Das Boot

[dean_martin]

I recently watched this for the first time. Man, what an intense film! It's beautifully shot from the opening bar scene, to the ship yard/docks, to the scene where they flee the sinking ship with the men swimming to them for help, to the irony of the gut wrenching ending. It's set up perfectly so that you're actually pulling for these Nazi bastards to survive. (At least I was. I don't know whether an Allied WWII survivor would feel that way.)

I picked up the Superbit Director's Cut for 9.99 over the weekend. I saw U-571 a couple of years ago and while I enjoyed it during the moment, it didn't have the staying power that Das Boot has. I couldn't tell you the U-571 plot, but I don't think I'll soon forget Das Boot.

The Director's Cut is very detailed. Which means it's long, but it's never boring. It takes an emotional toll, however, so it may be awhile before I watch it again.

Most of you film nuts around here have seen this and have commented favorably. Thanks for the recommendations. I'm glad I finally watched it. As for the rest of you guys, don't let the subtitles scare you. Check it out.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

I recently watched this for the first time. Man, what an intense film! It's beautifully shot from the opening bar scene, to the ship yard/docks, to the scene where they flee the sinking ship with the men swimming to them for help, to the irony of the gut wrenching ending. It's set up perfectly so that you're actually pulling for these Nazi bastards to survive. (At least I was. I don't know whether an Allied WWII survivor would feel that way.)

I picked up the Superbit Director's Cut for 9.99 over the weekend. I saw U-571 a couple of years ago and while I enjoyed it during the moment, it didn't have the staying power that Das Boot has. I couldn't tell you the U-571 plot, but I don't think I'll soon forget Das Boot.

The Director's Cut is very detailed. Which means it's long, but it's never boring. It takes an emotional toll, however, so it may be awhile before I watch it again.

Most of you film nuts around here have seen this and have commented favorably. Thanks for the recommendations. I'm glad I finally watched it. As for the rest of you guys, don't let the subtitles scare you. Check it out.

Deano,
I really dug this movie myself. Preferred to watch it in its original german language with english subtitles. Very well crafted soundtrack, very tense and coherent story line, this movie has it all.

U-571 was equally as good IMO. Superb soundtrack, good story line that held together well. This movie as well as Das Boat are sub busters. If you sub is subpar(excuse the pun) it will choke on both of these movies. Some of U-571 explosions have peaks at 18hz.

I think I have seen each of these movies about 3 times a piece, and each viewing has uncovered something new for me.

[Worf101]

I enjoy that movie immensely, not only for the sheer power of the story and it's poignancy but also becuase of it's historical accuracy. As a military historian it kills me when they get obvious stuff wrong, wrong, wrong. In some movies like "Air Force" you can overlook it and just get into it, but in "U-571" the innacuracies killed it for me. It was the Brits in a Brithish sub that got the Enigma and the books NOT the Americans but hey.... we're the 900 pound gorilla so we get to play hero. The problem with knowing history is it often ruins moives for you.. Case in point there's an old chestnut called "Fighter Command" that I used to love as a kid.

Saw it yesterday and had to turn it off. It's bad enough that they had the wrong model P-47's on the American side and then they were all mixed up from different squadrons. But the unthinkable was that when they couldn't find any German fighters to put in the movies they painted over some P-51 Mustangs and put swastikas on em. It's one thing to fudge a little history but when you put Nazi markings on an American plane you lose me for good. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.


Da Worfster

PS, how do I know so much about subs and planes? I read a lot and play the following games.

"Silent Hunter III" - I currently command the U-59 out of Brest, 9 sorties. 148,000 tons of allied shipping sunk. KC, swords.

IL2 Sturmovik Forgotten Battles/Ace Expansion Pack/Pacific Fighters. - Currently a "major" flying a P-40 Warhawk with the Soviet Airfoce. 58 confirmed kills on "full real".

[dean_martin]

I enjoy that movie immensely, not only for the sheer power of the story and it's poignancy but also becuase of it's historical accuracy. As a military historian it kills me when they get obvious stuff wrong, wrong, wrong. In some movies like "Air Force" you can overlook it and just get into it, but in "U-571" the innacuracies killed it for me. It was the Brits in a Brithish sub that got the Enigma and the books NOT the Americans but hey.... we're the 900 pound gorilla so we get to play hero. The problem with knowing history is it often ruins moives for you.. Case in point there's an old chestnut called "Fighter Command" that I used to love as a kid.

Saw it yesterday and had to turn it off. It's bad enough that they had the wrong model P-47's on the American side and then they were all mixed up from different squadrons. But the unthinkable was that when they couldn't find any German fighters to put in the movies they painted over some P-51 Mustangs and put swastikas on em. It's one thing to fudge a little history but when you put Nazi markings on an American plane you lose me for good. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.


Da Worfster

PS, how do I know so much about subs and planes? I read a lot and play the following games.

"Silent Hunter III" - I currently command the U-59 out of Brest, 9 sorties. 148,000 tons of allied shipping sunk. KC, swords.

IL2 Sturmovik Forgotten Battles/Ace Expansion Pack/Pacific Fighters. - Currently a "major" flying a P-40 Warhawk with the Soviet Airfoce. 58 confirmed kills on "full real".

I'm a fan of WWII aircraft. When I was a kid I collected the models, watched Baa Baa Black Sheep religiously and read Midway 3 times. I remember being glued to the set when Midway came on tv.

If you're ever in the Florida Panhandle, check out the Naval Aviation Museum at Pensacola NAS.

[topspeed]

This is one of my favorite movies as well. Tense, realistic, and actually does a credible job of humanizing Nazi's. Jurgen Prochnow should have won an Academy Award as the commander. The look on his face as his beloved ship sinks into the dock is timeless. The voiceover isn't bad, although the subtitled version is admittedly better. One of my favorite lines is when they are discussing going through the strait; "She's tighter than a virgin!" Classic.

[Swerd]

...It was the Brits in a Brithish sub that got the Enigma and the books NOT the Americans but hey....

"Fighter Command" that I used to love as a kid. Saw it yesterday and had to turn it off. It's bad enough that they had the wrong model P-47's on the American side and then they were all mixed up from different squadrons. But the unthinkable was that when they couldn't find any German fighters to put in the movies they painted over some P-51 Mustangs and put swastikas on em. It's one thing to fudge a little history but when you put Nazi markings on an American plane you lose me for good. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.


Da Worfster

I share your distaste for those glaring innacuracies. Most war movies are full of them. Here are a few additional tidbits.

The Brits first got a copy of an Enigma from the Polish whose spies who nabbed one prior to the war. In 1939 shortly before the war broke out, they tried to give it to the French, but the British were much more eager and got it instead. It is lucky for all of us that they knew what to do with it. I am not familiar with the details of the Enigma the Brits got from the sub. When did that happen?

As far as bogus planes, something similar happened in Tora Tora Tora. It showed Zeros which were really American T-6 trainers modified to look like Zeros. This was excusable because no flyable Zeros remained and there were plenty of T-6s around. Maybe you should cut them some slack about the P-51s with Nazi markings. When was Fighter Command made? On the other hand, The Battle of Britain (mid 1960s?) did show flyable German fighters and bombers which were on loan from the Spanish Air Force.

[Swerd]

Tora Tora Tora - the 1970 version

The Battle of Britain - 1969

[Smokey]

It's beautifully shot from the opening bar scene, to the ship yard/docks, to the scene where they flee the sinking ship with the men swimming to them for help, to the irony of the gut wrenching ending. It's set up perfectly so that you're actually pulling for these Nazi bastards to survive.

This might be the first movie (along with All Quiet on the Western Front) that shows suffering of human being in a war, no matter which side they belong to.

In the same scene you mentioned, one guy was complaining to Captain as to why we are not rescuing those people that are swimming and are about to drown. And the Captain said to him to go complain to those bustards that started this war. Very moving.

[Worf101]

I share your distaste for those glaring innacuracies. Most war movies are full of them. Here are a few additional tidbits.

The Brits first got a copy of an Enigma from the Polish whose spies who nabbed one prior to the war. In 1939 shortly before the war broke out, they tried to give it to the French, but the British were much more eager and got it instead. It is lucky for all of us that they knew what to do with it. I am not familiar with the details of the Enigma the Brits got from the sub. When did that happen?

As far as bogus planes, something similar happened in Tora Tora Tora. It showed Zeros which were really American T-6 trainers modified to look like Zeros. This was excusable because no flyable Zeros remained and there were plenty of T-6s around. Maybe you should cut them some slack about the P-51s with Nazi markings. When was Fighter Command made? On the other hand, The Battle of Britain (mid 1960s?) did show flyable German fighters and bombers which were on loan from the Spanish Air Force.

U559 October 24th 1942 was the correct pinch that got the whole machine and all current wheels. My bad, got my Uboats mixed up.

Da Worfster

[Worf101]

I share your distaste for those glaring innacuracies. Most war movies are full of them. Here are a few additional tidbits.

The Brits first got a copy of an Enigma from the Polish whose spies who nabbed one prior to the war. In 1939 shortly before the war broke out, they tried to give it to the French, but the British were much more eager and got it instead. It is lucky for all of us that they knew what to do with it. I am not familiar with the details of the Enigma the Brits got from the sub. When did that happen?

As far as bogus planes, something similar happened in Tora Tora Tora. It showed Zeros which were really American T-6 trainers modified to look like Zeros. This was excusable because no flyable Zeros remained and there were plenty of T-6s around. Maybe you should cut them some slack about the P-51s with Nazi markings. When was Fighter Command made? On the other hand, The Battle of Britain (mid 1960s?) did show flyable German fighters and bombers which were on loan from the Spanish Air Force.

The fighter movie as called "Fighter Squadron" made in 1948, less than three years after the end of the second world war. You telling me the Brits could find servicable Luftwaffe fighters almost 20 years later but Hollywood couldn't. That's a shame...

While true the Poles gave the Brits the first working machine. The Germans added wheels to the machine and new codes. These new wheels gave brits fits during the early part of the war. Onl May 9th 1941 Key tables for E, Offizier procedures, a bigram book and instructions for emergency keys were pinched from German Sub U110. That's the incident that inspired the movie. It was a straight snatch and grab from a wounded german sub who's scuttle charge didn't go off as planned.

Da Worfster

[Swerd]

The fighter movie as called "Fighter Squadron" made in 1948, less than three years after the end of the second world war. You telling me the Brits could find servicable Luftwaffe fighters almost 20 years later but Hollywood couldn't. That's a shame...

While true the Poles gave the Brits the first working machine. The Germans added wheels to the machine and new codes. These new wheels gave brits fits during the early part of the war. Onl May 9th 1941 Key tables for E, Offizier procedures, a bigram book and instructions for emergency keys were pinched from German Sub U110. That's the incident that inspired the movie. It was a straight snatch and grab from a wounded german sub who's scuttle charge didn't go off as planned.

Da Worfster

If you haven't seen The Battle of Britain look for a copy. It's sort of a quasi documentary/drama. The story line is a bit weak for a fictional movie, but it gets most of the details correct and gives credit to those who deserve it, including the Poles and Czechs who flew for the RAF. The filmed scenes of fighters and bombers are the best I've seen in any movie. And that makes it a keeper if you like WWII aviation. It does sidestep the controversy about replacing Dowding as commander of RAF Fighter Command so soon after his rather spectacular victory. Maybe that subject was better handled by the many books published on the subject than in a movie.

An interesting detail shown in the movie is that the Me-109 fighters borrowed from the Spanish no longer had the original Daimler-Benz inverted V-12 engines that gave them their characteristic looking nose. They instead installed Rolls Royce Merlins because spare parts were still available for those. The result was that the 109s strangely resembled Spitfires in the nose section, but otherwise looked like the originals.

Thanks for the info about the Uboat enigma machine.

[Woochifer]

If you really like this movie, do yourself a favor and go for the original uncut miniseries version of Das Boot. This DVD came out last year and it's a must-see for anyone who likes and admires this movie. U-571 is nice entertainment, but should never be mentioned in the same breath as Das Boot because the two films are not in the same class and the historical inaccuracies in U-571 further detract from it.

Das Boot was originally produced for West German television, and ran as a six-part miniseries. The original U.S. theatrical release for Das Boot was dubbed (and retitled The Boat) and chopped down by more than half. Even with the shortened length and bad dubbing, it was still a great film. Once I saw it in the original German dialog, even better, and the director's cut that's been featured on both the original DVD and Superbit DVD releases is better still. The miniseries version dives even deeper into the characters and shows more of the day-to-day goings on board those iron coffins. Just makes the movie all the more tragic than it already is. The video quality on the miniseries is not as good as the Superbit (which was a huge improvement over the original DVD release), but the movie itself is definitely worth watching in the long format.

[dean_martin]

If you really like this movie, do yourself a favor and go for the original uncut miniseries version of Das Boot. This DVD came out last year and it's a must-see for anyone who likes and admires this movie. U-571 is nice entertainment, but should never be mentioned in the same breath as Das Boot because the two films are not in the same class and the historical inaccuracies in U-571 further detract from it.

Das Boot was originally produced for West German television, and ran as a six-part miniseries. The original U.S. theatrical release for Das Boot was dubbed (and retitled The Boat) and chopped down by more than half. Even with the shortened length and bad dubbing, it was still a great film. Once I saw it in the original German dialog, even better, and the director's cut that's been featured on both the original DVD and Superbit DVD releases is better still. The miniseries version dives even deeper into the characters and shows more of the day-to-day goings on board those iron coffins. Just makes the movie all the more tragic than it already is. The video quality on the miniseries is not as good as the Superbit (which was a huge improvement over the original DVD release), but the movie itself is definitely worth watching in the long format.

I appreciate the info. I had read that this was originally a mini-series, but I was confused about the different versions out there. I'm not one to get hung up on foreign language/English subtitles. I prefer the original voices even if I can't understand them. I got as much out of public school as I could so reading doesn't bother me as long as it's not drivel.

Also, if I'm correct about your being the first or one of the first to post on the superbit titles going for $9.99 at BB, then I thank you. So far I've picked up Lawrence of Arabia, From Here to Eternity, Snatch and Das Boot. I've watched Lawrence and of course Das Boot. Both titles kick audio, video and content butt! I got a price check on the Leon: The Professional superbit the other day and evidently it's a newer release not included in the 9.99 batch. Maybe I went to the wrong store?

[Kam]

I appreciate the info. I had read that this was originally a mini-series, but I was confused about the different versions out there. I'm not one to get hung up on foreign language/English subtitles. I prefer the original voices even if I can't understand them. I got as much out of public school as I could so reading doesn't bother me as long as it's not drivel.

Also, if I'm correct about your being the first or one of the first to post on the superbit titles going for $9.99 at BB, then I thank you. So far I've picked up Lawrence of Arabia, From Here to Eternity, Snatch and Das Boot. I've watched Lawrence and of course Das Boot. Both titles kick audio, video and content butt! I got a price check on the Leon: The Professional superbit the other day and evidently it's a newer release not included in the 9.99 batch. Maybe I went to the wrong store?

There is a director's/extended cut version of The Professional which i would reccomend. It is one of my fav movies and the main sequences added on regard the training of mathilda. one is particularly funny. it also adds a little more depth and even makes one of Leon's lines at the end even more poignant and heartbreaking as he's saying goodbye to Mathilda. It almost seemed like the 20 or so minutes added on was just to hit that extra note. for me, it was worth it. (maybe not for others)

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

I enjoy that movie immensely, not only for the sheer power of the story and it's poignancy but also becuase of it's historical accuracy. As a military historian it kills me when they get obvious stuff wrong, wrong, wrong. In some movies like "Air Force" you can overlook it and just get into it, but in "U-571" the innacuracies killed it for me. It was the Brits in a Brithish sub that got the Enigma and the books NOT the Americans but hey.... we're the 900 pound gorilla so we get to play hero. The problem with knowing history is it often ruins moives for you.. Case in point there's an old chestnut called "Fighter Command" that I used to love as a kid.

Saw it yesterday and had to turn it off. It's bad enough that they had the wrong model P-47's on the American side and then they were all mixed up from different squadrons. But the unthinkable was that when they couldn't find any German fighters to put in the movies they painted over some P-51 Mustangs and put swastikas on em. It's one thing to fudge a little history but when you put Nazi markings on an American plane you lose me for good. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.


Da Worfster

PS, how do I know so much about subs and planes? I read a lot and play the following games.

"Silent Hunter III" - I currently command the U-59 out of Brest, 9 sorties. 148,000 tons of allied shipping sunk. KC, swords.

IL2 Sturmovik Forgotten Battles/Ace Expansion Pack/Pacific Fighters. - Currently a "major" flying a P-40 Warhawk with the Soviet Airfoce. 58 confirmed kills on "full real".

You must have friggin hated Peal harbor then!!

[Woochifer]

I appreciate the info. I had read that this was originally a mini-series, but I was confused about the different versions out there. I'm not one to get hung up on foreign language/English subtitles. I prefer the original voices even if I can't understand them. I got as much out of public school as I could so reading doesn't bother me as long as it's not drivel.

I feel the same way about foreign language films. The dubbing is often so badly done that it distracts from the actual movie. Nothing wrong with a little bit of reading to preserve the original context and vision of a movie.

With Das Boot, the extended miniseries DVD is the only version that came out in 2004, so just check the copyright date. It's sad, but there's no definitive version of Das Boot on DVD. All of them have a drawback of some kind, whether it's the poor video quality on the original DVD release, the lack of extras on the Superbit version, or the lack of a theatrical cut on the miniseries DVD release. Here's a review of the miniseries version.

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=11327

Also, if I'm correct about your being the first or one of the first to post on the superbit titles going for $9.99 at BB, then I thank you. So far I've picked up Lawrence of Arabia, From Here to Eternity, Snatch and Das Boot. I've watched Lawrence and of course Das Boot. Both titles kick audio, video and content butt! I got a price check on the Leon: The Professional superbit the other day and evidently it's a newer release not included in the 9.99 batch. Maybe I went to the wrong store?

I think with Lawrence of Arabia and Das Boot the original video was not especially well done, so the Superbit versions couldn't help but improve upon the original DVDs. With Lawrence, the color balances in the original DVD apparently were incorrect, and Das Boot had all kinds of problems with video noise on the dark colors.

That Superbit sale at Best Buy was squirrely from the outset. The Superbit titles were all retagged at $10, which led me to believe that this price drop was permanent. But, even before the sale was over, a local BB store had already retagged all of the Superbit titles with higher prices even though the cashier would still have the sale price in the system. And another store in SoCal actually had no Superbit titles sitting on the store shelves, only to restock them after the sale was over. But, even now I still see Superbit titles sitting on store shelves with the $10 price tags. It's all pretty disorganized and inconsistent from store to store.

Earlier this year, Sony rereleased Leon: The Professional (as well as The Fifth Element) as a two-disc special edition that includes the previously released Superbit disc plus a new bonus disc with three brand new documentaries. Right now, I wouldn't be surprised if this special edition costs less than the Superbit movie-only version since it has a lower list price.

There is a director's/extended cut version of The Professional which i would reccomend. It is one of my fav movies and the main sequences added on regard the training of mathilda. one is particularly funny. it also adds a little more depth and even makes one of Leon's lines at the end even more poignant and heartbreaking as he's saying goodbye to Mathilda. It almost seemed like the 20 or so minutes added on was just to hit that extra note. for me, it was worth it. (maybe not for others)

Totally agree with you on the extended cut of The Professional. Pretty much any version with the Leon tagline in the title is the international/extended version, and that would include the Superbit DVD. Those extra 20 minutes do add a lot of depth to the story, but I can understand how some of those scenes might make U.S. audiences somewhat squeamish.

[topspeed]

You must have friggin hated Peal harbor then!!

Historical accuracy still wouldn't have saved Pearl. This movie sunk faster than the Arizona. Blechh.

BTW TT, how 'bout dem Trojans? Fight On!

I can understand how some of those scenes might make U.S. audiences somewhat squeamish.

It's been a loooong time since I've seen this very enjoyable flick. You've got my curiosity piqued. What scenes are you talking about and why would Americans have a prob with it?

[dean_martin]

It's been a loooong time since I've seen this very enjoyable flick. You've got my curiosity piqued. What scenes are you talking about and why would Americans have a prob with it?

I'm wondering if the extra footage added some sexual tension between Jean Reno and Natalie Portman's characters. I detected a little bit when I first watched it, but I didn't see the full-length version. Of course that would be tabu in America, not to mention illegal. If that's the case you better get your copy now before it's banned!

[Woochifer]

BTW TT, how 'bout dem Trojans? Fight On!

Much to my chagrine, your boys are looking pretty good so far. Will be a very challenging season though because your team's going to get everybody's best shot, with most of the toughest games on the road. The offense looks like it hasn't missed a step, but the defense looks a bit more vulnerable than the past few seasons.

With that Arkansas game though, I saw it in bits and pieces at a restaurant while having dinner with some friends, and it seemed that every time I looked up at the TV, a TD was getting tallied. One of the other guys I was eating with was a Cal grad, and we just looked at one another shaking our heads!

It's been a loooong time since I've seen this very enjoyable flick. You've got my curiosity piqued. What scenes are you talking about and why would Americans have a prob with it?

The U.S. theatrical version of Leon (or The Professional as it got tagged in the U.S.) had about 20 minutes cut out, and most of those deleted scenes expanded on the relationship between Leon and Mathilda. The deleted scenes added a lot of depth to the relationship between the two characters, but they also create a sexual tension that might be a bit uneasy to watch because of the age difference. Nothing gratuitous, but obviously the U.S. distributors felt that quasi-romantic scenes between a middle aged guy and a 12-year old girl would not play too well in some parts of the country. All in all though, IMO it made an already good movie even better. Well worth checking out if you haven't seen the extended/international version yet.

[topspeed]

Hmmm...it sounds like I'll have to buy/rent The Professional and see it again. I thought Gary Oldman was wonderfully over-the-top in it .

Are you going to the SC-UCLA game? If you are, let me know and I'll buy you a beer .

[Worf101]

If you haven't seen The Battle of Britain look for a copy. It's sort of a quasi documentary/drama. The story line is a bit weak for a fictional movie, but it gets most of the details correct and gives credit to those who deserve it, including the Poles and Czechs who flew for the RAF. The filmed scenes of fighters and bombers are the best I've seen in any movie. And that makes it a keeper if you like WWII aviation. It does sidestep the controversy about replacing Dowding as commander of RAF Fighter Command so soon after his rather spectacular victory. Maybe that subject was better handled by the many books published on the subject than in a movie.

An interesting detail shown in the movie is that the Me-109 fighters borrowed from the Spanish no longer had the original Daimler-Benz inverted V-12 engines that gave them their characteristic looking nose. They instead installed Rolls Royce Merlins because spare parts were still available for those. The result was that the 109s strangely resembled Spitfires in the nose section, but otherwise looked like the originals.

Thanks for the info about the Uboat enigma machine.

1. Been the Naval Air Museum in P'Cola and enjoyed it immensely.

2. Seen "The Battle of Britan" many times and enjoyed it inspite of the wooden acting. Much prefer the "A Piece of Cake" miniseries from the BBC as rebroadcast on PBS. Also "A Deep Blue World" about Czech pilots during the Battle of Britain.

3. As for the sub information, you're welcome. Let's at least get something right.

Da Worfster

[Worf101]

You must have friggin hated Peal harbor then!!

Pearl!!???!! Pearl??!!!!??! Did he say "Pearl"???? If you weren't such a nice guy AND so far away I'd thrash you within an inch of your miserable life. Don't ever, and ah do me EVER mention that pile of steaming horse dung to me ever again. It was just on TV the other night, I must admit I just couldn't stop looking at those vintage P-40's so I lingered a minute, just a friggin minute. Then the romance started again and I had to run for my life.

Pearl, Titanic with "splosions. Making P-40's fly like X-Wings for christ sake. Destroyers and cruisers tied up at dock that wouldn't be built for another 40 years. No understanding of bomb physics, dogfight tactics, flight dynamics or what truly happened that day. Pheh....

Da Worfster...

PS and the love story sucked ass too!!!!

[Kam]

Gary Oldman was definitely the highlight reel of that movie (I got so used to him playing these twisted off-center characters that it looked really weird to see him playing straight-up Lieutenant Gordon in Batman Begins).

In the scene at arkham where the swat team surrounds batman and he uses the little sonic device in his heel to call the bats to him, i was hoping they'd work in his great line:
"Bring me everyone... EVERYONE!!!!!" or "it ain't white boy day is it?"

i always picture him as drexel (the pimp in true romance) i think that was the first thing i had seen him in. and he was especially good in Hannibal, although the rest of the movie was pretty crappy.

[Woochifer]

Hmmm...it sounds like I'll have to buy/rent The Professional and see it again. I thought Gary Oldman was wonderfully over-the-top in it .

Gary Oldman was definitely the highlight reel of that movie (I got so used to him playing these twisted off-center characters that it looked really weird to see him playing straight-up Lieutenant Gordon in Batman Begins).

Any version of The Professional that has the "Leon" tagline in front of it will be the international version. So far, there have been FOUR DVD releases for The Professional, and three of them use the international cut. The two-disc special edition DVD that came out earlier this year is definitely the one to look for -- it includes the previously released Superbit DVD along with a new bonus feature disc.

Are you going to the SC-UCLA game? If you are, let me know and I'll buy you a beer .

Not going this year. UCLA's ticket allocation this year will only go to season ticket holders (which I am not -- I typically make it down to the Rose Bowl for one roadie a year, and catch the Bruins when they play Cal or the Leland Stanford Junior University up here) and otherwise, the game is already sold out. But, I will take you up on that offer one of these years!

Apparently, the SC-Cal game up here in Berkeley has been sold out since July (most of my coworkers also went to Cal for grad school and we tried to get tickets last month) -- the Cal fans have got their calendars circled for that one!

[dean_martin]

the "white boy day" lines are classic! I also liked Oldman in Sid & Nancy and Fifth Element - his voice was just too hilarious and of course he looked and acted like an intergalactic nerd, but a dangerous one nonetheless.