In the Line of Fire Director Wolfgang Peterson dies aged 81

In the Line of Fire Director Wolfgang Peterson dies aged 81

Director Wolfgang Petersen, whose German-language film “Das Boot” launched a successful Hollywood filmmaking career that included star-studded films like “Air Force One”, “The Perfect Storm” and the excellent Eastwood thriller “In the Line of Fire” has died. He was 81.

Petersen died on Friday with his wife Maria Antoinette by his side after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Petersen’s film “Das Boot” or “The Boat” (1981) launched his career in Hollywood after the close-quarters WWII submarine drama received six Academy Award nominations. The film starred Jürgen Prochnow as the German U-boat Captain, and was made into an English language miniseries by the BBC.

Peterson quickly became one of the most in-demand directors of technically complex star-driven studio action films — a run that included The Perfect Storm (2000), Air Force One (1997), Outbreak (1995), Shattered (1991) — which he also wrote — Troy (2004) and Poseidon (2006).

In 1993, Peterson directed Clint in the excellent thriller, In the Line of Fire (1993). In the Line of Fire arrived as Eastwood decided to take a short break from directing following completion of Unforgiven and A Perfect World. Hiring Peterson as director alleviated additional stress and allowed Clint to fully immerse himself into the role of actor. It turned out to be a very wise move, and resulted in a superb performance from Clint - and a finished film that many fans regard as one of their very favourites.

Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote: "It's movie making of the high, smooth, commercial order that Hollywood prides itself on but achieves with singular infrequency."

Roger Ebert gave the film three and a half stars out of four, writing: "Most thrillers these days are about stunts and action. In the Line of Fire has a mind."  

Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times called the film "crisply entertaining". He praised the casting, "Malkovich’s insinuating, carefully thought out delivery is in the same way an ideal foil for Eastwood’s bluntly straightforward habits", and Eastwood "every part of this film trades so heavily on Eastwood’s presence that it is impossible to imagine it with anyone else in the starring role."

He was well-liked amongst his peers and admired by the talent he worked with including Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Rene Russo, Glenn Close, Mark Wahlberg, Dustin Hoffman, Morgan Freeman and Diane Lane.

“Being directed by Wolfgang on Air Force One remains a special memory,” Glenn Close said in a statement Tuesday. “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. Wolfgang set a remotely controlled camera that could rotate in place, seamlessly covering all of us, one after another. You knew the camera would pause on you by his hilarious direction while setting up the shot.”

Born on March 14, 1941, in Emden, Germany, Petersen began his directing career with short films and TV movies in the 1960s and ’70s. His first theatrical pic was One or the Other (1974), and he followed that with The Consequence in 1977, for which he also penned the adapted screenplay.

In addition to his wife, Petersen is survived by his son, Daniel, and two grandchildren. 

Funeral services will be private.

RIP Sir.