Petersen died Friday at his home in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Brentwood after a battle with pancreatic cancer, said representative Michelle Bega.

Petersen, born in the north German port city of Emden, made two features before his 1982 breakthrough, “Das Boot,” then the most expensive movie in German film history. 

Wolfgang Petersen, blockbuster filmmaker of ‘Das Boot,’ die

The 149-minute film (the original cut ran 210 minutes) chronicled the intense claustrophobia of life aboard a doomed German >

Wolfgang Petersen, blockbuster filmmaker of ‘Das Boot,’ die

U-boat during the Battle of the Atlantic, with Jürgen Prochnow as the submarine’s commander. 

Wolfgang Petersen, blockbuster filmmaker of ‘Das Boot,’ die

Heralded as an antiwar masterpiece, “Das Boot” was nominated for six Oscars 

Wolfgang Petersen, blockbuster filmmaker of ‘Das Boot,’ die

Petersen, born in 1941, recalled as a child running alongside American ships as they threw down food. 

In the confusion of postwar Germany, Petersen — who started out in theater before attending Berlin’s Film and Television Academy in the late 1960s 

Wolfgang Petersen, blockbuster filmmaker of ‘Das Boot,’ die

gravitated toward Hollywood films with clear clashes of good and evil. John Ford was a major influence. 

“In school they never talked about the time of Hitler -- they just blocked it out of their minds and concentrated on rebuilding Germany,” Petersen told The Los Angeles Times in 1993.  

Wolfgang Petersen, the German filmmaker dies at 81  Read complete Article Below. source: https://www.cleveland.com/