The American Friend (1977) Der amerikanische Freund (original title)

Director:

Wim Wenders

Writers:

Patricia Highsmith (novel) and
Wim Wenders

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 | Volkswagen Beetle | Assassination | Neo Noir

Awards:

6 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	...	Der Amerikaner
Peter Lilienthal	...	Marcangelo
Daniel Schmid	...	Igraham
Sandy Whitelaw	...	Arzt in Paris
Jean Eustache	...	Freundlicher Mann
Lou Castel	...	Rodolphe
Andreas Dedecke	...	Daniel
David Blue	...	Allan Winter
Stefan Lennert	...	Auktionator
Rudolf Schündler	...	Gantner
Gerty Molzen	...	Alte Dame
Heinz Joachim Klein	...	Dr. Gabriel
Heinrich Marmann	...	Herr im zug
Satya De La Manitou	...	Angie
Axel Schiessler	...	Lippo
Adolf Hansen	...	Schaffner
Rosemarie Heinikel	...	Mona
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Enzo Robutti	...	Falling man (uncredited)
Wim Wenders	...	Figure Wrapped in Plaster Bandages in Ambulance (uncredited)

Directed by
Wim Wenders

Writing credits
Patricia Highsmith		(novel "Ripley's Game")
Wim Wenders

Produced by
Renée Gundelach	....	supervising producer
Margaret Ménégoz	....	line producer
Joachim von Mengershausen	....	producer: WDR
Wim Wenders	....	producer

Original Music by
Jürgen Knieper

Cinematography by
Robby Müller

Film Editing by
Peter Przygodda

Art Direction by
Heidi Lüdi
Toni Lüdi

Costume Design by
Isolde Nist

Makeup Department
Evelyn Döhring	....	makeup artist
Hannelore Uhrmacher	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Pierre Cottrell	....	production manager
Harald Kügler	....	unit manager
Michael Wiedemann	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Emmanuel Clot	....	assistant director
Fritz Müller-Scherz	....	assistant director
Philippe Schwartz	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Peter Braun	....	props
Luigi De Luca	....	props
Bernhard Frey	....	props
Eckerhard Voggenreiter	....	props

Sound Department
Milan Bor	....	sound mixer
Jochen Bärwald	....	assistant sound
Max Galinsky	....	sound mixer
Peter Kaiser	....	sound
Maryte Kavaliauskas	....	sound assistant
Jens-Uwe Laddey	....	assistant sound
Martin Müller	....	sound mixer

Special Effects by
Theo Nischwitz	....	special effects

Stunts
Klaus Schichan	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Jean-François Casi	....	crane operator: Louma crane
Marc Casi	....	crane operator: Louma crane
Wolfgang Dell	....	lighting technician
Hans Dreher	....	grip
Ernst Harinko	....	lighting technician
Ekkehard Heinrich	....	lighting technician
Edward Lachman	....	assistant camera
Jean-Marie Lavalou	....	crane operator: Louma crane
Jean-Claude Le Bras	....	electrician (as Jean-Claude LeBras)
Robert Morsch	....	electrician
Tassilo Peik	....	lighting technician
Viktor Sauermann	....	lighting technician
Martin Schäfer	....	assistant camera
Jacques Steyn	....	assistant camera
Hans Volkmann	....	lighting technician
Andreas Willim	....	electrician

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Renate Zimmermann	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Gisela Bock	....	assistant editor
Ingrid Träutlein-Peer	....	assistant editor
Barbara von Weitershausen	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Heinz Badewitz	....	location manager
Claude Bertonazzi	....	production administrator
Pat Kirck	....	location manager: New York
Anne Povel	....	bookkeeper
Philippe Schwartz	....	location manager: Paris
Harald Vogel	....	production assistant
Gretl Zeilinger	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Bavaria Film
• Filmverlag der Autoren
• Les Films du Losange
• Road Movies Filmproduktion
• Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR)
• Wim Wenders Productions

Distributors

• New Yorker Films (1977) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Dianafilmi (1978) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI) (1978) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Filmverlag der Autoren (1980) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Palace Video (1983) (UK) (VHS)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV) (1987) (Finland) (TV)
• New Yorker Video (1997) (USA) (VHS) (subtitled)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Ripley's Home Video (2005) (Italy) (DVD)
• Madman Entertainment (2007) (Australia) (all media)
• Madman Entertainment (2007) (New Zealand) (all media)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2009) (Finland) (DVD)
• Cinegate (1977) (UK) (theatrical)
• Ingram International Films (????) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Facets Multimedia Distribution (????) (USA) (VHS)
• German Language Video Center (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Jota Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Pacific Arts (????) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Sickert  art direction & title (as Sickerts)

Also Known As:

"Der amerikanische Freund" - West Germany (original title)

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

West Germany | France

Language:

German | English | French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

Alter Elbtunnel, St. Pauli, Hamburg-Mitte, Hamburg, Germany

Company:

Bavaria Film

Trivia:

Bruno Ganz carried a real gun during the scene in which he assassinates a man in the train station, because, humorously enough, the filmmakers could not afford a fake gun.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)

Soundtrack:

Too Much on My Mind

Wenders' thriller

A thriller?Only because it's adapted from a Patricia HIghsmith's novel,and because this friend is none other than Thomas Ripley the criminal dandy.It's an adaptation of "Ripley's games" but it also alludes to the former "Ripley goes underground" when it alludes to fake paintings.Although the treatment may seem "modern",the novel's main topic has been kept:when you've got a lethal disease ,and when you leave behind a wife and a young boy,is it a crime to slay a criminal?

Only strong actors could pull it off,and here we deal with Bruno Ganz and Dennis Hopper:the former,now sixty,was playing "Faust" on stage a few months ago,21 hours with an intermission (!)He was already one of the best German actors at the time.He 's Jonathan,a poor lad who's got nothing to lose.Wenders does wonders when he shows his antihero overwhelmed by an inhumane urban environment,particularly in the spectacular metro (French subway) scene.Hopper is also very effective ,a much better Ripley than Delon's in "purple noon" (plein soleil),because he's American after all.He gives a stunning performance,now threatening,now comforting,finally giving support to the unfortunate Jonathan.You should see him humming Dylan's "I pity the poor immigrant" and the Beatles' "Drive my car".

The cast is very odd:outside the two leads,we find Gérard Blain,who was twice Chabrol's star (les cousins,le beau serge) and had fallen into oblivion ,at least in France-he recently died.His reappearance in the middle of such a crepuscular thriller adds to the doomed atmosphere.And that's not all:Samuel Fuller,who was to direct a movie in France several years later("les voleurs de la nuit "-thieves after dark- not on a par with his best American movies like "shock corridor" or "pick up on south street")and Nicholas Ray whose last days Wenders filmed soon after(some critics called it a "bad taste " work)in "Nick's movie are also part of this strange gathering.

Wenders' most accessible movie,the less pretentious,and along with "Strangers on a train" the best adaptation of Patricia Highsmith for the screen.