| CLOSE WINDOW |
|
FILMTRACKS.COM
PRINTER-FRIENDLY VIEW 
Review of Das Boot (Klaus Doldinger)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you admire the hybrid synthesizer scores of the
1980's, Das Boot representing a controversial but highly unique
blend of electronic and symphonic tones for a classic World War II
submarine thriller.
Avoid it... if you lack tolerance for experimental music that is overly obvious in its tone, the score's main theme an undeniable cultural favorite in Germany but one that sometimes overplays its hand in context.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Das Boot: (Klaus Doldinger) Long considered a
gritty triumph of German cinema and one of the most respected
submarine-related films worldwide, the 1981 World War II thriller Das
Boot also has the distinction of being one of the most depressing
tales in the history of the big screen. Based loosely on the actual
captain and crew of the German submarine U-96, the movie and the book
that inspired it took liberties to darken the plotline with additional
death and futility. The U-boat was heralded for its success in sinking
enemy tonnage during the war, its early triumphs yielding in the film to
a dangerous cat and mouse game with Allied forces that leads to an
unnecessarily grim conclusion. The horror expressed by most of the crew
at their own slaughters earns them a reprieve to the extent that they
become protagonists before long. Despite its epically disturbing
outcome, Das Boot was an immense international success because of
its outstanding acting (led by the sympathetic Jürgen Prochnow as
the anti-Nazi captain) and stunningly accurate recreations of the
interior and exterior of the U-boat. Wolfgang Petersen's direction often
shows the crew of actors rushing about the cramped ship with convincing
authenticity, allowing audiences to fully experience the dank and
claustrophobic setting with frightening realism. Not as faithful in
conveying that sense of history is Klaus Doldinger's frequently obvious
score, which remains a somewhat controversial aspect of an otherwise
really fine all-around picture. Doldinger was a popular jazz musician in
Germany in the 1970's and 1980's, and he enjoyed a robust career in film
and television scoring as well. Most of his recognition as a composer
for the screen came with television series, but his long collaboration
with Petersen helped bring him international attention on a handful of
major movies in the 1980's. In retrospect, Das Boot represents
one of Doldinger's most prominent big screen assignments, and his music
for the occasion is highly polarizing. Although it usually successfully
generates the right emotional responses for much of the story, its
now-dated rendering was intentionally unconventional.
Despite Das Boot enjoying a massive production budget for a German film, the score ultimately utilized a blend of small orchestra and synthesizers to create a distinctive tone. It wasn't unusual for synthesizers to be applied as tools of drama in the 1980's, and the strategy with Das Boot emphasizes the electronics for their ability to represent the boat and its plight as an otherworldly experience rather than a straight, traditionally classical one. Doldinger opts to mix his array of early synthesizers with a small orchestra containing strings, brass, and percussion. In the place of woodwinds in his ensemble, the composer uses the keyboards to generate equivalent sounds, such as the high-pitch effects and fake pan flute in "Eingeschlossen." Some listeners might be so thrown off by the synthesizers that they may not realize that the bulk of the music in Das Boot is actually orchestral. That ensemble's orchestrations and mix, however, are extremely shallow and sparse, allowing the resonant tones of the synthetics to dominate, intentionally or otherwise. The composer's equipment at the time included a Minimoog, Prophet 5, and Fairlight CMI sampler, and these machines generate everything from standard fake brass tones to effective emulations of submarine sounds. The Fairlight CMI sampler perhaps makes the most interesting contributions to the score, generating the imitations of the submarine's overworked motors and, more impressively, a common sonar ping in rhythmic duties. That machine also, unfortunately, provides the wretchedly fake orchestra hits that were becoming a fad at the time and eventually proved to be among the most obnoxious synthetic sounds of the 1980's. These synthesizers earn the most notoriety in Das Boot in part because of such contributions, but they truly earn their pay in the performances of Doldinger's main theme. While the orchestra carries much of the weight during the standard dramatic and suspense portions of the score, even dabbling with some marginally effective counterpoint lines at times, the synths provide the driving sense of patriotism and a touch of coolness and melodrama to character arc and the boat itself. Debates will long continue about the appropriateness of the orchestral and synthetic blend in the final mix, but few will argue that the end result is not distinctive. Equally controversial in the score for Das Boot is Doldinger's handling of themes. Dominating the work is his famous title theme, and regardless of your opinion about its appropriateness, its memorable ascending lines have been so popular through the years that they have enjoyed a remarkable second life with remixes. (A famed 1991 techno remix of the tune may seem hideous to many listeners decades later, but it was wildly embraced at the time.) The repetitive nature of the theme's phrasing is a fascinating representation of the characters' endurance, giving them almost a sports-genre sense of inspiration. It also may represent the very obvious pistons of the main engines on the submarine as well. Structurally, these repeating figures that merely shift harmonies underneath are very simplistic, however, and some listeners may be bothered by how noble and optimistic the theme inherently becomes. Even when Doldinger slows its pace and dwells deep in the bass region with the idea, such as the horrifying final scene of the movie, the idea seems a bit juvenile and overly positive. Still, it's an undeniably cool thematic concept in both its pop-inspired title sequences and orchestral adaptations, and it does use a B-phrase of meandering mystery that addresses the despair of the story more appropriately. Another controversial aspect of this theme is how often it is rendered in the movie, especially by the time Petersen reedited the product through the years for additional releases. Most users will recall its summary arrangement with the synthetics in sound effect duties in "Titel," though its suspenseful suggestions in surrounding cues and more orchestrally fluid string lines in "Auslaufen" and the start of "Warten" reveal just how malleable the idea could be. Its seven-note primary phrase is easy for Doldinger to insert just about anywhere needed, even if those applications don't all represent a consistent element of the plot. At times, you get the impression that Petersen blindly inserted the melody into various transitional shots simply because it was the film's main theme, not necessarily because it worked particularly well at that moment in the narrative. Especially engaging, though, is the hyperactive and heroic acceleration of its phrasing in "Heimkehr" for mainly the strings and brass, though its tone may become obnoxious for some listeners after a couple of minutes of bright bravado. The same general approach fares a bit better in "Rückzug" as a tool of false hope that the crew will make it home to Germany alive. In the earlier portions of the score where the main theme makes its most prominent statements, Doldinger also establishes his top secondary idea, the rhythmic accompaniment for the submarine's propulsion and attack sequences. Exploding in "U 96" is this theme for the titular submarine in its lethal offensive mode, and this is where the fake orchestra hits really thrive. It's almost omnipresent for the boat's surface shots at speed and the crew's running to their stations within. The driving rhythm of the idea is joined by rising brass figures with no small dose of heroism that would have served a Rocky film just as well at the time. A rousing, undulating string line mingles with the main brass motif within this theme to add excitement. This idea continues in "Konvoi" with more prominent timpani, recurring in the second half of "Angriff." It mingles freely with the main theme in "Heimkehr" and is deconstructed in the anxious "Absinken." Given the shifting fortunes of the crew in the story, it's no surprise that this theme is eventually overtaken by Doldinger's rather bland suspenseful filler material in the latter half. Much of that music, from the stoic orchestral meandering in "Gibraltar" to the largely synthetic atmospheres of "Auf Grund," "Eingeschlossen," and "Rettung," presents little of interest. The aspirational hope of "Heimkehr" is reprised with emphasized cymbals in "Rückzug" before "Ende" drags everything back into the inevitable darkness. A third, totally unique theme in the score is provided in two variations on the "Erinnerung" cue, and Doldinger uses this identity to supply acoustic guitar and string softness for a romantic character diversion that is quite pretty but also very out of place. The progressions of its interlude sequence do borrow harmonies from the main theme, however. This music only adds to the wildly inconsistent range of renderings in the score for Das Boot, and it's a soundtrack that really needs to be heard rather than described. On album, some of its presentations, including its original LP record and the longer 1997 CD version dedicated to the director's cut, feature source music and songs from the picture, though not always the same ones. The 1997 Director's Cut CD is the best option, as it includes a vastly superior mix (required of Doldinger from source tapes after the studio's original tapes were found melted in storage), some of the source music, and several cues with the dialogue and sound effects included. Purists may prefer the original, shorter 1985 CD's mix, but Das Boot is the kind of uniquely cultish score for which its enthusiasts might be best served by acquiring both.
TRACK LISTINGS:
1985 Warner Album:
Total Time: 38:30
1997 Warner/Atlantic Albums: Total Time: 74:04
* performed by Rita Cadillac
NOTES & QUOTES:
None of the inserts for any of the albums includes any extra
information about the score or film.
Copyright ©
2024, Filmtracks Publications. All rights reserved.
The reviews and other textual content contained on the filmtracks.com site may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Christian Clemmensen at Filmtracks Publications. All artwork and sound clips from Das Boot are Copyright © 1985, 1997, Warner Elektra Atlantic, Atlantic/TriStar Music, Warner Elektra Atlantic and cannot be redistributed without the label's expressed written consent. Page created 2/27/24 (and not updated significantly since). |
