The sad news of the death of Wolfgang Petersen He has put us in the heart in a fist. He hadn’t directed for a long time, but his films were still present for us because he was always happy to retrieve and review them. Not many genius filmmakers can boast of having those kind of movies you can never stop watching.
Today we review several of them, which show both their glorious talent and their incredible versatility. Through the different streaming platforms we can go jumping in the different sticks that he has played, from classic epic cinema to unleashed fantasy, also going through the 90s thriller that he managed to dominate like few other directors in Hollywood. He was great and will be missed.
‘The Submarine’ (‘Das Boot’, 1981)
Distribution: Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, Klaus Wennemann, Hubertus Bengsch, Martin Semmelrogge.
most likely the definitive film in the submarine subgenre. Petersen makes clear all the keys to a film of this style through a film of immense dimensions but that does not lose its pulse in any minute. Perfect tension management, incredible ability to create extreme human moments in claustrophobic circumstances, impressive exploration of hierarchies and obligations. In any of its different versions, it is an undeniable work that cemented his genius.
See in Movistar+ | In Espinof: The best war films of all time
‘The Neverending Story’ (‘Die unendliche Geschichte (The Neverending Story)’, 1984)
Distribution: Barrett Oliver, Noah Hathaway, Moses Gunn, Tami Stronach, Patricia Hayes
One of his classics that have been somewhat destroyed and aged by the heaviness of the nostalgic, who put each children’s film of the eighties as the summit of Western civilization. ‘The Neverending Story’ falls easily into the firecracker class of those eighties films, but it is also true that it makes a amazing inspirational fantasy gala which is certainly appreciable.
See on Amazon Prime Video, on HBO Max, on Disney+ and on Filmin | Criticism in Espinof
‘Air Force One (The President’s Plane)’ (‘Air Force One’, 1997)
Distribution: Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Glenn Close, William H. Macy, Dean Stockwell.
Few directors have personified the nineties as much as Petersen, who also delivered gems like ‘In the Line of Fire’, ‘Outbreak’ or ‘The Perfect Storm’ (okay, this is in 2000, but it maintains the essence). ‘Air Force One’ picks up all the keys of the action thriller of the time that dominated so much, highlighting schematic but effectively drawn scripts. He created tension exercises almost out of nowhere, impeccably paced, and allows old-school movie stars to shine without the film being entirely due to them.
Watch on Disney+ | Criticism in Espinof
‘Troy’ (‘Troy’, 2004)
Distribution: Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Brian Cox, Peter O’Toole, Sean Bean, Diane Kruger
The same year there was a great return to action cinema in sandals with Oliver Stone’s ‘Alexander the Great’ and this one. We can argue which comes out of this company more successful, but there is no doubt that there is something in Petersen’s muscular piece that makes it imperishable. They can play it a thousand times openly, there are going to be loads of people glued to the television (and the same can be said with its streaming presence). A vigorous show that will be more difficult to seeboth for what Hollywood has changed in just a decade and for the absence of filmmakers who can even reach the shadow of the German.
Watch on HBO Max | Criticism in Espinof