Wolfgang Petersen was the Oscar-nominated director of movies including “Das Boot,” “Air Force One,” and “The NeverEnding Story.”
- Died: August 12, 2022 (Who else died on August 12?)
- Details of death: Died at his home in Los Angeles of pancreatic cancer at the age of 81.
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From Berlin to Hollywood
A native of Germany, Petersen attended film school in Berlin and began making movies there. He broke through to an international audience with his third feature film, “Das Boot” (“The Boat”), a German-language World War II epic following the crew of a submarine. It was nominated for six Academy Awards, with nominations going to Petersen for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. Peterson followed the success of “Das Boot” with his first English-language film, the children’s fantasy “The NeverEnding Story.” He relocated to Hollywood and continued creating films in English, focusing on action with films including “Enemy Mine,” “In the Line of Fire,” “Air Force One,” “The Perfect Storm,” and “Troy.” Petersen returned to his native language for his final film, 2016’s “Vier gegen die Bank” (“Four Against the Bank”).
Petersen on the influence of “Das Boot”
“I’m very proud of that. I see very often films where I see ah ha, they were inspired by this, they were inspired by that. All kinds of films, ‘Aliens,’ Cameron’s work used a lot of references to ‘Das Boot.’ It’s great. We just did it very radical. We did not make any compromises. We did not alter the set. We forced ourselves to work inside the small tube and didn’t really use it like a set. It was a submarine when we worked. It was a set but it was a submarine. The feel of it was absolutely real.” —from a 2011 interview for CraveOnline
Tributes to Wolfgang Petersen
Full obituary: Los Angeles Times
