Hollywood director Wolfgang Petersen dies at 81

Noted director Wolfgang Petersen has died in Los Angeles bringing an end of Hollywood legacy and blockbuster films that were made by him. Actors and actresses from Brad Pitt, Diane Lane, Dustin Hoffman Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, and George Clooney have all acted in films helmed by him.

However, his coming into Hollywood was with the German film "Das Boot" where a German U Boat crew is sent off on a suicidal mission showcasing the horrors of war. In an interview with a major tabloid, Petersen had come to Los Angeles to show his film "Das Boot" when a very weird thing happened. The people were informed that of 40,000 German naval crew, 30,000 died during the war. On reading this the people clapped, as such was the hatred for Hitler's Nazi Germany. But after the film was over the Director was given a standing ovation in the theatre. Such a realistic depiction of war with young people dying for no particular reason was striking and hence people applaud his work.

Thus began Petersen’s foray into Hollywood. He had a penchant for dishing out Hollywood blockbusters and of course with a human appeal that settled well with the audience. The film 'Outbreak' in 1995, starring Dustin Hoffman and Rene Russo kind of gave the human populace an idea of a pandemic.


Wolfgang Petersen made eight blockbusters for Hollywood and they were all super hits. He was born in Germany in a place called Emden, which was a coastal town. Perhaps that’s where he developed the love for the water. He said once that water is so beautiful and also so dangerous that it has a mesmerising quality about it.


Wolfgang complained that his teachers were all Nazis and hence couldn’t look up to them, but he could always look up to Gary Cooper the famous American movie star. Gary Cooper’s movie “High Noon” left a lasting impression on Wolfgang and his style of acting captivated him as a 12-year-old.

The films that have catapulted him to world fame include, “Das Boot”, “In the Line of Fire”, “Troy”, “Outbreak”, “Air Force One” and the “Perfect Storm”.