Rainer Erler

German director and screenwriter (1933–2023)
Rainer Erler
Born26 August 1933 (1933-08-26)
Munich, Bavaria, Germany
Died8 November 2023 (2023-11-09) (aged 90)
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Occupation(s)Director
Screenwriter

Horst Rainer Erler (26 August 1933 – 8 November 2023) was a German director, screenwriter, writer and producer.

Life and career

Born in Munich, Erler grew up in Solln and entered the film industry as the assistant director of Rudolf Jugert, a role he fulfilled for eight years.[1] During his career he directed over 40 feature films and five stage works, and wrote 14 novels and more than two dozen short stories.[2]

In 1972, Rainer Erler founded the production company Pentagramma with his wife Renate.[1] He had his international breakout in 1979 with the television thriller film Fleisch, which launched the career of Jutta Speidel, was sold in over 120 countries and even released theatrically in a large number of them.[1][2] His films were often characterized by an original mixture of exploitation, science fiction and political themes.[2]

Active until 2000, during his career Erler received numerous awards and honours, notably the Deutscher Science Fiction Preis and the Federal Cross of Merit.[1] In his later years he moved to Perth, Australia, where he died on 8 November 2023, at the age of 90.[1][2]

Selected filmography

  • Seelenwanderung [de] (1962, TV film)
  • Sonderurlaub (1963, TV film)
  • The Ringer (1963, TV film) — based on the eponymous play by Edgar Wallace
  • Honours for Sale [de] (1963, TV film)
  • Lydia muss sterben [de] (1964, TV film) — based on the novel False Bounty by Stephen Ransome [fr]
  • Das Bohrloch [de] (1966, TV film)
  • Fast ein Held [de] (1967)
  • Endkampf (1968, TV film)
  • Professor Columbus [de] (1968)
  • Der Attentäter (1969, TV film)
  • The Delegation [de] (1970, TV film)
  • Jan Billbusch [de] (1972, TV series, 16 episodes)
  • Der Amateur (1972, TV film) — based on the novel Think of a Number by Anders Bodelsen
  • Das Blaue Palais (a.k.a. The Blue Palace, 1974–1976, TV series, 5 episodes)
  • The Garbage Dump [de] (a.k.a. The Rubbish Tip, 1975, TV film)
  • The Last Holidays [de] (1975, TV film)
  • Operation Ganymed [de] (1977, TV film)
  • Plutonium [de] (1978, TV film)
  • Fleisch (a.k.a. Spare Parts, 1979, TV film)
  • A Guru Comes (a.k.a. Here Comes the Guru, 1980, TV film)
  • Der Spot oder Fast eine Karriere [de] (1981, TV film)
  • Das schöne Ende dieser Welt [de] (1984, TV film)
  • Nuclear Conspiracy (1986, TV film)
  • Sugar [de] (1989, TV film)
  • The Kaltenbach Papers [de] (a.k.a. A Fatal Assignment, 1991, TV film)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Nachruf: Rainer Erler ist tot". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). 8 November 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d "Rainer Erler: Filmregisseur ist tot". Der Spiegel (in German). 9 November 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.

External links

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