Today, 80 years after the events and 40 years after the film, these images and testimonies shed an unexpected light on the reality of the fiction filmed by Petersen. The international success of the film Das Boot made the U-96, of which it fictionally recounts the 7th combat patrol at sea, the most famous of all Hitler's submarines and arguably one of the most famous movie submarines. But the true story of this extraordinary submarine and its equally exceptional crew goes far beyond fiction. Knowing that the success of Das Boot not only opened the doors of Hollywood to Wolfgang Petersen, but also made this film an absolute reference from which all submarine warfare films produced by American cinema were subsequently inspired, this opens ultimately the way to a broader reflection on the indirect, even unconscious relationship that exists between the power of the images of Hitler's propaganda and that of today's Hollywood cinema.

In 1981, a film about the misadventures of a German U-boat crew in 1941 becomes a worldwide hit almost four decades after the end of the World War II. Millions of viewers worldwide make Das Boot the most internationally successful German film of all time. But due to disputes over the script, accidents on the set, and voices accusing the makers of glorifying the war, the project was many times on the verge of being cancelled.

The story of the gold-plated statuette that became the film industry's most coveted prize, AND THE OSCAR GOES TO... traces the history of the Academy itself, which began in 1927 when Louis B. Mayer, then head of MGM, led other prominent members of the industry in forming this professional honorary organization. Two years later the Academy began bestowing awards, which were nicknamed "Oscar," and quickly came to represent the pinnacle of cinematic achievement.

Documentary about Hollywood.

Author Gundolf S. Freyermuth goes Back to the Boat with director Wolfgang Petersen, star Jürgen Prochnow, and others to discuss the production of 'Das Boot'.

A parade of well-known actors and directors from Germany

Twenty-five years after the death of Holger Meins, filmmaker and former student friend of the deceased, Gerd Conradt takes an in-depth look at the helmsman of the Baader-Meinhof gang. Who was Holger Meins? What led him into the underground? What circumstances resulted in his death, a death which made him the declared symbol of the radical opposition in Germany? What remains of his legacy?

Documentary biography series featuring profiles of various famous film directors.

Documentary by Eckhart Schmidt.

HBO First Look is an American television show on HBO that chronicles up and coming movies. It first started in 1992 with a documentary on A League of Their Own starring Tom Hanks, and still airs today. The series shows behind-the-scenes looks at the filming and interviews with the actors. The show is part documentary and part advertisement. It airs on HBO with no set schedule.

While hiding from bullies in his school's attic, a young boy discovers the extraordinary land of Fantasia, through a magical book called The Neverending Story. The book tells the tale of Atreyu, a young warrior who, with the help of a luck dragon named Falkor, must save Fantasia from the destruction of The Nothing.

Comprehensive classic piece that looks at the process of creating the movie, told with a strong, well-constructed narrative that plays almost as a movie itself, a detailed retelling of how the movie was made and the dedication to authenticity that's evident right down to the finest little details on the ship. After a narrator sets the scene for various segments from the film, the piece takes its time to take a closer look at all of the elements that are necessary to create the movie and the challenges of shooting such a labor- and authenticity-intensive picture.

A long-running German-language entertainment television show based on the format of the British show You Bet! and the American show Wanna Bet?.

The Bambi, often called the Bambi Award and stylised as BAMBI, is a German award presented annually by Hubert Burda Media to recognize excellence in international media and television to personalities in the media, arts, culture, sports, and other fields "with vision and creativity who affected and inspired the German public that year", both domestic and foreign. First held in 1948, it is the oldest media award in Germany. The trophy is named after Felix Salten's book Bambi, A Life in the Woods and its statuettes are in the shape of the novel's titular fawn character. They were originally made of porcelain until 1958, when the organizers switched to using gold, with the casting done by the art casting workshop of Ernst Strassacker in Süßen.