NEW YORK — Wolfgang Petersen, the German filmmaker whose World War II submarine epic “Das Boot” propelled him into a blockbuster Hollywood career that included the films “In the Line of Fire,” “Air Force One” and “The Perfect Storm,” has died. He was 81.
Petersen died Friday at his home in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Brentwood after a battle with pancreatic cancer, said representative Michelle Bega. Petersen, born in 1941, recalled as a child running alongside American ships as they threw down food. In the confusion of postwar Germany, Petersen — who started out in theater before attending Berlin’s Film and Television Academy in the late 1960s — gravitated toward Hollywood films with clear clashes of good and evil. John Ford was a major influence.
But Petersen’s first foray in American moviemaking was child fantasy: the enchanting 1984 film “The NeverEnding Story.” Adapted from Michael Ende’s novel, “The NeverEnding Story” was about a magical book that transports its young reader into the world of Fantasia, where a dark force known as the Nothing rampages.
“You sometimes have seven-year cycles. You look at other directors; they don’t have the big successes all the time. Up to ‘NeverEnding Story,’ my career was one success after another,” Petersen told The Associated Press in 1993. “Then I came into the stormy international scene. I needed time to get a feeling for this work — it’s not Germany anymore.”
After “Outbreak,” with Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo and Morgan Freeman, Petersen returned to the presidency in 1997’s “Air Force One.” Harrison Ford starred as a president forced into a fight with terrorists who hijack Air Force One.
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'Air Force One,' 'Perfect Storm' director Wolfgang Petersen dies at 81Wolfgang Petersen, the German filmmaker whose World War II submarine epic 'Das Boot' propelled him into a blockbuster Hollywood career that included the films 'In the Line of Fire,' 'Air Force One' and 'The Perfect Storm,' has died.
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'Air Force One,' 'Perfect Storm' director Wolfgang Petersen dies at 81Wolfgang Petersen, the German filmmaker whose World War II submarine epic 'Das Boot' propelled him into a blockbuster Hollywood career that included the films 'In the Line of Fire,' 'Air Force One' and 'The Perfect Storm,' has died. 🙏🏽🙏🏽
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'Air Force One,' 'Perfect Storm' director Wolfgang Petersen dies at 81Wolfgang Petersen, the German filmmaker whose World War II submarine epic 'Das Boot' propelled him into a blockbuster Hollywood career that included the films 'In the Line of Fire,' 'Air Force One' and 'The Perfect Storm,' has died.
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‘Das Boot,’ ‘Air Force One’ director Wolfgang Petersen dies at 81The German-born director also helmed such films as “The NeverEnding Story,” “In the Line of Fire,” “The Perfect Storm” and “Troy.” Das Boot is an amazing movie!
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Wolfgang Petersen, blockbuster filmmaker of 'Das Boot,' diesWolfgang Petersen, the German filmmaker whose WWII submarine epic “Das Boot” propelled him into a blockbuster Hollywood career that included the films “In the Line of Fire,” “Air Force One” and “The Perfect Storm,” has died.
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Wolfgang Petersen, Blockbuster Filmmaker of ‘Das Boot,' DiesWolfgang Petersen, the German filmmaker whose WWII submarine epic “Das Boot” propelled him into a blockbuster Hollywood career that included the films “In the Line of Fire,” “Air Force One” and “The Perfect Storm,” has died. He was 81. Michelle Bega, a representative of Petersen, said the director died Friday at his home in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Brentwood after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Petersen, born in Emden, Germany, made two features before his 1982 breakthrough, “Das Boot,” which chronicled the intense claustrophobia aboard a doomed WWII German U-Boat. “Das Boot” launched Petersen as a filmmaker in Hollywood, where he became one of the top makers of action adventures.
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