RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / The American Friend
The American Friend

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

The American Friend (1977)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
88 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:16

Fresh:14

Rotten:2

Average Rating:7.2/10

Runtime: 2 hrs 7 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Jonathan Zimmermann, a German picture-framer, is dying of a rare blood disease. Despite his illness, the happily married Jonathan does his best to live each day to the fullest with his wife and... Jonathan Zimmermann, a German picture-framer, is dying of a rare blood disease. Despite his illness, the happily married Jonathan does his best to live each day to the fullest with his wife and child. But when Tom Ripley, a cunning American gangster, learns of Jonathan's sickness, he convinces the dying man--deeply concerned about his family's financial future--to work as a hit man for a big payoff. Will Jonathan get in over his head by making a deal that could ruin what's left of his life? German director Wim Wenders delivers a sensitive, film-noirish tribute to the American gangster film, based on the novel RIPLEY'S GAME by Patricia Highsmith. [More]

Starring: Dennis Hopper, Bruno Ganz, Lisa Kreuzer, Gérard Blain

Starring: Dennis Hopper, Bruno Ganz, Lisa Kreuzer, Gérard Blain, Nicholas Ray, Samuel Fuller

Director: Wim Wenders

Director: Wim Wenders
Screenwriter: Wim Wenders
Composer: Jurgen Knieper

[See More Credits]

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Jan 7, 2003

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for The American Friend

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 16 (sorted by date)
Text View
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

By refusing to explain Ripley, this gets closer to Highsmith’s character than any other film version.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
10/22/07
Kim Newman
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine

A gripping Hitchockian thriller based on a novel by Patricia Highsmith.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
10/22/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide

No review available.

comment Comment
06/29/07
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

...a slow-moving yet occasionally thrilling adaptation...

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
12/21/06
David Nusair
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

Moody and intriguing, this is one of Wenders' most accessible films, effective as a Hitchockian thriller (Strangers on a Train), existential character study, and allegory about the corruptible yet irrevrsible impact of American pop culture on Germany.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
11/05/06
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Superb adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's novel Ripley's Game, with Hopper as her amiably cynical hero.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Tom Milne
Tom Milne
Time Out

There's something cheerfully perverse about filming a thriller and then tossing out the parts that would help it make sense, but Wim Wenders has a certain success with the method.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
10/23/04
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
06/24/04
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

Enquanto Hopper cria um Tom Ripley inacreditavelmente ridículo, Ganz rouba o filme, que conta com uma direção irregular de Wenders.

comment Comment
03/22/04
Pablo Villaca
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena

No review available.

comment Comment
08/22/03
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

A lovingly crafted exploration of friendship and desperation.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/24/03
Channel 4 Film

No review available.

comment Comment
05/23/03
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

One of those movies that offers a nice viewing experience, but it definitely plays better when you’re watching than when you sit down for analysis.

Full Review Source: Reno Gazette-Journal | comment Comment
03/21/03
Forrest Hartman
Forrest Hartman
Reno Gazette-Journal

A slow burn that slowly peters out

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
03/01/03
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

The mood and visuals of the film carry you away from nagging questions about the plot.

Full Review Source: Goatdog's Movies | comment Comment
02/28/02
Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
Goatdog's Movies

Gripping 1977 American thriller from Wim Wenders that turns back on itself with deadly European irony.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 16 (sorted by date)
Text View
See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
15% 15% The Ugly Truth
98% 98% Up
36% 36% G.I. Joe: The Rise of …
52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1…
45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
68% 68% Funny People
25% 25% Four Christmases
45% 45% Shorts

More New Releases…

See All

RT On Current TV

The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

Learn how you can be part of the show

More...

What’s Hot On RT

Avatar

Avatar

Watch an exclusive behind-the-scenes video!

Box Office

Box Office

New Moon #1, breaks TDK records

RT's Gift Guide

RT's Gift Guide

Give the best movies, gear, and more!

Ninja Assassin

Ninja Assassin

Learn to train like a ninja in this clip!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Disney Restructuring Has Broad Implications Source: Los Angeles Times
4
  • Joel Silver Talks Ninja Assassin, Sgt. Rock, Lobo, and More Source: Collider.com
1
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
102
  • Idris Elba Joins Thor Source: Hollywood Reporter
112
  • Jackass 3D Coming in 2010? Source: Collider.com
32
  • 6 Reasons 'Twilight' Is Doomed Source: The Wrap
63
  • Forbes Names Hollywood's Most Overpaid Actors Source: Forbes
20
  • Chris Weitz Says He's (Almost) Done with Directing Source: Film School Rejects
26
  • Spider-Man 4 Casting Rumors Multiply Like Rabbits Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily
51
  • McTeigue Says Superman Is "In a Weird Place" Source: MTV
204
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: New Moon Shatters Records
132
  • Critics Consensus: New Moon Wanes
129
  • Tomatometer Watch: Will Twilight's New Moon Dazzle?
96
  • Total Recall: Star-Crossed Lovers
74
  • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
51
  • Five Favorite Films with Werner Herzog
50
  • Friday Harvest: New Moon, Avatar, and more!
31
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
8
  • Ho, ho, ho! It's RT's Great Big Gift Guide!
0
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
8
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
19
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
6
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
16
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
8
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
28
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
14
  • Emma Stone talks Zombieland - RT Interview
41
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • The American Friend at Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh Links

Featured
Star Trek DVD Exclusive
Star Trek DVD Exclusive External Link

TECHLAND gives us a first look at the extras, including Leonard Nimoy's last day on set!

The New Cult Canon
The New Cult Canon External Link

AV Club looks at a beloved cult classic, Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness.

New Moon Portraits
New Moon Portraits External Link

TIME offers us a closer look at the characters from the latest Twilight film.

Unsexiest Men Alive
Unsexiest Men Alive External Link

Moviefone lists their choices for the least attractive men in Hollywood.

Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Follow RT on Twitter External Link

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.