Editing Das Boot (section)

== Different versions and home media <span class="anchor" id="Versions"></span>==
Petersen has overseen the creation of several different versions. The first to be released was the 149-minute theatrical cut in 1981.

As the film received partial financing by West German television broadcasters [[Westdeutscher Rundfunk|WDR]] and the [[Süddeutscher Rundfunk|SDR]], more footage was shot than was shown in the theatrical version.<ref name="Baer_2012">{{cite journal |last=Baer |first=Hester  |date= Winter 2012 |title= "Das Boot" and the German Cinema of Neoliberalism |url= http://www.jstor.org/stable/41494715 |journal=The German Quarterly |volume=85 |issue=1 |pages=18–39 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(04)15825-X |jstor=41494715 |pmid=15046114 |access-date=27 April 2024|url-access=subscription }}</ref> A version of six 50-minute episodes was transmitted on [[BBC Two|BBC2]] in the United Kingdom in October 1984 and again during the 1999 Christmas season. In February 1985, a version of three 100-minute episodes was broadcast in West Germany.<ref>{{cite web |last=Kramer |first=Peter |date=8 October 2017 |url=http://www.puremovies.co.uk/columns/das-boot-probably-the-biggest-german-blockbuster-of-all-time/ |title=Das Boot – Probably the Biggest German Blockbuster of All Time |access-date=8 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.filmstarts.de/nachrichten/18516631.html |title=Der Produzent verrät Details: So soll die Sky-Serie ''Das Boot'' an den U-Boot-Filmklassiker herankommen |language=de |trans-title=The producer reveals details: This is how the Sky series ''Das Boot'' should approach the classic submarine film |last=Friedrich |first=Alexander |date=17 January 2018 |access-date=8 October 2020}}</ref>

In 1997, Petersen edited a new theatrical release, a 208-minute version, entitled ''The Director's Cut'', combining the action sequences from the feature-length release with the character development scenes from the miniseries, also with remixed 5.1 audio containing many new sound effects.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dasboot.com/classics.htm|title=Classics Restoration|website=DasBoot.com|access-date=23 January 2025|archive-date=19 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219212455/http://www.dasboot.com/classics.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1998, this cut was released on DVD as a single-disc edition including an audio commentary by Petersen, Prochnow and director's cut producer Ortwin Freyermuth; a six-minute making-of featurette; and in most countries, the theatrical trailer. In 2003, it was also released as a "[[Superbit]]" edition with no extra features, but with a higher bit-rate and the film spread across two discs.

From 2010 onwards, the "Director's Cut", along with various new extras, was released internationally on [[Blu-ray]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.avclub.com/das-boot-the-director-s-cut-1798168781 |title=Das Boot: The Director's Cut |first=Noel |last=Murray|website=[[The A.V. Club]] |date=6 July 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.bluray-disc.de/blu-ray-filme/das-boot-blu-ray-disc | title=Das Boot (Directors Cut) Blu-ray | access-date=2014-03-16 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100720045229/http://www.bluray-disc.de/blu-ray-filme/das-boot-blu-ray-disc | archive-date=20 July 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2014, the 308-minute miniseries, also known as ''The Original Uncut Version'', was released on Blu-ray in Germany with optional English audio and subtitles.<ref>{{Cite web |title="Das Boot - Die TV-Serie" - Langfassung des deutschen Filmklassikers im September auf Blu-ray Disc - Blu-ray News |url=https://bluray-disc.de/blu-ray-news/serien/68678-das_boot_die_tvserie_langfassung_des_deutschen_filmklassikers_im_september_auf_bluray_disc |access-date=2023-01-26 |website=bluray-disc.de |language=de}}</ref>

In November 2018, a "Complete Edition" was released as a collection of five Blu-ray discs and three CDs. It contains more than 30 hours of material: the Director's Cut (208 min.), the Original Cinema version (149 min.), the complete TV Series in six parts ("The Original Uncut Version", 308 min.), Bonus Material (202 min. + various trailers), the Original Soundtrack by [[Klaus Doldinger]] (38:21 min.) and a German-language audiobook of the novel read by [[Dietmar Bär]] (910 min.).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.de/Das-Boot-Complete-Bonus-BD-Soundtrack/dp/B07J35TB8S |title=Das Boot Complete Edition|website=Amazon Germany}}</ref>

For all versions of the film, new English language soundtracks were recorded featuring most of the original cast, who were bilingual. These soundtracks are included on various DVD and Blu-ray releases as an alternative language to the original German.
* 1981 unreleased version (209 minutes)
* 1981 original theatrical cut (149 minutes)
* 1984 BBC miniseries (300 minutes)
* 1997 "Director's Cut" (208 minutes)
* 2004 "The Original Uncut Version" (293 minutes) – miniseries minus episode-opening flashback scenes