Deutsche Filmpreis (German Film Award), the Romy, and the Bayerische Fernsehpreis (Bavarian Television Award).
The eight-episode event series is inspired by the Oscar® and Golden Globe® nominated masterpiece by Wolfgang Petersen and Lothar-Günther Buchheim’s bestselling novel of the same name. “Das Boot” will premiere end of 2018 in Sky territories Germany, Austria, Italy, UK and Ireland.
Co-production partner Sonar Entertainment is handling international distribution in the rest of the world. Shooting of the eight-part event series is under way in La Rochelle and will be continued in Prague, Munich and Malta.