Wolfgang Petersen

Directing

Wolfgang Petersen

Born 1941-03-14 · Emden, Germany

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 (1995), Air Force One (1997), The Perfect Storm (2000), Troy (2004), Poseidon (2006) and Four Against the Bank (2016), his latest film.

Acting credits

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

No artwork available
10.0

No synopsis available yet.

Der Bernd

2012

No artwork available
NR

Documentary about Hollywood.

Stardust Hollywood - Sternenstaub und Götterwelten

2013

Open Wounds – A Journey through German Genre Films poster
6.0

A documentary about German cinema from 1960 to 1990. It follows "Verfluchte Liebe deutscher Film."

Open Wounds – A Journey through German Genre Films

2017

No artwork available
5.3

Twenty-five years after the death of Holger Meins, filmmaker and former student friend of the deceased, Gerd Conradt takes an in-depth look at the helmsman of the Baader-Meinhof gang. Who was Holger Meins? What led him into the underground? What circumstances resulted in his death, a death which made him the declared symbol of the radical opposition in Germany? What remains of his legacy?

Starbuck Holger Meins

2002

Das Boot Revisited: An Underwater Success Story poster
7.1

In 1981, a film about the misadventures of a German U-boat crew in 1941 becomes a worldwide hit almost four decades after the end of the World War II. Millions of viewers worldwide make Das Boot the most internationally successful German film of all time. But due to disputes over the script, accidents on the set, and voices accusing the makers of glorifying the war, the project was many times on the verge of being cancelled.

Das Boot Revisited: An Underwater Success Story

2021

No artwork available
NR

Documentary by Eckhart Schmidt.

Hollywood, Germany - Die amerikanische Herausforderung

1996

Das Boot: Behind The Scenes poster
5.5

Comprehensive classic piece that looks at the process of creating the movie, told with a strong, well-constructed narrative that plays almost as a movie itself, a detailed retelling of how the movie was made and the dedication to authenticity that's evident right down to the finest little details on the ship. After a narrator sets the scene for various segments from the film, the piece takes its time to take a closer look at all of the elements that are necessary to create the movie and the challenges of shooting such a labor- and authenticity-intensive picture.

Das Boot: Behind The Scenes

1981

U-96, The True Story of 'Das Boot' poster
6.5

The international success of the film Das Boot by Wolfgang Petersen made U-96 one of the most famous submarines in cinematic history. But the true story of one of Hitler's most fearsome U-boats and its crew goes far beyond fiction. For the first time, this documentary sheds light on the reality behind the fiction through exclusive interviews with the makers and actors of Das Boot, as well as the last survivors of the time. In doing so, this documentary explores how Hitler's propaganda images may have influenced the visual and narrative force of Das Boot.

U-96, The True Story of 'Das Boot'

2023

Wolfgang Petersen: Back to the Boat poster
NR

Author Gundolf S. Freyermuth goes Back to the Boat with director Wolfgang Petersen, star Jürgen Prochnow, and others to discuss the production of 'Das Boot'.

Wolfgang Petersen: Back to the Boat

2011

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Gottschalk meets Petersen

2005

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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
6.1

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
6.1

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
6.1

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

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

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