Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

The American Friend Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 29, 2015

Nominated for the prestigious Palme d'Or Award at the Cannes Film Festival, Wim Wenders' "The American Friend" a.k.a. "Der Amerikanische Freund" (1977) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; exclusive new video interviews with director Wim Wenders and actor Bruno Ganz; archival audio commentary with audio commentary by Wim Wenders and the late Dennis Hopper; and deleted scenes with optional audio commentary. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by author Francine Prose. In German and English, with optional English and English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

"There is less than half of what you promised me."

The first time Patricia Highsmith’s character Tom Ripley stepped in front of the camera was in Rene Clement’s excellent thriller Purple Noon. The great French heartthrob Alain Delon played Ripley and became an international star. The film is about an opportunistic young man who travels to Italy determined to convince a wealthy playboy to return home to America. If he succeeds, the playboy’s father would pay him a hefty sum of money. But the man abandons his plan after he meets the playboy and his beautiful girlfriend and realizes that with a bit of luck he can change his life forever. (Years later, Anthony Minghella directed The Talented Mr. Ripley, a loose remake of Purple Noon, in which Matt Damon became Highsmith’s famous character).

Wim Wenders’ The American Friend is the second film in which Ripley made an appearance. Here Ripley (Dennis Hopper, Apocalypse Now) is a much older man and makes ends meet as an art dealer in Hamburg during the Cold War era. His personality is different as well. He is calmer and much more reserved, someone most people would typically avoid.

This is exactly what the talented picture framer Jonathan Zimmermann (Bruno Ganz, Wings of Desire) does when Ripley attempts to shake his hand during an auction, but soon after their lives become closely intertwined. Ripley visits Jonathan’s shop and a few days later he reluctantly agrees to kill a man for a French gangster (Gerard Blain, Le beau Serge) after he is told that he is seriously ill and has little time left to live. Initially, Ripley makes sure that Jonathan does not change his mind, and later on helps him get out of a real mess when the bodyguards of a prominent American gangster confront him on a train.

In terms of atmosphere and tempo, Wenders’ film definitely feels like the flipside of Clement’s film. It is notably darker and moodier, more seductive and more dangerous. Unlike Clement’s film, it also seems unwilling to fully arrange the scattered pieces of the story it tells. Instead, it spends plenty of time marveling the beauty and charm of the three cities its main protagonists come from -- Hamburg, Paris, and New York.

Highsmith’s novel, however, is really used only as a foundation in this film. Everything else is a product of Wenders’ imagination -- the characterizations, the unique structure of the narrative, the bold visual style. (Cinematographer Robby Müller lit large parts of the film with fluorescent lights that make it look really unusual). This, it seems, is the primary reason why people either enthusiastically embrace the film or dismiss it as an unconvincing experiment.

This reviewer thinks that The American Friend fits perfectly in Wenders’ body of work. It sees life as a journey in which people constantly try to find the right path that will lead them to a place where they will feel happy and their existence will make sense. Of course, in Wenders’ films they rarely get there. They struggle, make mistakes and get caught up in strange situations while visiting even stranger places. In The American Friend, Jonathan is just another loner who tries to sort out his life but becomes involved with the wrong people.

There are notable cameos in the film by a few legendary directors: Sam Fueller plays the prominent American gangster, Nicholas Ray is an art forger in New York, and Jean Eustache is a man with multiple identities.

The American Friend Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Wim Wenders' The American Friend arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the leaflet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"Supervised by director Win Wenders and produced by the Win Wenders Stiftung | A Foundation, with support from the German Federal Film Board (FIA) for the digitization of content, this new digital transfer was created in 4K on an ARRISCAN film scanner from the original 35mm negative at ARRI Film & TV services in Berlin, where the film was also restored. The original monaural soundtrack was remastered in 5.1 surround from the original tapes by the Win Wenders Stiftung | A Foundation and approved by the director.

Commissioned by: The Win Wenders Stiftung | A Foundation.
Financing and coordination: Lura Schmidt, Francesca Hecht, Bernd Eichhorn, Johanna Muth.
Transfer supervisors: Wim and Donata Wenders.
Colorist: Philipp Ogassa/ARRI Film & TV Services, Berlin."

The new transfer, which was supervised by director Wim Winders, is quite wonderful. Depth and clarity remain very pleasing -- even in areas of the film where shadows and darkness become quite prominent -- and fluidity is very good. In fact, next to depth the much improved image balance will likely be the most substantial upgrade for many viewers who have previously experienced the film on DVD. There is a very fine layer of grain throughout the entire film; problematic adjustments have not been performed. During a few indoor sequences the grain appears a bit loose, but depth remains excellent. There are no traces of sharpening adjustments. There is a wide range of very healthy and vibrant nuanced colors. Image stability is outstanding. Finally, there are no cuts, damage marks, debris, stains, or warped frames to report in our review. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The American Friend Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: German DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (with large portions of English). Optional English and English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I would have preferred to have a mono track as well, but the newly remixed track is indeed very good. Jürgen Knieper's music is subtle but has a very important role in the film. The dialog is well balanced with it and remains crisp and clear. However, some viewers will likely have to use the English subtitles for portions of the English dialog because some of the accents can be quite thick. There are no pops, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report in our review.

The American Friend Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for The American Friend. In German and English, with optional English subtitles for the German lines (4 min, 1080p).

• Wim Wenders - in this brand new video interview, director Wim Wenders recalls how he began exploring Patricia Highsmith's work and how consequently the idea for The American Friend emerged, and discusses Tom Ripley's persona and the casting process, his interactions with Bruno Ganz and Dennis Hopper during the shooting of the film, the tension between the two actors, Sam Fuller's contribution to the film, his working relationship with cinematographer Robby Müller as well as his interesting decision to lit large parts of the film with fluorescent lights, etc. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in New York City in September 2015. In English, not subtitled. (38 min, 1080p).

• Bruno Ganz - in this brand new video interview, actor Bruno Ganz explains how director Wim Wenders helped him transition from theater to cinema (prior to The American Friend, he had had only one prominent appearance in Eric Rohmer's film The Marquise of O), and discusses Wim Wenders' fascination with America, the character he plays (Jonathan Zimmermann) and some of the dilemmas he faces in the film, his interaction with Dennis Hopper immediately after his arrival from Manila where he had worked with Francis Ford Coppola on Apocalypse Now, Sam Fuller's charisma, etc. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in Zurich in September 2015. In German, with optional English subtitles. (28 min, 1080p).

• Audio Commentary - this audio commentary, which was recorded in 2002, features director Wim Wenders and the late Dennis Hopper. There is plenty of excellent information about the film's production history -- how the rights to Patricia Highsmith's Ripley's Game were secured, how the different locations where key sequences from the film were shot were chosen, how the sound recording was done, etc.) -- the casting of Dennis Hopper (John Cassavetes was also considered for the role of Tom Ripley), the original title of the film which was Framed, the film's visual style and atmosphere, some of Robby Müller's more unusual framing choices, the relationships between the main characters, etc.

• Deleted Scenes - presented here is a collection of deleted scenes with an optional commentary by director Wim Wenders. In English, not subtitled. (35 min, 1080p).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by author Francine Prose.

The American Friend Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A German man's life spins out of control when he begins talking to a shady American art dealer and a French gangster with powerful enemies in The American Friend, one of Wim Wenders' most stylish films. This is the second film in which Patricia Highsmith's character Tom Ripley appeared, though here he is an older and much more dangerous man played by the late Dennis Hopper. The film is quite moody but beautifully lensed by Robby Müller. Criterion's upcoming Blu-ray release is sourced from an excellent new 4K restoration of the film, which should remain its definitive presentation on the home video market. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.