Wim Wenders Movies
Born in Dusseldorf just after the end of World War II, German film director Wim Wenders grew up with an insatiable appetite for American movies. Not all that interested in big-budget products, he, instead, developed a fascination with B-movies, notably melodramas and Westerns. After studying Medicine and Philosophy in his native country, Wenders took up art in Paris (a mecca for viewing American films), and then returned to his homeland to attend Munich's Academy of Film and Television. Like many of his French movie-fan brethren, Wenders began his career writing film criticism before directing a few short subjects of his own, and, in 1970, he and several other young filmmakers formed a production-distribution firm, Filmverlag Der Autoren. Summer in the City (1970) was Wenders' first feature film, but it was his 1973 adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter that first brought him attention outside of Germany. The film included many accomplishments, most notably coaxing a superb performance from Senta Berger as Hester Prynne, and managing to make the landscapes of Spain resemble 17th century New England.At this point, Wenders began his road movie cycle, inspired by such American pictures as Easy Rider (1970) and Two-Lane Blacktop (1971). Three films in this genre followed in quick succession: Alice in the Cities (1974), The Wrong Move (1975), and Kings of the Road (1976). For his first English-language picture, The American Friend (1977), Wenders cast three of his American movie idols: actor Dennis Hopper (director/star of Easy Rider) and "cult" directors Nicholas Ray (Rebel Without a Cause) and Samuel Fuller (The Steel Helmet). Wenders would later co-direct Lightning Over Water (1980) with Ray.
Wenders' American-financed films Hammett (1980) and Paris, Texas (1983) were remarkable in their evocation of time and place, and the director could certainly have continued quite satisfactorily in Hollywood. However, he seemed to prefer activity in Europe, even though he was always one step ahead of his creditors -- especially when running his own studio, Gray City. Wenders' return to German filmmaking was rewarded in 1987 with the release of Der Himmel Über Berlin, or Wings of Desire. The story of an angel who wants to become human after finding earthly love met with an enthusiastic international response, culminating in a slew of honors for Wenders (including a 1987 Cannes Best Director award, a 1988 European Film Academy award for Best Director, and a host of awards from the New York Film Critics Circle) and an eventual 1998 American remake, City of Angels.
In the 1990s, Wenders' love of on-the-road location filming was again manifested in such films as Until the End of the World (1991) (filmed on four continents and designed to be "the ultimate road movie"), and Faraway, So Close (1993), a marathon experience (which originally ran 164 minutes) wherein an angel wanders about to observe the changing scene in a newly unified Germany. In 1995, Wenders made a road movie of a different sort with Par-Dela les Nuages/Beyond the Clouds, which he co-directed with legendary Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni. Set in various European countries, the film explored the vagaries of love and lust through the experiences of several principle characters. Receiving decidedly mixed reviews, it differed strongly from Wenders' next effort, Die Gebrüder Sklandanowsky/A Trick of the Light, a 1996 historical tribute to some of the more neglected developers of moving picture technology. Wenders returned to the States the following year with The End of Violence, a film that explored the effects of violence on the intertwining of people's lives. Featuring Bill Pullman, Andie McDowell, and Gabriel Byrne, it was not a great commercial or critical success, but Wenders did win acclaim the following year for The Buena Vista Social Club. A documentary about Cuban music, the film was the result of a successful collaboration between Wenders and musician Ry Cooder, who had previously supplied the score for the director's Paris, Texas. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2003
A computer hacker moves from virtual vandalism to the real thing in this independent drama. Peter (Stephan Kampwirth) is a computer expert who has become obsessed with hacking into other people's systems -- so much so that one day, while picking through someone's files, his girlfriend drowns in the bathtub following a drug overdose, without Peter ever noticing until it's too late. Thrown into a panic, he flees his Berlin apartment shortly after calling the police, and goes on the lam in Cologne. Not wanting to call attention to himself by checking into a hotel, Peter breaks into empty apartments to find a place to sleep; before long, Peter is just as hooked on breaking and entering as he was on cracking secure codes. The first feature film from writer and director Marc Ottiker, 1/2 Miete was produced by Wim Wenders as part of the "Radical Digital" series from his production company, Road Movies. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephan Kampwirth, Doris Schretzmayer, (more)
- 2009
Eight internationally known filmmakers address vital issues concerning the Third World in this omnibus feature. In 2000, 191 countries affiliated with the United Nations agreed to take part in a program to cut world poverty in half before the year 2015 by observing eight Millennium Development Goals. In Eight, each of these goals is addressed in a short film from a different filmmaker. "Tiya's Dream" by Adberrahmane Sissako focuses on "Eradicating Extreme Poverty and Hunger" in a story about an African student preparing a class project on the Millennium Development Goals. A child in Iceland is learning about Nepal in Gael García Bernal's "The Letter", a variation on the theme of "Achieving Universal Primary Education." Mira Nair examines the issue "Promote Gender Equality" in "How Can It Be", about a Muslim woman who wants to leave her husband. "Mansion on the Hill" by Gus Van Sant focuses on contemporary teens as he contemplates efforts to "Reduce Child Mortality." Jan Kounen traveled to Peru to film his polemic on "Improving Maternal Health," "The Story of Panshin Beka". A man struggles with a fatal disease in Gaspar Noe's "SIDA", aligned to the goal "Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases." A village in the Australian outback struggles with environmental issues in "The Water Diary", a parable on "Ensuring Environmental Sustainability" by Jane Campion. And Wim Wenders looks into the ways people in need can help themselves in "Person to Person", his study of "Global Partnerships for Development." Eight received its world premiere at the 2008 Rome Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1969
This early short from German director Wim Wenders marks a series of firsts form the internationally renowned director. In addition to being the first film Wenders shot on 35mm film, it also marked his first collaboration with longtime cinematographer Robbie Muller. Named after the John Coltrane ballad "Alabama", the film contrasts Bob Dylan's version of "All Along the Watchtower" with Jimi Hendrix's interpretation of the song. Following his failure to follow his orders to kill, the protagonist drives along the never-ending road the viewer experiences his voyage as the camera peers out the back window. In the end it seems that death has not only taken our protagonist, but the camera as well. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1974
Alice in the Cities (Alice in den Städten) was the first of German director Wim Wenders' films to be lensed in part in the United States. Phillip (Rüdiger Vogler) is a roving German reporter who, after a chance encounter with an elusive American woman, reluctantly accepts temporary custody of little Alice (Yella Rottländer). Phillip takes Alice in hand on a trek across Germany to locate the girl's grandmother. The plot takes second place to Wenders' fascination with the contrast between the neon-and-billboard ambience of the U.S. and the rolling hills and industrial pockets of Deutschland. Alice in the Cities was the first of Wenders' "road trilogy"; the follow-ups were Wrong Move (1975) and Kings of the Road (1976), both also starring Rüdiger Vogler. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Samira Gloor-Fadel debuts with this strikingly unorthodox documentary featuring two of cinema's greatest intellectuals (Wim Wenders and Jean Luc Godard) bouncing a flurry of illuminating thoughts and half-formed ideas about time, space, and the nature of cinema. The conversation is never depicted, and indeed Godard is never actually seen. Instead the visuals are largely comprised of Wenders' editing, directing, and lecture. A second element in this untraditional documentary is about the city of Berlin. We hear Wenders muse about his favorite German city accompanied by shots of its architecture. Meanwhile, a third portion shows a youth visiting the sites used in Wings of Desire (1986) while grieving the untimely death of Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Berlin-Cinema (Titre Provisoire) was screened at the 1999 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Wim Wenders, Thomas, (more)
- 1995
The many ways in which men are fascinated, compelled, and confused by their attraction to women are explored in this four part drama. As a filmmaker (John Malkovich) tries to sort out his plans for his next film, he considers several stories about women and the men who love them. Silvano (Kim Rossi Stuart) meets Carmen (Ines Sastre) and immediately asks her for a date, but despite his attraction, he can't follow through on his feelings for her. The director spies a woman on the streets (Sophie Marceau) and follows her obsessively, but when he finally meets her, he's disappointed, despite their mutual physical attraction. Roberto (Peter Weller) and his wife Patricia (Fanny Ardant) have to deal with their anger about each other's infidelities, as well as their problems with their lovers, Olga (Chiara Caselli) and Carlo (Jean Reno). And Niccolo (Vincent Perez) falls in love at first sight with a young woman (Irene Jacob), unaware that she is studying to become a nun. Par-Dela Les Nuages was Michelangelo Antonioni's first film after a massive stroke derailed his directorial career in 1985; Wim Wenders served as his collaborator on the project. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Malkovich, Kim Rossi Stuart, (more)
Wim Wenders' documentary Buena Vista Social Club is about the adventures of Ry Cooder in Cuba. Cooder, best remembered by film fans for the wailing slide guitar theme of Wenders' Paris, Texas, went to Cuba in 1996 to meet with some legendary 'soneros' musicians of the '30s, '40s and '50s. The result was the album Buena Vista Social Club, recorded with such colorful characters as the 90-year-old singer/guitarist Compay Segundo, guitarist Eliades Ochoa, baritone Ibrahim Ferrer and Omara Portuondo, "the Cuban Edith Piaf." The album won a Grammy, and in this refreshing documentary, Wim Wenders shows these exceptional musicians in their hometown, following them into their usual hang-outs -- the cafes, clubs and even living rooms -- as well as to concerts in Amsterdam and New York's Carnegie Hall, capturing their incredible vitality. "In Cuba, music flows like a river," according to Ry Cooder, who adds "Music is like a treasure hunt; you dig and dig and sometimes find something." Pursuing this metaphor, Wenders wanted to make a film that would "just float on this river ... not interfering with it, just drifting along." The result is a film full of vitality and positive energy, which is also an absolute delight to musical ears. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, All Movie Guide
- 1972
Wim Wenders' The Scarlet Letter (German title: Der scharlachrote Buchstabe) may well be the most fascinating of the many screen versions of Nathaniel Hawthorne's 19th-century novel. Though the story is set in 17th-century Salem, Massachusetts, the film was lensed in Spain. Senta Berger is surprisingly well cast as Hester Prynne, whose sexual indiscretions have compelled her to wear the letter "A" (for adultery) on blouse--a symbol of shame to her neighbors, but a strange source of pride for Hester. Lou Castel plays the tortured Reverend Dimmesdale, the man who impregnated Hester but whom has been sworn to secrecy by the self-sacrificing heroine for the "good of the community." Hans Christian Blech portrays Hester's long-lost husband, whose reappearance sets the stage for the wrenching climax. Wenders' interpretation of the customs, behavior and inbred bigotry of the early American immigrants is eye-opening, as only an "outsider's" perception of what we take for granted can be. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
Wim Wenders' The State of Things (Der Stand der Dinge) was financed by one of the director's chief mentors, Francis Ford Coppola. This highly autobiographical work concerns a shoestring movie producer and his ragtag crew. Stranded in the outer reaches of Portugal, the director doesn't even have any film in his camera. There's nothing left to do but scare up a potential backer--preferably one of those rich, movie-mad Americans. In illustrating the plight of the fictional filmmakers, Wenders strikes a blow on behalf of the homeless and disenfranchised everywhere; it is also an a clef recreation of the difficulties faced by the director during production of his first American film Hammett (also made under the auspices of Coppola). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Bauchau, Isabelle Weingarten, (more)
- 1971
A loose adaptation of a novelette by author Peter Handke, this early effort from acclaimed director Wim Wenders follows penalized goalie Joseph Bloch (Arthur Brauss) as he makes his way through the city after missing penalty kick and getting suspended from a game. Wandering by a local cinema, Joseph picks up the pretty cashier and the two spend the night together. Inexplicably strangling the girl in the light of the morning, the seemingly unaffected Joseph makes his way through the city streets as emotion begins to boil under the surface of his stony gaze. Making his way to an old girlfriends house in the country, the emotionally shattered goalie has little to do but wait for the police to close in on him. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1996
This highly idiosyncratic film, seen mostly at film festivals, is intended to be shown in segments broken up by musical interludes. It is a centennial tribute and depiction of the efforts of the brothers Skladanowsky to create and show the first motion pictures, hence, much of it was filmed using antique silent-film gear. This odd feature film by director Wim Wenders and his Munich film school class began as a class assignment. The Skladanowsky brothers gave "magic lantern" shows in Berlin for years before taking up the challenge of developing moving pictures. Their amateur efforts resulted in their development of a projector called the "Bioskop," (Bioscope), and their first commercial showing of a moving picture in Berlin in 1895 predates the Lumiere brothers' commercial showing in Paris by several weeks. The Lumiere brothers developed yet another type of film projector. Together with Edison and the Lumiere brothers, the Skladanowsky brothers deserve credit for the development of motion pictures. In this film tribute, large sections are done in the style of later silent features. In other portions of the film, Lucy Hurtgen-Skladanowsky (the very aged surviving daughter of one of the two brothers) vividly recounts her memories of the hectic activities surrounding the Bioskop premiere. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Udo Kier, Nadine Büttner, (more)
- 1995
Utilizing computer-generated effects and creative splicing to place Germany's most famous living directors in a fantasy movie house, filmmaker Edgar Reitz takes an innovative approach toward exploring the history of German cinema. In this magical theater, directors such as Leni Riefenstahl, Detlev Buck, Volker Schloendorff, Margarethe von Trotta, Wim Wenders, Werner Herzog "discuss" the state of German cinema with a focus on New German Cinema. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Director Wim Wenders and writer Sam Shepard, who collaborated on the award-winning film Paris, Texas, once again join forces for this dark drama of a man trying to turn over a new leaf late in life. Howard Spence (Sam Shepard) is a veteran actor who has been a popular Western star since the mid-'70s. Spence's onscreen image as a strong, principled lawman is a severe contrast to his life off the set, which has been dominated by drinking, drugs, and promiscuous womanizing. However, Spence has begun to find his hedonistic life a shallow existence, and one day, in the midst of filming his latest movie, he simply hops on his horse and rides away, eventually making his way to the small Nevada town where his mother lives. Mother (Eva Marie Saint) has little interest in seeing her wayward son after so many years, but she does share a recently discovered bit of information with him -- one of Spence's former girlfriends stopped by with word that she had given birth to his son years before. Spence borrows his father's old car and drives to Butte, MT, where he finds Doreen (Jessica Lange), the woman who was his lover years ago. Doreen runs a tavern where her son, Earl (Gabriel Mann), plays for the locals with his rock band; Spence is in fact Earl's father, but the young man has no interest in meeting his biological father, and shuts out Spence as the actor tries to get to know him. As Spence struggles to find some sort of familial connection in Butte, he makes friends with a young woman named Sky (Sarah Polley), only to discover she was also fathered by him during his rowdy younger days. Don't Come Knocking's distinguished supporting cast includes Tim Roth, George Kennedy, Fairuza Balk, Julia Sweeney, and Tim Matheson. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Shepard, Jessica Lange, (more)
- 1969
This early Wim Wenders film concerning the topic of American music marked the director's first time collaboration with Wings of Desire screenwriter Peter Handke. Set to the music of Van Morrison, Harvey Mandel and Credence Clearwater Revival, the viewer experiences the world pass by as the camera shoots out the window of a moving car and Wenders and Handke discuss how American rock music is driven by emotion and image. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2004
Edgar G. Ulmer was one of the most fascinating figures of Hollywood's Golden Age. While Ulmer directed the occasional big-budget major studio film (most notably The Black Cat starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi and The Strange Woman with Hedy Lamarr), Ulmer was a maverick who valued his creative freedom and he most often worked for"Poverty Row studios, most notably PRC, where he was allowed to make films as he pleased as long as they were done fast and cheap. Ulmer made a handful of small masterpieces for the minor league studios, most notably Detour, The Naked Dawn, Bluebeard, and Ruthless, and he also directed several important Yiddish-language films as well as an early all African-American cast musical. However, Ulmer's own version of his life was often dotted with creative embellishment and stories that no one could verify (particularly pertaining to his early career in Germany), and despite his very real degree of ability and influence, much of Ulmer's story remains shrouded in uncertainty. Documentary filmmaker Michael Palm explores both the art and the illusion of this singular artist in Edgar G. Ulmer: The Man Off-Screen, which features interviews with some of Ulmer's more noted admirers (Peter Bogdanovich, Wim Wenders, Joe Dante), actors who worked with him (John Saxon, Ann Savage), and members of his family (Arianné Ulmer Cipes). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1974
The Wrong Move and The Wrong Movement were the English-language titles for German director Wim Wenders' Falsche Bewegung. Made for television, the film is an update of Goethe's Wilhelm Meister. Ruediger Vogeler plays aspiring writer Wilhelm Meister, who goes on a long odyssey in the woods in search of truth. His companions on this journey are pragmatic Therese (Hanna Schygulla), bisexual Mignon (Nastassja Kinski, billed under her real name, Nakszynski), Mignon's hippielike boyfriend Laertes (Hans-Christian Blech), and artistically bankrupt poet Landau (Peter Kean). The foursome accept the hospitality of an industrialist (Ivan Desny), who unbeknownst to all but himself is a deeply troubled ex-Nazi. Novelist Peter Handke wrote the screenplay for Wrong Move. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rüdiger Vogler, Hanna Schygulla, (more)
Wim Wenders revisits his masterpiece Der Himmel Uber Berlin in this film which picks up several years after the original left off. Cassiel (Otto Sander) is an angel who watches over the lives of the people of recently reunified Berlin with Raphaella (Nastassja Kinski). Damiel (Bruno Ganz), Cassiel's former partner who opted to return to the land of the living in the first film, now lives happily as a pizza chef with the woman he loved and married, circus performer Marion (Solveig Dommartin). While angels are forbidden to directly intervene in the lives of humans, Cassiel impulsively breaks this rule when a little girl falls from the balcony of an apartment block, and he swoops down to catch her. Suddenly made flesh and blood, Cassiel has earned the enmity of Emit Flesti (Willem Dafoe), a sort of overseer of the angels on the physical plane. Emit makes it his business to make things difficult for Cassiel now that he's living among the humans, and after a period of alcoholism and imprisonment, Cassiel finds himself working for gangster Tony Baker (Horst Buchholz), who distributes weapons and pornography on the black market. However, Cassiel has a change of heart and decides to destroy Tony's stockpile in a bid to make the world a better place. Peter Falk, who played himself in Der Himmel Uber Berlin, makes a return appearance when a gallery shows the sketches that he was making in the first film; rock singer Lou Reed and former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev also appear as themselves. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Otto Sander, Peter Falk, (more)
- 1997
Maniacal hyperactive Jeff Gold (Lars Rudolph) and his companion Moussa (Said Taghmaoui) flee Berlin for a Spanish tourist resort where they share a room with a flamenco act. When Jeff gets a job as a Wild Adventure tour guide, he feels tourists need more of a jolt. He devises alternatives to the usual routines in order for tourists to experience more exciting adventures -- such as criminal activities. This German-Spanish-French co-production was shown at the 1997 Venice Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lars Rudolph, Saïd Taghmaoui, (more)
Director Wim Wenders made his American film bow with the ultra-stylish Hammett. Based on the speculative novel by Joe Gores, the story concerns real-life detective novelist Dashiell Hammett (Frederic Forest), who early in his career is involved in a complex mystery that will profoundly influence his later works. While hacking away for pulp magazines, Hammett is asked by Jimmy Ryan (Peter Boyle), his old boss at the Pinkerton agency (and the model for the writer's "Continental Op" character), to help out on a particularly difficult case. Before long, Hammett is prowling the nooks and crannies of San Francisco in search of a missing Chinese prostitute-blackmailer (Lydia Lei). Among the several delectable "inside jokes" in Hammett is the presence of Elisha Cook, who'd appeared in the 1941 film adaptation of Hammett's Maltese Falcon, as Eli the Cab Driver. Cinematographers Philip H. Lathrop and Joseph Biroc work overtime to invest Hammett with the "feel" of a classic 1940s detective yarn. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Frederic Forrest, Peter Boyle, (more)
- 1987
Alex (Kari Vaananen) is a Finnish cabbie working in Berlin with plenty of problems in this comedy with film noir touches. With two dead men and a suitcase filled with hundred dollar bills, he has difficulty disposing of the bodies. He is chased by the top crime boss (Samuel Fuller) and his crony (Eddie Constantine). Alex's wife is allergic to the money, so the cabbie endures more than he can handle trying to rid himself of the cash and the corpses. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kari Väänänen, Roberta Manfredi, (more)
- 2007
Filmmakers Isabel Coixet, Wim Wenders, Fernando Leon de Adanoa, Mariano Barroso, and Javier Corcuera team with Javier Bardim's Pinguin Films and the charitable organization Doctors Without Frontiers to explore a variety of social problems in Africa and Latin America. Acclaimed director Wenders' Invicible Crimes details the plight of raped women in war-torn Congo, while de Adanoa's Good Night Ouma studies former child soldiers in Uganda, and Barroso turns his lens on a conversation between a pharmaceutical company representative and two selfless aid workers in Bianca's Dream. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Javier Bardem
