The American Friend

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Der Amerikanische Freund
Directed by Wim Wenders
Written by Patricia Highsmith (novel Ripley's Game)
Wim Wenders
Starring Dennis Hopper
Bruno Ganz
Release date(s) June 24, 1977 (U.S. release)
Running time 127 min
Language German
English
Budget DEM 3,000,000 (estimated)
IMDb profile

The American Friend (German: Der Amerikanische Freund) is a 1977 film by Wim Wenders, loosely adapted from the novel Ripley's Game by Patricia Highsmith. The film is of the neo-noir genre, and features Dennis Hopper as career criminal Tom Ripley and Bruno Ganz as Jonathan Zimmermann, a terminally ill picture framer whom Ripley coerces into becoming an assassin.

The source novel Ripley's Game (1974) was cinematically adapted a second time as Ripley's Game (2002).

Contents

[edit] Critical Reaction

In A Girl and a Gun: The Complete Guide to Film Noir, David N. Meyer says, "Though the plot may not make a whole lot of sense the first time around — and the thick European accents of a couple of the major actors doesn't help — The American Friend is worth the effort. Few movies from any era or genre offer such rich characters, realistic human relationships, gripping action sequences, or sly humor." [1]

[edit] Featured cast

Actor Role
Dennis Hopper Tom Ripley
Bruno Ganz Jonathan Zimmermann
Lisa Kreuzer Marianne Zimmermann
Gérard Blain Raoul Minot
Nicholas Ray Derwatt
Samuel Fuller The American Mobster
David Blue Allan Winter

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ David M. Meyer (1998). A Girl and a Gun: The Complete Guide to Film Noir on Video. Avon Books. ISBN 0-380-79067-X. 
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