Wolfgang Petersen

Directing

Wolfgang Petersen

Born — Died

1941-03-14 — 2022-08-12

Place of birth

Emden, Germany

Known for

Directing

Credits

64 titles

Wolfgang Petersen was a German-born screenwriter, producer and film director who spent most of his career in the United States. In the 1960s he began working directing plays at the Ernst Deutsch Theater in Hamburg. After becoming interested in theater in Berlin and Hamburg, Petersen attended the Berlin Film and Television Academy (1966-70). His first productions were for German state television, and it was during his work on the popular crime series Crime Scene that he met actor Jürgen Prochnow, who would later appear in his iconic film Das Boot (1981). His other films include The NeverEnding Story (1984), cult film Enemy Mine (1985), Shattered (1991), In the Line of Fire (1993), Outbreak (1…

Known for

DAS! poster
4.7

Every evening at 6:45 p.m. sharp, a prominent guest takes a seat on the red sofa—and DAS! provides daily updates on what's hot in the north.

DAS!

1991

NDR Talk Show poster
6.6

No synopsis available yet.

NDR Talk Show

1979

Wetten, dass..? poster
5.6

A long-running German-language entertainment television show based on the format of the British show You Bet! and the American show Wanna Bet?.

Wetten, dass..?

1981

Bambi poster
9.0

The Bambi, often called the Bambi Award and stylised as BAMBI, is a German award presented annually by Hubert Burda Media to recognize excellence in international media and television to personalities in the media, arts, culture, sports, and other fields "with vision and creativity who affected and inspired the German public that year", both domestic and foreign. First held in 1948, it is the oldest media award in Germany. The trophy is named after Felix Salten's book Bambi, A Life in the Woods and its statuettes are in the shape of the novel's titular fawn character. They were originally made of porcelain until 1958, when the organizers switched to using gold, with the casting done by the art casting workshop of Ernst Strassacker in Süßen.

Bambi

1948

Troy poster
7.2

In year 1250 B.C. during the late Bronze age, two emerging nations begin to clash. Paris, the Trojan prince, convinces Helen, Queen of Sparta, to leave her husband Menelaus, and sail with him back to Troy. After Menelaus finds out that his wife was taken by the Trojans, he asks his brother Agamemnon to help him get her back. Agamemnon sees this as an opportunity for power. They set off with 1,000 ships holding 50,000 Greeks to Troy.

Troy

2004

Air Force One poster
6.5

When Russian neo-nationalists hijack Air Force One, the world's most secure and extraordinary aircraft, the President is faced with a nearly impossible decision to give in to terrorist demands or sacrifice not only the country's dignity, but the lives of his wife and daughter.

Air Force One

1997

Film credits

2020s · 2 titles

1980s · 2 titles

Series credits

DAS! poster
4.7

Every evening at 6:45 p.m. sharp, a prominent guest takes a seat on the red sofa—and DAS! provides daily updates on what's hot in the north.

DAS!

1991

NDR Talk Show poster
6.6

No synopsis available yet.

NDR Talk Show

1979

Wetten, dass..? poster
5.6

A long-running German-language entertainment television show based on the format of the British show You Bet! and the American show Wanna Bet?.

Wetten, dass..?

1981

Bambi poster
9.0

The Bambi, often called the Bambi Award and stylised as BAMBI, is a German award presented annually by Hubert Burda Media to recognize excellence in international media and television to personalities in the media, arts, culture, sports, and other fields "with vision and creativity who affected and inspired the German public that year", both domestic and foreign. First held in 1948, it is the oldest media award in Germany. The trophy is named after Felix Salten's book Bambi, A Life in the Woods and its statuettes are in the shape of the novel's titular fawn character. They were originally made of porcelain until 1958, when the organizers switched to using gold, with the casting done by the art casting workshop of Ernst Strassacker in Süßen.

Bambi

1948

No artwork available
5.7

No synopsis available yet.

Goldene Kamera

1984

No artwork available
NR

Annual awarding of the Grimme Awards.

Grimme Award

1964

HBO First Look poster
5.5

HBO First Look is an American television show on HBO that chronicles up and coming movies. It first started in 1992 with a documentary on A League of Their Own starring Tom Hanks, and still airs today. The series shows behind-the-scenes looks at the filming and interviews with the actors. The show is part documentary and part advertisement. It airs on HBO with no set schedule.

HBO First Look

1992

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Bavarian Film Awards

1979

No artwork available
5.5

No synopsis available yet.

Na sowas!

1982

No artwork available
6.0

No synopsis available yet.

Please Turn the Page

1977

The Directors poster
6.1

Documentary biography series featuring profiles of various famous film directors.

The Directors

1999

No artwork available
9.0

No synopsis available yet.

Bio’s Bahnhof

1978

No artwork available
8.0

Legends recount legends who dominated German cinema in the 1940s and 1950s – with stories that are funny, dramatic, and informative. Among others, Margot Hielscher, Peter Kraus, Ernst Stankovski, Joachim Fuchsberger, Margit Saad, and Douglas Sirk talk about their experiences with stars of the past.

Filmlegenden. Deutsch

2006

Behind the camera

Troy poster
7.2

In year 1250 B.C. during the late Bronze age, two emerging nations begin to clash. Paris, the Trojan prince, convinces Helen, Queen of Sparta, to leave her husband Menelaus, and sail with him back to Troy. After Menelaus finds out that his wife was taken by the Trojans, he asks his brother Agamemnon to help him get her back. Agamemnon sees this as an opportunity for power. They set off with 1,000 ships holding 50,000 Greeks to Troy.

Troy

2004

Troy poster
7.2

In year 1250 B.C. during the late Bronze age, two emerging nations begin to clash. Paris, the Trojan prince, convinces Helen, Queen of Sparta, to leave her husband Menelaus, and sail with him back to Troy. After Menelaus finds out that his wife was taken by the Trojans, he asks his brother Agamemnon to help him get her back. Agamemnon sees this as an opportunity for power. They set off with 1,000 ships holding 50,000 Greeks to Troy.

Troy

2004

Air Force One poster
6.5

When Russian neo-nationalists hijack Air Force One, the world's most secure and extraordinary aircraft, the President is faced with a nearly impossible decision to give in to terrorist demands or sacrifice not only the country's dignity, but the lives of his wife and daughter.

Air Force One

1997

Air Force One poster
6.5

When Russian neo-nationalists hijack Air Force One, the world's most secure and extraordinary aircraft, the President is faced with a nearly impossible decision to give in to terrorist demands or sacrifice not only the country's dignity, but the lives of his wife and daughter.

Air Force One

1997

The Perfect Storm poster
6.5

In October 1991, a confluence of weather conditions combined to form a killer storm in the North Atlantic. Caught in the storm was the sword-fishing boat Andrea Gail.

The Perfect Storm

2000

The Perfect Storm poster
6.5

In October 1991, a confluence of weather conditions combined to form a killer storm in the North Atlantic. Caught in the storm was the sword-fishing boat Andrea Gail.

The Perfect Storm

2000

Bicentennial Man poster
7.3

Richard Martin buys a gift, a new NDR-114 robot. The product is named Andrew by the youngest of the family's children. "Bicentennial Man" follows the life and times of Andrew, a robot purchased as a household appliance programmed to perform menial tasks. As Andrew begins to experience emotions and creative thought, the Martin family soon discovers they don't have an ordinary robot.

Bicentennial Man

1999

In the Line of Fire poster
7.0

Veteran Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan is a man haunted by his failure to save President Kennedy while serving protection detail in Dallas. Thirty years later, a man calling himself "Booth" threatens the life of the current President, forcing Horrigan to come back to protection detail to confront the ghosts from his past.

In the Line of Fire

1993

The NeverEnding Story poster
7.2

While hiding from bullies in his school's attic, a young boy discovers the extraordinary land of Fantasia, through a magical book called The Neverending Story. The book tells the tale of Atreyu, a young warrior who, with the help of a luck dragon named Falkor, must save Fantasia from the destruction of The Nothing.

The NeverEnding Story

1984

The NeverEnding Story poster
7.2

While hiding from bullies in his school's attic, a young boy discovers the extraordinary land of Fantasia, through a magical book called The Neverending Story. The book tells the tale of Atreyu, a young warrior who, with the help of a luck dragon named Falkor, must save Fantasia from the destruction of The Nothing.

The NeverEnding Story

1984

Outbreak poster
6.6

A deadly airborne virus finds its way into the USA and starts killing off people at an epidemic rate. Col. Sam Daniels' job is to stop the virus spreading from a small town, which must be quarantined, and to prevent an over reaction by the White House.

Outbreak

1995

Outbreak poster
6.6

A deadly airborne virus finds its way into the USA and starts killing off people at an epidemic rate. Col. Sam Daniels' job is to stop the virus spreading from a small town, which must be quarantined, and to prevent an over reaction by the White House.

Outbreak

1995

Poseidon poster
5.9

A packed cruise ship traveling the Atlantic is hit and overturned by a massive wave, compelling the passengers to begin a dramatic fight for their lives.

Poseidon

2006

Poseidon poster
5.9

A packed cruise ship traveling the Atlantic is hit and overturned by a massive wave, compelling the passengers to begin a dramatic fight for their lives.

Poseidon

2006

Das Boot poster
8.1

A German submarine hunts allied ships during the Second World War, but it soon becomes the hunted. The crew tries to survive below the surface, while stretching both the boat and themselves to their limits.

Das Boot

1981

Das Boot poster
8.1

A German submarine hunts allied ships during the Second World War, but it soon becomes the hunted. The crew tries to survive below the surface, while stretching both the boat and themselves to their limits.

Das Boot

1981

Enemy Mine poster
7.0

A soldier from Earth crashlands on an alien world after sustaining battle damage. Eventually he encounters another survivor, but from the enemy species he was fighting; they band together to survive on this hostile world. In the end the human finds himself caring for his enemy in a completely unexpected way.

Enemy Mine

1985

Shattered poster
6.2

Dan Merrick comes out from a shattering car accident with amnesia. He finds that he is married to Judith who is trying to help him start his life again. He keeps getting flashbacks about events and places that he can't remember. He meets pet shop owner and part time private detective Gus Klein who has supposedly done some work for him prior to the accident. Klein helps Merrick to find out more...

Shattered

1991

Shattered poster
6.2

Dan Merrick comes out from a shattering car accident with amnesia. He finds that he is married to Judith who is trying to help him start his life again. He keeps getting flashbacks about events and places that he can't remember. He meets pet shop owner and part time private detective Gus Klein who has supposedly done some work for him prior to the accident. Klein helps Merrick to find out more...

Shattered

1991

Shattered poster
6.2

Dan Merrick comes out from a shattering car accident with amnesia. He finds that he is married to Judith who is trying to help him start his life again. He keeps getting flashbacks about events and places that he can't remember. He meets pet shop owner and part time private detective Gus Klein who has supposedly done some work for him prior to the accident. Klein helps Merrick to find out more...

Shattered

1991

Four Against the Bank poster
5.9

After losing their respective nest eggs thanks to a bumbling bank employee, three men use him to plot a bold and batty heist to get their money back.

Four Against the Bank

2016

The Consequence poster
6.2

Thomas, the son of a prison warden, falls for Martin, one of the prison inmates. After Martin is released, they try to build a relationship and a life together but, no one will leave them alone.

The Consequence

1977

The Consequence poster
6.2

Thomas, the son of a prison warden, falls for Martin, one of the prison inmates. After Martin is released, they try to build a relationship and a life together but, no one will leave them alone.

The Consequence

1977

Ich Nicht poster
7.0

A staging of a young man's liberation from his bourgeois confinement using only music and sounds.

Ich Nicht

1969

Ich Nicht poster
7.0

A staging of a young man's liberation from his bourgeois confinement using only music and sounds.

Ich Nicht

1969

I Will Kill You, Wolf poster
7.0

A young woman takes the train to Berlin. She wants to kill her friend Wolf, a theater actor. When the woman meets him, he tells her about his weird wife.

I Will Kill You, Wolf

1971

I Will Kill You, Wolf poster
7.0

A young woman takes the train to Berlin. She wants to kill her friend Wolf, a theater actor. When the woman meets him, he tells her about his weird wife.

I Will Kill You, Wolf

1971

Four Against the Bank poster
6.3

One evening, the once successful architect Helmut is tired of the recession giving no jobs, he gets the idea of robbing a bank. He recruits members of his golf club that are not paying their fees.

Four Against the Bank

1976

Black and White Like Day and Night poster
6.3

A scientist who swore off playing chess after a nervous breakdown as a boy wunderkind, creates an undefeated chess program. But the Russian world champ beats Tommy Rosemund's masterwork in a televised match. So the West German mathematician becomes a top chess pro himself, which the West German media boast will prove the superiority of Germany and democracy. The jowly, white-faced Rosemund believes that the entire Red Communist bloc is out to stop him from vanquishing their atheist pretty boy, Stefan Koruga, to become the next Bobby Fischer and a symbol that capitalism is preferable to socialism.

Black and White Like Day and Night

1978

One or the Other of Us poster
4.8

Psychological thriller that focuses on the intense conflict between a university professor and a blackmailer.

One or the Other of Us

1974

Van der Valk and the Rich poster
8.0

Dutch police officer Van der Valk is pulled away for a private investigation for a friend of the chief of police to find the missing junior manager. When he gets to know his woman, he is fascinated by the thought of running away with her.

Van der Valk and the Rich

1973

No artwork available
NR

Directorial debut of Wolfgang Petersen

Stadt auf Stelzen

1965

No artwork available
7.0

Two young oil salesmen from Hamburg, who are tasked with buying oil from the Middle East as cheaply as possible for their company, get caught up in a clash between a local gang of drug smugglers and the police. Each stage of this dangerous adventure could earn them either twenty years in prison or liquidation by the gang. The appearance of a beautiful, somewhat enigmatic woman adds to the allure. Two middle-class existences in a foreign country, confronted with the rude methods of the police and criminal elements, form the field of tension in this adventure story, which was produced with an international cast.

Pinned to the Ground

1974

No artwork available
NR

Early 1970s. Anna, a 35-year-old medical assistant, falls in love with Totó, a Sicilian she meets while on holiday. When he joins her to start a new life together, their happiness is overshadowed by the prejudice of the time. Afraid of society's judgment, Anna hides their relationship, gradually forcing Totó into isolation.

Anna and Totó

1972

Smog poster
5.9

Every day they clean the dirty windows of their cars from the filthy film that has formed overnight. Measuring stations call a low smog warning. But one day a soccer player collapses on the pitch with breathlessness.

Smog

1973

No artwork available
9.0

A fictionalized version of a military training fight.

Planübung

1977

No artwork available
9.0

A fictionalized version of a military training fight.

Planübung

1977

No artwork available
4.5

When Hans wakes up one morning, he realizes that he is longer than his bed, his feet sticking out over the edge of the bed. The young man remembers his happy childhood. Hans knows it's time to leave home.

Hans in Luck

1976

Der Eine - der Andere poster
10.0

One man interacts with an invisible orchestra, another one is stuck in a bin.

Der Eine - der Andere

1967

Der Eine - der Andere poster
10.0

One man interacts with an invisible orchestra, another one is stuck in a bin.

Der Eine - der Andere

1967