Das Boot (1981) introduction analysis

The film opens with two slides of background information fading in, the text and the way the text on these slides are presented, with white text on a black background first giving us a background to the historical setting but the second, more dark than the first, simply states how many men died in the period the film is set in, this immediately sets the tone of the film. The use of a simple text overview is an effective way of establishing a story without having to spend time and money filming flashback sequences or large exposition speeches or other methods of setting up a background.

After the text it cuts to a dark green, under the sea, there is nothing, but as the music fades in and picks up a shape approaches the camera, the only other sound is a rhythmic pinging of a sonar, a sound related solely to submarines. The shapes range from the camera correlating with the music. The music peaks as the shape becomes recognisable as a submarine, which travels over the camera, which pans upwards to track it, before cutting to the title card. Where the title is displayed briefly in the same green as the sea, surrounded by darkness, before fading out again. The simplicity of the intro combined with the single action shown both hooks viewers into watching but also causes them to question the submarines origin and mission.