R.I.P. Wolfgang Petersen

[Mister Tee]

I came at Petersen's career from a different direction.

I didn't see Das Boot during its initial run -- by the time of its (unexpected) Oscar showing, it was out of theatres, and this was before the VCR made films available for at-home viewing. I actually didn't catch up to the film till sometime in the 90s -- for years, the only version available was dubbed, and I hated watching foreign language films that way. I think I finally decided there'd never be a subtitled version, and surrendered to watching it in inferior form.

I also never got to The Never-Ending Story, but it always struck me as an interesting-looking effort (and I've heard people I respect praise it). Nor did I get to Enemy Mine.

My first exposure to Petersen's work was In the Line of Fire, which I just loved. I thought it was an incredibly intelligent thriller, with soul. The relationship between Eastwood (in maybe his best acting performance) and Malkovich is, to me, on a par with Walker/Granger in Strangers on a Train. The scene on the fire escape has existential heft -- Malkovich, when he puts the barrel of the gun in his mouth while dangling Eastwood over the five-story drop, offers Eastwood a chance to fulfill his Secret Service mandate (give his own life to save the president from an assassin), and dares him to take it.

I hoped Petersen would turn into a director of more such thrillers...the way that David Fincher has, in the time since. Outbreak seemed promising in that regard, but, in the end, it was just a potboiler. And Air Force One was even moreso. Well-made, but zero culture-calories. By that point -- and certainly with The Perfect Storm, and, god help us, Troy and Poseidon -- Petersen had transitioned to the hack category where Sabin, in hindsight, placed him.

I guess I still lament the director I thought he'd be. In memory of In the Line of Fire -- and Das Boot, which is solid -- I salute him.

[Reza]

I can't say that I'm excited to rediscover any lost classics but the passing of Wolfgang Petersen means an end to trailers announcing "A Wolfgang Petersen Film" as I think to myself "I don't want to see that."

But I hope you will finally see Das Boot. I'm kind of shocked you haven't seen what is easily his best film.

[Sabin]

It's almost always the case when someone passes away that their career looks more interesting in retrospect than at the time, and that's certainly the case right now with the passing of Wolfgang Petersen, a director whose name carried no interest with me throughout my moviegoing life but a glimpse back reveals a little more insight. For instance, I had no idea that he'd been basically retired for the last sixteen years save for some German bank robbery film called Vier gegen die Bank in 2016. I had no idea that he started making movies in the late 1960's but most of them appear to be theatrical or TV crime films. Whether he just wasn't bankable post-Poseidon or interested anymore, it seems like his career went full circle.

Likewise, I haven't seen Das Boot but the mistaken impression that I got from him was that Das Boot launched a very successful Hollywood career. That's not the case. He made some truly weird films in the 1980s and early 1990's before finding success with In the Line of Fire, easily the best film of his that I've seen and a film that feels as if it was co-directed by Clint Eastwood.

As I look back at his career, I see someone who survived the industry and adapted to changing tides a little better than perhaps I gave him credit for at the time. When I first took notice of him (with Outbreak) he seemed like a sleek action helmer like James McTiernan, Martin Campbell, maybe a shade better than Renny Harlin. Maybe a little over-competent for some of his gigs. But unlike those peers (whom I just invented for him), he very successfully graduated into "big and loud" and started marshaling budgets given to the likes of Ridley Scott, Michael Bay, and James Cameron. But unlike those guys, I never got the impression that he was interested in doing something new and exciting with those budgets. There was a "Sure, I'll take it" quality on his part, and a "We need someone who can do water" quality on the studio's part. I suppose credit to him for surviving the industry. I'm also a little surprised at how truly short-lived this period of time was. I recall Wolfgang Petersen being a vaguely exhausting threat for some time, but really it was a relatively swift four film journey crescendoing with Air Force One and The Perfect Storm and decrescendoing with Troy and Poseidon.

I can't say that I'm excited to rediscover any lost classics but the passing of Wolfgang Petersen means an end to trailers announcing "A Wolfgang Petersen Film" as I think to myself "I don't want to see that."

[Reza]

Director Wolfgang Petersen Dies At 81; Hollywood Star Rose After ‘Das Boot’ To Include Blockbusters ‘The Perfect Storm,’ ‘Air Force One’ & ‘In The Line Of Fire’

Mike Fleming Jr
August 16, 2022 11:04AM PDT

Wolfgang Petersen, the German director whose films include The Perfect Storm, Air Force One and Das Boot, has died. He was 81. Petersen died peacefully Friday at his Brentwood residence from pancreatic cancer, in the arms of his wife of 50 years, Maria Antoinette.

Petersen began his career in Germany but answered the call of Hollywood after his 1981 breakout film, the claustrophobic submarine WWII epic Das Boot (The Boat), was nominated for six Academy Awards. Two of those went to Petersen for adapted screenplay and directing, and he also was nominated for a BAFTA Award and DGA Award. The film starred Jürgen Prochnow as the U-boat captain, who became a good example of Petersen’s action characters.

He quickly became one of the most in-demand directors of technically complex star-driven studio action films — a run that included The Perfect Storm (2000), Air Force One (1997), In the Line of Fire (1998), Outbreak (1995), Troy (2004), Shattered — which he also wrote —Poseidon.

Petersen also helmed the space-set 1985 sci-fi pic Enemy Mine and directed and co-wrote 1984’s fantasy film The NeverEnding Story.

He was well-liked amongst his peers and admired by the talent he worked with including Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Rene Russo, Glenn Close, Mark Wahlberg, Dustin Hoffman and Morgan Freeman. Deadline will have more from those people when the tributes roll in.

Born on March 14, 1941, in Emden, Germany, Petersen began his directing career with short films and TV movies in the 1960s and ’70s.

In addition to his wife, Petersen is survived by his son, Daniel, and two grandchildren. Funeral services will be private.