You forgot to mention The State of Things and Kings of the Road. Those are both fantastic, and comparable at least to the two you listed.
Wenders is spotty after Wings of Desire. Actually, no – he sucks after that movie.
I wouldn´t say that he is on the same level as the directors you mentioned and doesn´t really deserve a spot amongst the masters of cinema who constantly made outstanding and groundbreaking films throughout their career. Those two films Wenders made in the 80s may be the only works he made that really stand out, and Alice in the Cities as well as The State of Things have also been great, but his whole body of work with about 15 films I´ve seen so far rather consists of unbalanced but interesting films. I don´t think that he reached the same level of creativity and artistic expression one can find in the overall works of his German contemporaries Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Werner Herzog, but one must aknowledge that he also didn´t turn commercial like TomTykwer, and generally continues to make rather small and independent movies.
“….he also didn´t turn commercial like TomTykwer,…”
Did he have the opportunity to turn commercial – he certainly needed the money from time to time
And If you make a bad film, what can you do?
You can’t just shelve it – you owe money – so there it goes diminishing your reputation into the future.
This could be why Malick is sooooo cautious
I like UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD a great deal, though it’s time to revisit it. I “digged” its fanciful storytelling way back when and was actually quite inspired by it. LISBON STORY is quite good as well… and, based on what I’ve seen, I’ll take Wenders over Antonioni and Fassbinder without hesitation, and maybe even over Godard.
Since becoming a “Born Again” his career has fallen apart.
UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD:
which version?
I don’t know if I trust Wim with that much of my time.
What do you mean David? I don’t know anything about Wenders at all.
Bis ans Ende der Welt (1991)
Lisbon Story (1994)
Land of Plenty (2004)
Don’t Come Knocking (2005)
are all very good films in my opinion.
The one I saw is the 158 min. version. I saw it on cable television a couple of years after it was released. I still remember it as one of the most exhilarating movie-watching experiences I’ve ever had… It was, though, another time.
There is much to be had from his books of photography. I go back to them frequently. Say what you want, Wenders is a superb visual artist, as good as anyone. There is no question about his earlier work. It’s the later films, from 2000 onwards, that seem problematic. I’m going to take a shot here and suggest that when he became enamored of digital cameras, that is when trouble began. The work he and Robby Muller created using film is beautiful. What digital work of his can compare with Paris Texas? It doesn’t. Then, there is his predilection for rambling storytelling which might be a hindrance for many. I’m just not sure what the reason is. He’s doing a thriller now, in Japan. I hope he comes back strong.
My sense of Wenders is that he has a lot of ‘dive’, but the quality of the outcome depends on those around him to greater degree than most masters.
This would account for the unevenness of his oeuvre.
A good director. I think he has been especially good at shooting urban scenes and generating an alienating feel for the city.
One of the greats? No, just doesn’t have the body of work.
But that shot from the parking lot at the end of Paris, Texas …
Damn this is disappointing. I recently saw WoD and was blown away. I was hoping his other films would be as good.
has a lot of ‘drive’
Shbe drive as in energy
The American Friend is worth a look. Paris, Texas is one of the most affecting masterpieces of the 80s. I love Alekan’s black and white cinematography for Wings of Desire. But I think Wenders was extremely fortunate to work with people at the top of their game.
I’m working on a review of Marina De Van’s 2002 directorial debut
In My Skin.
I guess I am gonna question whether it is art.
Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean one should not see it – it means one should see it for the definition or context it provides.
So you should love WoD and see his other films to know why you love WoD so much.
@Arthur S. — About five or six years ago he became a Fundie. It doesn’t look like he’ll make a film as fascinating as “The State of Things” ever again.
Best title for me, Wender’s “The Goalkeeper’s Fear of the Penalty Kick”….
Wenders a fundamentalist? Which sect? Jehova’s Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventist? And how did that happen?
Funny…he never seemed the type. Of his movies, I love ALICE IN THE CITIES to bits and pieces. And I plan on seeing THE STATE OF THINGS tonight.
Wim Wenders has made more than a few undeniably great films:
Alice in the Cities
The Goalie’s Anxiety at the Penalty Kick
Wings of Desire
The Wrong Move
Room 666
Kings of the Road
Paris, Texas
The State of Things
The American Friend is also worthwhile, and his recent Twelve Miles to Trona short (from this compilation) was pretty good too.
Plus, I have yet to watch many of his lesser known efforts, and it wouldn’t at all surprise me if there happened to be some neglected gems in there.
Yes, the likes of End of Violence and The Million Dollar Hotel are not very good movies, but as far as I’m concerned if someone makes a film as powerful and inspired as Wings of Desire, he can do whatever the hell he wants afterwards and still be considered one of the better filmmakers of his generation.
Also, I don’t know much about Wenders’s personal life (and frankly, I don’t care to), but if I had to guess, I’d say the apparent decline in the quality of his output has more to do with him becoming hugely successful than it does a change in personal beliefs.
Wenders’ work in the 80s was never outdone, imo. His was often flawed to a fault. He left many flaws in his work as not to break from the spontaneity of the moment and for better aesthetics, but I think that was a flawed philosophy, like spilling paint on the Mona Lisa and leaving it because “it happened naturally.” He’s still one-of-kind, though, no doubt. Love “Wings,” “Paris” and “Alice in the Cities.” Can’t wait for all of the Criterion editions now in the works.
Paris, Texas is my favorite film of all time, and Kings of the Road was extraordinarily affecting. I can’t wait to check out more of his earlier work.
Wenders was a true master from the early 70s through the early 80s. Films like Alice In The Cities, Kings of The Road, The State Of Things and The American Friend are monuments of the New German Cinema Movement.
I prefer his earlier films.
I don’t know if he’s a master director but he’s got one of the greatest first names in the history of cinema.
Wenders would have been a 5-star perfection were it not for his films after mid-90’s….
sorry to say this Grey Daisies but Don’t Come Knockin’ is probably one of the most self-repetitive films by a major auteur like Wenders used to be…
Yes! Yes! Yes! He is master/auteur but often difficult and slow—certainly one of our best living directors.
There is a certain kind of filmmaker, drawn to genre, who can’t, due to an intellectual turn of mind, wholly invest himself in the idea of it. So it becomes a scaffold they can manipulate. They deconstruct it, undermine it, however you want to put it. Wenders is primarily a humanist who sometimes has used genre as it allows him to muse upon matters existential. Sometimes he can come off as solemn. Whereas someone like Jarmusch, who has a similar sensibility, and an affinity for genre, employs a dry comedic approach. A little ironic distance. A sense of absurdity. It serves him well.
Robert W Peabody III
One really great movie (Wings of Desire) and one great movie (Paris Texas)
Does this make him a master?
How do we define a master?
Honestly, is he on the same level as Kurasowa, Ozu, Fassbinder, Bergman, Antonioni, de Sica, Fellini, or Godard?
The making of Wings suggests it was screw up in process. I consider it as much Peter Handke’s film as Wenders.
Dunno, maybe two good ones is enough….