The American Friend (1977)

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

Director:

Wim Wenders

Writers:

Patricia Highsmith (novel), Wim Wenders

Stars:

Dennis Hopper, Bruno Ganz, Lisa Kreuzer

6 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Tom Ripley has a sweet deal with an art forger. The forger creates the paintings; Tom sells them. But another criminal business associate wants Tom to go in for an even riskier enterprise: murder. Tom suggests his associate ask a local picture framer instead. That man has a fatal disease, or so it's rumored. More, he has a wife and kid that surely he wouldn't want to leave penniless. Let this picture framer be a hit man, and no one will suspect. The terminally ill craftsman may agree to the misdeed, and several more, but he'll end up needing Tom Ripley in a pinch.

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Plot Keywords:

neo noir | leukemia | assassination | male bonding | cult film | 

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Taglines:

...transforms Patricia Highsmith's Ripley's Game into a gripping European noir.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jonathan's frame shop was actually a hatmaker's shop. The owner of the shop has a cameo in the film, as the gentleman with the dog on the train.

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Goofs

About 1 hour & 8 minutes into the film the sound boom wanders into the shot. It's the scene where the character Minot is paying off Zimmerman under the bridge/pier.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

The acting credits are divided into: the four leads, the rest of the cast, and the six directors who make guest appearances ("Als Gäste die Regisseure").

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Connections

References Rene the Cane (1977)

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Soundtracks

Too Much on My Mind
Written by Ray Davies
Performed by The Kinks

User Reviews

Fascinating and unusual thriller

This 1977 Wim Wenders film is an adaptation of the Patricia Highsmith novel Ripley's Game. It stars Dennis Hopper as Tom Ripley, the amoral and lonely antihero Highsmith based five novels upon. Bruno Ganz plays a dying picture framer who is cajoled into murdering a man. Through various circumstances these two men come together, and briefly become friends. This is a thriller, but it's mostly the story of these two men who come to depend on one another for a brief time. Hopper is very touching in this film, conveying Ripley's loneliness in very subtle ways. And Bruno Ganz is even better as the man caught up in something he doesn't understand. And as always with a Wenders film, this is visually beautiful. For fans of Wim Wenders or The Talented Mr. Ripley, this is well worth seeing.

Details

Country:

West Germany France

Language:

German English French

Release Date:

28 September 1977 (France)

Also Known As:

The American Friend

Filming Locations:

Germany

Box Office

Budget:

DEM3,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,978

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bavaria Film, Filmverlag der Autoren, Les Films du Losange

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1