Wolfgang Petersen Critically Acclaimed Director of 'Air Force One' And 'Das Boot' Has Passed Away At Age 81
Image Source: Entertainment Weekly
Wolfgang Petersen, the renowned German filmmaker, has passed away aged 81 of pancreatic cancer at home in Brentwood, Los Angeles.
Although his feature-length debut was the West German psychological thriller One or the Other of Us based on the novel by Horst Bosetzky of the same name, he is probably best known for his next film, the highly acclaimed World War II submarine epic Das Boot.
Das Boot received critical acclaim and was nominated for an impressive six Academy Awards, of which Petersen won for, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Director. This film provided an archetype for lead action characters in subsequent Petersen productions in the form of the U-Boat Captain, portrayed by Jurgen Prochnow.
Interestingly, and thanks undoubtedly to the success of Das Boot, Petersen’s first English-language film was the fantasy The NeverEnding Story. At the time, it was the most expensive feature produced outside of the US and the former Soviet Union. Based on the novel of the same name and remains a classic of the genre and an important part of 80s pop culture.
Following a misstep in the form of Enemy Mine, Petersen really hit his stride with the assassination plot thriller In the Line of Fire, starring Clint Eastwood, Rene Russo, and John Malkovich in 1993. He had continued box office success with Outbreak in 1995, Air Force One in 1997, The Perfect Storm in 2000, and Troy in 2004. Although expensive and expansive, his last major film production, Poseidon, was a box office failure, barely exceeding the $60 million mark. However, it did go on to secure more than $121 million worldwide.
After a hiatus of 10 years, the last film he directed was his first German-language picture since Das Boot, Vier gegen Die Bank, a heist comedy.
Petersen is fondly remembered by those who worked with him as a loving soul who had a real passion for his work and is survived by his wife, Maria Borgel, his son Daniel Petersen and two grandsons.
Source: IGN