The American Friend Movie Review 1977

Tribute to the American gangster film helped introduce Wenders to American moviegoers. Young Hamburg picture framer thinks he has a terminal disease and is set up by American expatriate Hopper to become a hired assassin in West Germany. The lure is a promise of quick money that the supposedly dying man can then leave his wife and child. After the first assasination, the two bond. Hopper is the typical Wenders protagonist, a strange man in a strange land looking for a connection. Great, creepy thriller adapted from Patricia Highsmith's novel "Ripley's Game." Fuller and Ray (better known as directors) appear briefly as gangsters.

Distribution

Tapeworm Video Distributors, 27833 Hopkins Ave., Unit 6, Valencia, CA 91355, Phone: (661)257-4904, Fax: (661)257-4820, Email: sales@tapeworm.com, URL: http://www.tapeworm.com

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 127 minutes.
Originally from French, German.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Mystery & Suspense, Contemporary Noir, Assassination, Books to Film: Patricia Highsmith, Tom Ripley

Screenplay

Wim Wenders

Cast

Bruno Ganz, Dennis Hopper, Elisabeth (Lisa) Kreuzer, Gerard Blain, Jean Eustache, Samuel Fuller, Nicholas Ray, Daniel Schmid, Lou Castel, Rudolf Schuendler, Sandy Whitelaw

Cinematography

Robby Muller

Director

Wim Wenders

Music

Jurgen Knieper

Other

Wim Wenders

Producer

Wim Wenders