One of its greats is dead: the film world mourns the loss of the German star director Wolfgang Petersen. The master behind the film “Das Boot” died of cancer at the age of 81.
The film world has reacted with sadness and dismay to the death of star director Wolfgang Petersen. “Thank you, Wolfgang, for the many days and hours I was allowed to spend with you,” wrote actor Jürgen Prochnow in a statement on Wednesday. The two had shot the legendary film “Das Boot” together. Petersen, director of films such as “Outbreak”, “Air Force One” and “Der Sturm”, died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 81, as his assistant told the German Press Agency on Tuesday. He died peacefully on Friday surrounded by his family at his home in Brentwood, a part of Los Angeles. His wife Maria was by his side.
Prochnow was “deeply shocked and very, very sad” about Petersen’s death, as the statement said. “What remains are the memories, the memories of a wonderful director and friend.” Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth (Greens) said: “With Wolfgang Petersen we are losing a great director who, since the 1970s, has set standards for both gripping and ambitious storytelling with his work for television and cinema.” His film “Das Boot” is considered a milestone in German film history.
Stars like Clint Eastwood, Dustin Hoffman, Harrison Ford, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Diane Lane and Glenn Close worked with the German Hollywood director. His death came as a surprise to the film world. Glenn Close wrote in a statement that she has a “special memory” of filming Air Force One with Petersen. Although the script was gripping and incredibly intense, they would have laughed a lot. “I remember him as a man full of life, doing what he loved most,” the actress said in recognition of the director. In the action thriller “Air Force One” (1997) Harrison Ford played a fictional US President and Close his Vice President.
“My heart is sad today,” Diane Lane wrote in a statement, according to Deadline.com. “Wolfgang was a big, loving soul.” With his positive support he helped everyone during the shooting. He made her a better actress, Lane credited the director. Petersen brought her in front of the camera in 2000 alongside George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg for the shipwreck drama “The Tempest”.
Born in Emden and raised in Hamburg, the director learned his craft at the German Film and Television Academy in Berlin. In 1971 he had success with the “Tatort” thriller “Blechschaden”. The episode “Reifezeugnis” (1977) with Nastassja Kinski made him and the young actress famous overnight. Petersen became a taboo breaker in 1977 with the film “The Consequence”, which is about homosexual love.
The cinema epic “Das Boot” (1981) about the crew of a German submarine in World War II with Jürgen Prochnow and Herbert Grönemeyer paved the way for Petersen to Hollywood. The film garnered six Academy Award nominations, including for director and adapted screenplay. Petersen landed another box office hit with the fantasy fairy tale “The Neverending Story” (1984), followed by the science fiction film “Enemy Mine” (1985), all shot at Bavaria-Film near Munich.
Since 1987 the director lived with his wife in Los Angeles. There he brought Hollywood stars like Clint Eastwood (“In the Line of Fire”), Dustin Hoffman (“Outbreak”), Harrison Ford (“Air Force One”), George Clooney (“The Tempest”) and Brad Pitt (” Troy”) in front of the camera. Petersen returned to his homeland in 2016 for a remake of his old television comedy “Four Against the Bank” from the 1970s. The crook film was prominently cast with Til Schweiger, Matthias Schweighöfer, Jan Josef Liefers and Michael “Bully” Herbig.
ARD chairman Tom Buhrow recognized Petersen as one of the greats of German film. “‘Four Against the Bank’, ‘Maturity Certificate’, ‘Das Boot’ – Wolfgang Petersen raised the TV film genre to cinema level on ARD – and thus laid the foundation for his unique Hollywood career,” wrote Buhrow on Wednesday a message. (dpa)