I think what director Wolfgang Petersen successfully achieved the most was making the audience feel as if they were on the boat themselves. Even just by looking at the actors in a confined space, I felt like I was experiencing claustrophobia. It's not just a war epic, there are moments in the film that moves the audience in a profound way: like the part where the chief and the lieutenant were looking over pictures of the chief and his wife, and he starts sobbing, or the part where Lt. Werner returns Ullmann's bulk of love letters because he was ordered to stay on board, those moments make you empathize the characters even more. Highly recommend others to watch the director's cut, it does the movie justice.

i don't understand what people mean by boring - i can't take my eyes away from it! it's incredibly exciting, both in its action sequences and in the quiet moments! the music is so eerie too.

saw the director's cut... it was lengthy... but it was EPIC!