Late Wolfgang Petersen Stands as a Cultural Icon in Hollywood

Published August 21st, 2022 - 12:10 GMT
Wolfgang Peterson
German director Wolfgang Petersen achieved international fame with films "Das Boot," "Outbreak" and "Air Force One" Tiziana FABI AFP/File

ALBAWABA - The film world pays tribute to famous German director Wolfgang Petersen died at 81 who died last week.

His publicist Michelle Bega said the director died of pancreatic cancer at his home according to Anadolu

Petersen, who directed Hollywood A-listers including Clint Eastwood, Dustin Hoffman, George Clooney, Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt over a career spanning five decades, died in Los Angeles on Friday, according to AFP.

Born in Emden, Germany in 1941, Petersen scored his first major success with World War II submarine thriller "Das Boot," adapted from a novel of the same name about the Battle of the Atlantic the French news agency added.

Petersen was particularly known for writing and directing the 1981 anti-war movie Das Boot, which won two Academy Awards. the Turkish news agency pointed out, adding the movie starred German actor Jurgen Prochnow as the captain of a doomed crew of German submariners which are plunged into a series of dangerous missions during the World War II.

The movie launched his international debut and in Hollywood, he made eight films, including political thriller In the Line of Fire (1993), Outbreak; Air Force One (1997), The Perfect Storm (2000), and Troy (2004), giving five consecutive box office hits, the outlet detailed, according to Anadolu.

He transitioned to Hollywood action and disaster movies in the 1990s, working with Eastwood and John Malkovich in assassination thriller "In The Line of Fire," and directing Hoffman in pandemic-themed "Outbreak." Glenn Close, who starred alongside Ford in Petersen's "Air Force One," said in a statement to AFP that being directed by the German "remains a special memory."

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