Wolfgang Petersen
- Known for
- Directing
- Born
- March 14, 1941, Emden, Germany
- Died
- August 12, 2022
- Movies
- 37
Wolfgang Petersen was a German-born screenwriter, producer and film director who spent most of his career in the United States. In the 1960s he began working directing plays at the Ernst Deutsch Theater in Hamburg. After becoming interested in theater in Berlin and Hamburg, Petersen attended the Berlin Film and Television Academy (1966-70). His first productions were for German state television, and it was during his work on the popular crime series Crime Scene that he met actor Jürgen Prochnow, who would later appear in his iconic film Das Boot (1981). His other films include The NeverEnding Story (1984), cult film Enemy Mine (1985), Shattered (1991), In the Line of Fire (1993), Outbreak (1995), Air Force One (1997), The Perfect Storm (2000), Troy (2004), Poseidon (2006) and Four Against the Bank (2016), his latest film.
Best-Known Movies
Filmography
| 2023 | U-96, The True Story of 'Das Boot' | Self (archive footage) |
| 2021 | Das Boot Revisited: An Underwater Success Story | Self - Das Boot Screenwriter and Director |
| 2017 | Open Wounds – A Journey through German Genre Films | |
| 2013 | Stardust Hollywood - Sternenstaub und Götterwelten | Self |
| 2012 | Der Bernd | Self |
| 2011 | Wolfgang Petersen: Back to the Boat | Self |
| 2005 | Gottschalk meets Petersen | Himself |
| 2002 | Starbuck Holger Meins | Self |
| 1996 | Hollywood, Germany - Die amerikanische Herausforderung | Self |
| 1984 | The NeverEnding Story | Man Who Drops Milk (uncredited) |
| 1981 | Das Boot: Behind The Scenes | Self |
Directing, Writing & Producing
| 2016 | Four Against the Bank | Director |
| 2006 | Poseidon | Producer, Director |
| 2004 | Troy | Producer, Director |
| 2000 | The Perfect Storm | Producer, Director |
| 1999 | Bicentennial Man | Producer |
| 1997 | Air Force One | Director, Producer |
| 1995 | Outbreak | Director, Producer |
| 1993 | In the Line of Fire | Director |
| 1991 | Shattered | Director, Producer, Screenplay |
| 1985 | Enemy Mine | Director |
| 1984 | The NeverEnding Story | Screenplay, Director |
| 1981 | Das Boot | Screenplay, Director |
| 1978 | Black and White Like Day and Night | Director |
| 1977 | The Consequence | Director, Screenplay |
| 1977 | Planübung | Writer, Director |
| 1976 | Four Against the Bank | Director |
| 1976 | Hans in Luck | Director |
| 1974 | Pinned to the Ground | Director |
| 1974 | One or the Other of Us | Director |
| 1973 | Van der Valk and the Rich | Director |
| 1973 | Smog | Director |
| 1972 | Anna and Totó | Director |
| 1971 | I Will Kill You, Wolf | Director, Writer |
| 1969 | Ich Nicht | Director, Writer |
| 1967 | Der Eine - der Andere | Director, Writer |
| 1965 | Stadt auf Stelzen | Director |
Data from TMDB. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.