Der amerikanische Freund (1977)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Wim Wenders

Writers:

Patricia Highsmith (novel) and
Wim Wenders (writer)

Release Date:

24 June 1977 (West Germany)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller | Drama

Plot:

Tom Ripley, who deals in forged art, suggests a picture framer he knows would make a good hit man.

Plot Keywords:

Leukemia | Forgery | Cult Favorite | Auction | Terminal Illness

Awards:

4 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Dennis Hopper	...	Tom Ripley
Bruno Ganz	...	Jonathan Zimmermann
Lisa Kreuzer	...	Marianne Zimmermann
Gérard Blain	...	Raoul Minot
Nicholas Ray	...	Derwatt
Samuel Fuller	...	The American Mobster
Peter Lilienthal	...	Marcangelo
Daniel Schmid	...	Ingraham
Jean Eustache	...	Friendly Man
Rudolf Schündler	...	Gantner
Sandy Whitelaw	...	Doctor in Paris
Lou Castel	...	Rodolphe
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ismael Alonso	...	Ignatius
David Blue	...	Allan Winter
Andreas Dedecke	...	Daniel
Satya De La Manitou	...	Angie
Adolf Hansen	...	Schaffner
Rosemarie Heinikel	...	Mona
Heinz Joachim Klein	...	Dr. Gabriel
Stefan Lennert	...	Auctioneer
Heinrich Marmann	...	Man on Train
Gerty Molzen	...	Old Lady
Enzo Robutti	...	Falling man
Klaus Schichan
Axel Schiessler	...	Lippo
Wim Wenders	...	Figure Wrapped in Plaster Bandages in Ambulance

Also Known As:

L'ami américain (France)
The American Friend (USA)

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

West Germany | France

Language:

German | English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | France:-12 | Brazil:14 | Argentina:18 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Alter Elbtunnel, St. Pauli, Hamburg, Germany

Company:

Filmverlag der Autoren

Trivia:

Seven movie directors are in the cast of this film, all of them (by design) playing criminals.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Derwatt: Who is it?
Tom Ripley: It's Ripley.
Derwatt: The door is open.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Zomergasten: (#4.3)" (1991)

Soundtrack:

Too Much on My Mind

I want to tell you how incredible this film is..

I want to tell you how incredibly joyous this film is...but I worry that I'll tell you the wrong way and sound ridiculous. So don't read any further. Just see the movie for yourself.

Dennis Hopper and Bruno Ganz are fantastic as the perverse Ripley and his randomly picked/stalked friend. I've never seen a buddy-buddy film where the bonding is done quite like this, unreal. Unreal how deep they go. No, really, it's that amazing.

Odd things that I liked: I like the way the two shift casually between English and German. I like the Bartok-ish music. The cinematography is great, and on the DVD commentary you will hear Wenders talk about Robby's inventiveness with gels. The train scene is one crisis after another but also contains some hilarious bits (the business with the tickets). Another powerful moment takes place later at Tom's house where they try to execute a reverse-ambush. Jonathan, pipe in hand, looking down sadly at the henchman he'd just sent down for good.

What else do I like without revealing too much of the plot? Gee, I guess I like everything about this film. This is one of those films (Je vous salue, Marie; Paris Texas; Lost in Translation; Chungking Express are others) that I LOVE so dearly that I hate myself for talking about it because it's inevitable that I will be wronging it with the inadequacy of my language (ie trying to capture something that is beyond words).