Wim Wenders
Wilhelm
Ernst Wenders was born in Düsseldorf, Aug. 14, 1945. At the
age of twelve, he received a 8mm film camera and filmed the street
below.
He went to school in Oberhausen, an extremely shy and introspective teenager, Wenders planned to study for the priesthood, but this desire soon gave way to an interest in American music and American film, esp. Westerns and Road Movies.
Wenders, like Herzog, stresses the visual, delegates the story to a secondary level, contemplates landscapes and cityscapes. Wenders' films have often been called 'films of the desiring gaze', where the camera is an instrument of affection (that is, by the critics who like his films). Another typical element of Wenders' films is the use of music, esp. American Rock'n'Roll.
His first professional feature, The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick (1971), received critical attention - a collaboration with Peter Handke, one of the most important German-speaking post-war authors, who also wrote Wrong Move (1975) and collaborated with Wenders on Wings of Desire (1988).
Among his road movies (which also the name of his company) are Alice in the Cities (1974), Wrong Move (1975) and Kings of the Road (1976) as well as Paris, Texas and Until the End of the World. He became internationally known with The American Friend (1977), starring Dennis Hopper and Bruno Ganz. Long before Ripley's Game with DiCaprio, this film was based on Patricia Highsmith's novel of the same name.
His international fame led to an invitation by Francis Ford Coppola. Wenders went to the States and finished Hammett after many problems with the script and Coppola. In 1982, he made State of Things about this experience.
Paris, Texas (1984) became his biggest success. Filmed in the US and scripted by Sam Shepard, it won the Palme d'Or. Wenders then returned to Germany to shoot Wings of Desire which also won in Cannes in 1987 (Best Director). This film about two angels in divided Berlin was a critical and commercial success and was followed by Far Away, So Close, set in post-wall Berlin (1993).
Between the two, he filmed Until the End of the World (1991), written by the Australian Peter Carey - with one of the best musical scores ever ;-)
In the late 90s, Wenders completed more films in the States: The End of Violence (1997) with Gabriel Byrne and Andie MacDowell and The Million Dollar Hotel (2000) with Mel Gibson and Milla Jovovich, co-scripted by Bono, music by U2. Wenders went back to Germany to make a movie about the German rock band BAP: Viel passiert (Ode to Cologne: A Rock 'N' Roll Film) (2002).
His Buena Vista Social Club (1999) received an Oscar nomination.
He went to school in Oberhausen, an extremely shy and introspective teenager, Wenders planned to study for the priesthood, but this desire soon gave way to an interest in American music and American film, esp. Westerns and Road Movies.
Wenders, like Herzog, stresses the visual, delegates the story to a secondary level, contemplates landscapes and cityscapes. Wenders' films have often been called 'films of the desiring gaze', where the camera is an instrument of affection (that is, by the critics who like his films). Another typical element of Wenders' films is the use of music, esp. American Rock'n'Roll.
His first professional feature, The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick (1971), received critical attention - a collaboration with Peter Handke, one of the most important German-speaking post-war authors, who also wrote Wrong Move (1975) and collaborated with Wenders on Wings of Desire (1988).
Among his road movies (which also the name of his company) are Alice in the Cities (1974), Wrong Move (1975) and Kings of the Road (1976) as well as Paris, Texas and Until the End of the World. He became internationally known with The American Friend (1977), starring Dennis Hopper and Bruno Ganz. Long before Ripley's Game with DiCaprio, this film was based on Patricia Highsmith's novel of the same name.
His international fame led to an invitation by Francis Ford Coppola. Wenders went to the States and finished Hammett after many problems with the script and Coppola. In 1982, he made State of Things about this experience.
Paris, Texas (1984) became his biggest success. Filmed in the US and scripted by Sam Shepard, it won the Palme d'Or. Wenders then returned to Germany to shoot Wings of Desire which also won in Cannes in 1987 (Best Director). This film about two angels in divided Berlin was a critical and commercial success and was followed by Far Away, So Close, set in post-wall Berlin (1993).
Between the two, he filmed Until the End of the World (1991), written by the Australian Peter Carey - with one of the best musical scores ever ;-)
In the late 90s, Wenders completed more films in the States: The End of Violence (1997) with Gabriel Byrne and Andie MacDowell and The Million Dollar Hotel (2000) with Mel Gibson and Milla Jovovich, co-scripted by Bono, music by U2. Wenders went back to Germany to make a movie about the German rock band BAP: Viel passiert (Ode to Cologne: A Rock 'N' Roll Film) (2002).
His Buena Vista Social Club (1999) received an Oscar nomination.