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
Travis (Harry Dean Stanton) is wandering through the Texas desert, a bit shaky and in desperate need of water, when he stumbles into a bar and collapses. A German doctor of dubious credentials finds a phone number in Travis' wallet, which belongs to his brother, Walt (Dean Stockwell). Walt is shocked to hear about his brother's condition, since no one in the family has seen or heard from Travis in four years; Walt flies to Texas to bring him home, only to find Travis wandering by the side of the road, and they begin the long drive back to Los Angeles, where Walt lives with his wife, Anne (Aurore Clement), and Hunter (Hunter Carson), Travis' seven-year-old son. At first, Travis refuses to speak and is oddly distant, but in time he begins to talk again, and when he arrives in California, he begins the painful process of reacquainting himself with his son and trying to reconcile with his wife, Jane (Nastassia Kinski). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Harry Dean Stanton, Nastassja Kinski, (more)
- 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)
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)
Lightning Over Water is a penetrating documentary of the last days of cult film director Nicholas Ray. The film was lovingly assembled by Wim Wenders, whose idolatry of Ray is obvious in virtually every frame of his own work. Dying slowly of cancer, Ray reflects on a lifetime of accomplishments, failures and compromises, with plenty of screen time given over to his reminiscences of Joan Crawford, James Dean and others who appeared in his films. Most of the film was lensed in Ray's modest New York City loft, a sharp and poignant contrast to the comparative luxury of his Hollywood years. Lightning Over Water has also been released as Nick's Film. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nicholas Ray, Wim Wenders, (more)
Set in England's dreary midwinter season, this slow-paced story chronicles the partial awakening from apathy of Robert, a DJ, as he investigates the mysterious death of his brother. As he travels, he is constantly surrounded by music from David Bowie, Kraftwork, Sting and Devo, among others. Despite his apparent intention of looking into his brother's death, he can't bring himself to investigate even the most blatant clues. As his anomie returns, he begins discarding any connection with his surroundings, eventually boarding a train bound for he knows-not-where. Despite the movie's relentlessly grim storyline and setting and its slow pace, some reviewers reported that they found this feature oddly refreshing. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Beames, Lisa Kreuzer, (more)
- 1978
- PG
During the 1977 Ediburgh Film Festival, independent filmmaker Maurice Hatton made this feature story, using real-life actors, film directors, producers, etc., to enact improvisational roles in a film about filmmaking. In the story, Charlie (played by the film's real-life producer Charles Gormley) is going from person to person at the Edinburgh Film Festival in order to raise money for the production of an independent director's first "commercial" film, tentatively titled "Gulf and Western." The bluffs, lies, and outright rejections he receives are characteristic of those experienced by industry insiders, and this rather bleak, occasionally humorous feature became a favorite among filmmakers and industry cognoscenti. Among the well-known individuals who enact roles similar to their real-life activities are director John Boorman, actress Susannah York, director Wim Wenders, and agent Dennis Selinger. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Gormley, Neville Smith, (more)
Wim Wenders' mines Dennis Hopper's real-life experience as a painter and collector in this existential take on the American gangster film based on a Patricia Highsmith novel featuring the notoriously sociopathic Tom Ripley. Hopper stars as the eponymous American, currently a middleman selling the work of American painter Derwatt (Nicholas Ray), who has feigned his own death to increase the value of his paintings. While auctioning this work in Berlin, he meets art restorer Jonathan Zimmerman (Bruno Ganz), who he learns is suffering from an incurable blood disease. When a shady friend (Gerard Blain) requires Ripley to find a "clean" non-professional to do a contract hit in order to pay off a debt, even he is reluctant. But he quickly realizes that the physically vulnerable Jonathan would be perfect for the job, and tries to get him to accept by employing various subterfuges to persuade him that his condition is even worse than it is. For his part, Blain guarantees the restorer that his family will be financially secure for life, and a deal is struck. As usual, nothing works out quite as expected. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dennis Hopper, Bruno Ganz, (more)
- 1975
Those even remotely familiar with the work of German director Wim Wenders should not be surprised that he has a title like Kings of the Road in his resumé. Rüdiger Vogler plays Bruno, an itinerant movie-projector repairman, who tools about the dusty roads along the East-West border of Germany in search of work. A traffic accident brings Bruno in contact with suicidal Robert (Hanns Zischler). Bruno gives Zischler a ride, and the two become friends. Eventually Zischler decides to give civilization another chance, while Bruno continues his freewheeling ways alone. Along the way, director Wenders makes several trenchant comments about the breakdown of society by showing the number of movie theaters that have either closed down or resorted to showing X-rated films. Prominent German film critic Hanns Zischler plays one of the protagonists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rüdiger Vogler, Hanns Zischler, (more)
- 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)
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 1969
German director Wim Wenders turns his lens on the city streets for this early short film. Shot from windows of the actual apartments he lived in at the time (he claims to have moved around quite a bit in his younger years), the audience bares witness to eight shots lasting three minutes apiece and filmed from the third, fourth, and fifth floors of the building. Beginning with shots of the empty streets at 3 a.m., the film gradually shifts perspectives as day fades into evening and the city workers pack into the streets to make their way home. ~ Jason Buchanan, 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
- 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
- 1968
An experimental short film from acclaimed director Wim Wenders, Same Player Shoots Again takes its cue from the game of pinball (players used to get five balls instead of three) and offers five different takes of a man running towards the camera with a gun. Each take is tinted in a different color, and as the man draws ever closer to the frame his motions become increasingly more staggered. Could he be injured? ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
