From: WGBH Boston Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Binding: DVD Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC Label: WGBH Boston Number of Items: 1 Region Code: 1 Release Date: November 09, 2004 Running Time: 120 minutes Theatrical Release Date: 2000
Description: The true story behind the cataclysmic World War II naval battle that took place just off American shores.
1941. America had just entered World War II, but terrifying unseen weapons were stalking US targets, sinking over 400 ships just miles from American shores in the worst naval defeat in United States history. The stealthy predators were German U-boats, Hitler’s deadly warships of the deep. It was cataclysmic—with bodies and wreckage washed ashore on the eastern seaboard. But the Allies ultimately triumphed, sinking over 700 enemy submarines.
Fifty years later, the personal drama behind this wartime state of siege resurfaced when a team of divers discovered an unidentified German U-boat deep in the waters off the New Jersey coast. What boat was it? And what secret mission brought it there? The divers embarked on a dangerous, six-year quest to uncover the secret of the mysterious wreck. Three divers lost their lives in the search, but the clues uncovered have shed remarkable new light on the struggles and triumphs from this undersea war.
There’s more in this spectacular two-hour video journey. Trace the history of submarines and undersea warfare from the American Revolution through World War II, and tour the sophisticated—and cramped—interior of a captured U-boat. Dive in dangerous waters with deep sea detectives as they attempt to retrieve clues that will reveal the decaying U-boat’s identity. See how the breaking of secret Nazi codes by the Allies altered the outcome of the war—and helped unravel the mystery behind this German U-boat. And finally, travel to Germany with the divers as they rewrite a part of World War II history, bring closure to families of the lost crew and discover how one man’s life was spared.
Entertaining and Informative Documentary This is a very entertaining NOVA documentary which tells the story of Hitler's Lost Sub, U-869. The film examines the history of the submarine(or Unterseeboot) which the Nazi German Army believed had been lost off of the coast of Gibraltar. When an American diving team discovers the U-boat off the coast of New Jersey, they become determined to discover the origins of the wreck. Through their efforts, they discover not only the identity of the ship but also a survivor! The only down side to the NOVA production is the team's highly foolhardy diving practices and behavior that is enough to give any archaeologist nightmares for a week. First of all, they don't have a decompression chamber onboard. As a result, one of the divers dies from the bends. The water they are diving in is much too deep to be so negligent. Also, the divers have no excavation plan or methodology behind their examination of the ship. None of them are archaeologists: indeed they are more akin to treasure hunters, damaging portions of U-869 in their quest for evidence (This also results in a death). In one scene on the salvage boat's deck, a diver throws an artifact back into the water after failing to find any clues to the U-boat's identity on it. This leaves one to speculate on what the the outcome of the expedition would have been had professionals excavated the ship in a methodical fashion. It would likely have been less tragic for the divers and a lot more educational.
Hitler's Lost Sub This documentary follows the book quite well. It is a fascinating story, The research, the hard work, following the clues that flew in the face of accepted facts. Well done, with good footage on all aspects right up to the end. Very well done. - Don Jacobson
A "Must Have" DVD This is a very well prepared and documented real life account behind the story from the book, Shadow Divers. If you've read the book, you'll be intriqued by how this DVD correlates to some of the story line in the book. But beyond the comparison to Shadow Divers, this DVD details the events leading up to the verification by John Chatterton and Richie Kohler of the wreck of the U-869 and what happens after this fact is made known.
This documentary not only presents the events involved with diving to the U-869 but also mixes in the history of this sub and the circumstances leading up to its ultimate demise. It also gives personal glimpses about its crew and the families that were left behind.
Whether you're a scuba diver, a Shadow Divers fan, or a U-boat history buff, you'll thoroughly enjoy this documentary. I know I was.
Great information on the U-boat war and the U-869 Having read Bernie Chowdhury's Last Dive and Robert Kurson's Shadow Divers, I came across this wonderful video by accident, but have watched it multiple times.
Not only an in-depth history of submarines and the U-Boats' role in World War I and the Atlantic War of 1939-45, the historical context comes against the backdrop of the mystery U-Boat found of the New Jersey coast in 1991, and the subsequent efforts of expert divers to uncover its identity (unfortunately at the cost of three experienced adventurers).
I can't say enough about how well done and moving this film is- especially at the end, when the divers meet with the sister of one of the lost crewmen. This is documentary filmmaking at its finest.
Baghdad 10-10-07
captions AND described video Not only is this show good, but the captions are quite good, too. As an unexpected bonus, described video may be turned on in "accessibility options" on the main menu. The descriptions are concise and, in my opinion, lack much detail, but it's my first experience with them. They are inserted between the regular spoken lines of dialogue. Way to go for accessibility, Nova!!!!
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