The American Friend

The American Friend
by Wim Wenders

The American Friend
List Price: $29.95
Category: VHS Video
See more movie releases

Buy The American Friend at Amazon.com
(Click here)
Buy this VHS video movie at online store in your country
Canada

VHS Tape Cover Information

Actor: Andreas Dedecke, G?rard Blain, Ismael Alonso, Jean Eustache, Lou Castel
Director: Wim Wenders
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language), Analog; German (Original Language)
Format: Color, Letterboxed, NTSC, Subtitled
Running Time: 125 minutes
Release Date: 1998-01-01
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Publisher: New Yorker Video
Studio: New Yorker Video

VHS Movie Reviews of The American Friend

Movie Review: Gripping, non-stop tension
Summary: 5 Stars

The tension is so palpable here that it's a character in and of itself.

Tom Ripley, as played by Dennis Hopper, feels truer to his EASY RIDER role than the character in the novel upon which the movie is based, as some critics have said. I say "feels truer" because I haven't seen the first or read the second, but I believe those critics.

But that doesn't matter. Not at all. This movie is about Jonathan Zimmerman, as played by Bruno Ganz. Every time he's on the screen, which is most of the time, you're just gripped in both your mind and your gut and you can't turn away, reach down for a drink of water, hit pause and go to the bathroom, or anything.

I'm one of those weird animals who's just as comfortable with Hollywood crap as I am with literary classics. My wife's non-American and anti-Hollywood. We were both equally blown away by this film.

And by the way, the plot isn't predictable. Don't even think that. But it does organically unfold from the characters, so it's true. Gotta love it.

Summary of The American Friend

A thriller that's nearly devoid of thrills? That's not a complaint--it's what makes The American Friend one of the most stylish (and, at the time, most expensive) films to emerge from the New German Cinema of the 1970s. Loosely adapting Patricia Highsmith's mystery novel Ripley's Game, director Wim Wenders shifted priority from plotting to character, emphasizing a richly colorful and atmospheric approach to locations in Hamburg, where a picture-framer (Bruno Ganz) is lured into an assassination scheme involving a mysterious Frenchman (Gerard Blain) and the titular American friend, Tom Ripley (played by Dennis Hopper, a far cry from Matt Damon's portrayal of the same character in The Talented Mr. Ripley). The plotting is vague to the point of irrelevance; Wenders prefers to maintain the aura of mystery, as opposed to generating any conventional suspense, and expresses his affection for American movies by casting favorite directors Nicholas Ray and Samuel Fuller in pivotal supporting roles. The result is an intoxicating example of cinematic cross-pollination. --Jeff Shannon

Art House & International VHS Video

VHS Video Movies
Movies most talked about in New German Cinema: Fassbinder, Wenders & Herzog
Invincible ImageInvincible
Warner Brothers; Release date: 2003-06-03; DVD
Best price: $4.06
Price in other shops: $26.98
Nosferatu: The Vampyre/Phantom Der Nacht ImageNosferatu: The Vampyre/ Phantom Der Nacht
Release date: 2002-07-09; DVD
Best price: $12.36
Price in other shops: $29.97
Stroszek ImageStroszek
Release date: 2002-01-08; DVD
Best price: $11.98
Price in other shops: $29.98
The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser ImageThe Enigma of Kaspar Hauser
Release date: 2002-01-08; DVD
Best price: $11.99
Price in other shops: $29.97
Aguirre, the Wrath of God ImageAguirre, the Wrath of God
KINSKI/GUERRA/NEGRO/ROJO/RIVER; Release date: 2000-10-24; DVD
Best price: $8.42
Price in other shops: $19.97
Buena Vista Social Club ImageBuena Vista Social Club
Live / Artisan; Release date: 1999-12-14; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $0.48
Price in other shops: $9.98
Until the End of the World ImageUntil the End of the World
Warner Home Video; Release date: 1995-03-24; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops: $19.98
Wings of Desire ImageWings of Desire
MGM (Video & DVD); Release date: 2000-06-06; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $0.48
Price in other shops: $9.98
Paris, Texas ImageParis, Texas
Fox Home Entertainment; Release date: 1992-03-12; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Price in other shops: $19.98
The American Friend ImageThe American Friend
New Yorker Video; Release date: 1998-01-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $19.99
Price in other shops: $29.95
Similar VHS Movies
Lust, Caution (Widescreen, NC-17- Rated Edition) ImageLust, Caution (Widescreen, NC-17- Rated Edition)
Universal; Release date: 2008-02-19; DVD
Best price: $16.91
Price in other shops: $29.98
La Vie en Rose (Extended Version) ImageLa Vie en Rose (Extended Version)
Warner Brothers; Release date: 2007-11-13; DVD
Best price: $17.87
Price in other shops: $27.95
Paris, Texas ImageParis, Texas
TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2004-12-14; DVD
Best price: $69.95
No Country for Old Men ImageNo Country for Old Men
Release date: 2008-03-11; DVD
Best price: $11.14
Price in other shops: $29.99
The Conformist (Extended Edition) ImageThe Conformist (Extended Edition)
Paramount; Release date: 2006-12-05; DVD
Best price: $7.94
Price in other shops: $14.99
Wings of Desire (Special Edition) ImageWings of Desire (Special Edition)
Release date: 2003-07-01; DVD
Best price: $89.95
The Talented Mr. Ripley ImageThe Talented Mr. Ripley
Paramount; Release date: 2000-06-27; DVD
Best price: $3.49
Price in other shops: $9.98
The Lives of Others ImageThe Lives of Others
Sony; Release date: 2007-08-21; DVD
Best price: $11.95
Price in other shops: $19.94
Purple Noon ImagePurple Noon
DVD
Best price: $6.46
Price in other shops: $14.99
Ripley's Game ImageRipley's Game
Warner Brothers; Release date: 2004-03-30; DVD
Best price: $1.73
Price in other shops: $19.97
Compare prices and read customer reviews for more than one million DVD titles.
Oscar 2005 Winners