The Oscar-nominated German filmmaker was also known for films such as Air Force One and Outbreak.
Image source, ReutersGerman director Wolfgang Petersen, who made films such as Das Boot, Air Force One and Outbreak, has died aged 81.
A spokeswoman confirmed Petersen died of pancreatic cancer in Los Angeles on Friday.
Petersen directed stars such as Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt, over a career spanning five decades.
Glenn Close, who starred alongside Ford in Air Force One told the AFP news agency that being directed by Petersen “remains a special memory.”
“Even though the script was thrilling and incredibly intense, I remember a lot of laughs, especially in the scenes around the huge table in the War Room,” she wrote of the action thriller about a group of terrorists who hijack the US President’s plane.
“My memory is of a man full of joie de vivre who was doing what he most loved to do,” she added.
Image source, Getty Images
Born in Emden in 1941, Petersen scored his first major success with World War Two submarine thriller Das Boot, which earned him two Oscar nominations.
Adapted from a novel of the same name about the Battle of the Atlantic, the 1981 movie saw him nominated for best director by the Academy.
Filmmaker Wolfgang Petersen, who broke into Hollywood with the Oscar-nominated ‘Das Boot’ and went on to direct blockbusters like ‘Air Force One’ and ‘In the Line of Fire,’ died on Friday of pancreatic cancer. He was 81. https://t.co/wmzna4vZea
— The Academy (@TheAcademy)
Reacting to the news of his death, movie critic Bilge Ebiri paid tribute online, saying: “No matter how good people think he was, Wolfgang Petersen was *better.*
“In the Line of Fire is an eternal masterpiece (watch it again.) Das Boot revolutionised Hollywood action for a generation. Enemy Mine, AIr Force One, Troy… All amazing movies.”
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Petersen released his first English-language film, the children’s fantasy adventure The NeverEnding Story, in 1984.
Another film and theatre critic Alan Zilberman offered: “Wolfgang Petersen made some terrific thrillers, including In the Line of Fire and Das Boot, but I’ll always associate him most with The NeverEnding Story. No children’s film ever hit harder. Rest in power.”
Petersen moved into Hollywood action and disaster movies in the 1990s, working with Eastwood and John Malkovich in assassination thriller In The Line of Fire.
Image source, Getty Images
Later, he directed Dustin Hoffman in the pandemic-themed Outbreak.
Moving into the 21st Century, the German worked with George Clooney in The Perfect Storm and Pitt in Troy.
The late filmmaker died in the the arms of his wife of 50 years, Maria, at his residence in Los Angeles.