Horst Rainer Erler (26 August 1933 – 8 November 2023) was a German director, screenwriter, writer and producer.
Rainer Erler | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 26 August 1933 |
| Died | 8 November 2023 (aged 90) Perth, Western Australia, Australia |
| Occupation(s) | Director Screenwriter |
Life and career
editBorn 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
edit- Seelenwanderung (1962, TV film)
- Sonderurlaub (1963, TV film)
- The Ringer (1963, TV film) — based on the eponymous play by Edgar Wallace
- Honours for Sale (1963, TV film)
- Lydia muss sterben (1964, TV film) — based on the novel False Bounty by Stephen Ransome
- Das Bohrloch (1966, TV film)
- Fast ein Held (1967)
- Endkampf (1968, TV film)
- Professor Columbus (1968)
- Der Attentäter (1969, TV film)
- The Delegation (1970, TV film)
- Jan Billbusch (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 (a.k.a. The Rubbish Tip, 1975, TV film)
- The Last Holidays (1975, TV film)
- Operation Ganymed (1977, TV film)
- Plutonium (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 (1981, TV film)
- Das schöne Ende dieser Welt (1984, TV film)
- Nuclear Conspiracy (1986, TV film)
- Sugar (1989, TV film)
- The Kaltenbach Papers (a.k.a. A Fatal Assignment, 1991, TV film)
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "Nachruf: Rainer Erler ist tot". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). 8 November 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Rainer Erler: Filmregisseur ist tot". Der Spiegel (in German). 9 November 2023. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
