RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Found a Bug? Squash It! Report Bugs Here
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | 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
  • 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]

Reviews for The American Friend

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 16 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A lovingly crafted exploration of friendship and desperation.

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

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
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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

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

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
 
 
1 - 16 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View
See All

More DVDs

Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
25% 25% Four Christmases
68% 68% Funny People
95% 95% Star Trek
14% 14% The Ugly Truth

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
83% 83% Harry Potter and the H…
67% 67% Public Enemies
75% 75% Julie & Julia
95% 95% The Cove
85% 85% World's Greatest Dad

More New Releases…

What’s Hot On RT

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

5 facts straight from the cast.

Disney Animation

Disney Animation

We chart the studio's classics.

Avatar

Avatar

An exclusive look at the human hardware.

Eric Bana

Eric Bana

The Star Trek star talks cars with RT.

Other News

  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Malkovich and Hathaway Rumored for Spider-Man 4 Source: Movieline
28
  • Avatar Picks Up Golden Globes Buzz Source: HitFix
65
  • Disney's Upcoming Hand-Drawn Movies Revealed Source: Slashfilm
19
  • Cameron Explains Blue Avatar Aliens Source: MTV
37
  • Matt Damon Expects Greengrass to Return for Fourth Bourne Source: Collider.com
10
  • Burton's Dark Shadows Rising in 2010 Source: Sci Fi Wire
11
  • Exclusive: The World of Where the Wild Things Are
27
  • Peter Jackson Talks Hobbit, LotR Blu-ray Source: Collider.com
20
  • Woman Jailed for Filming New Moon Screening Source: Chicago Sun-Times
18
  • McG Has Plans for Fifth and Sixth Terminator Movies Source: Gizmodo
207
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Five Favorite Films with Jason Reitman
57
  • Critics Consensus: Everybody's Fine Is Just OK
50
  • 10 Horrifically Profitable Films
46
  • Sundance 2010: RT's 10 Most Anticipated Movies
41
  • Five Favorite Films With Avatar's Sam Worthington
39
  • Weekly Ketchup: Tron Team to Remake The Black Hole
37
  • Total Recall: Keith David's Best Movies
30
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: The Blind Side Takes the Lead
29
  • Awards Tour: National Board of Review Winners List!
28
  • Friday Harvest: Iron Man 2, Harry Potter, and more!
24
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Five Favorite Films With Avatar's Sam Worthington
39
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
2
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
12
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
23
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
22
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
9
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • The American Friend at Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh Links

Featured
RT on YouTube
RT on YouTube External Link

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

RT on Twitter
RT on Twitter External Link

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| 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.