Uli Edel
Encyclopedia
Uli Edel is a German film director.
, he was accepted into Munich Film School alongside Bernd Eichinger
. Uli befriended him and they started working together on their exercise movies, sharing a love for the nouvelle vague
and Italian neorealism
as well as popular U.S. mainstream cinema.
While still enrolled in film school, Edel started taking acting lessons. He wanted to know about the Stanislavski
and Strasberg
theories. After finishing the studies Uli worked as assistant director with Douglas Sirk
and directed two TV productions.
In 1980 he joined Bernd Eichinger
(production) and Herman Weigel
(screenplay) for the authentic story of adolescent drug addict Christiane F.
, Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo
. It turned out to be a big domestic and international success when it was released a year later. Six years later the three reactivated their partnership once more for another success — Last Exit to Brooklyn
, based on Hubert Selby’s dark, controversial 1964 novel about life on the breadline in 1952 Brooklyn
. It starred Jennifer Jason Leigh
, Stephen Lang
, Jerry Orbach
, Burt Young
, Ricki Lake
, Alexis Arquette
and Sam Rockwell
. A haunting musical score was provided by Mark Knopfler
of rock band Dire Straits
. The film received excellent reviews and won Best Supporting Actress awards from the New York Film Critics Circle and Boston Society of Film Critics
for Leigh's performance as the tough, hard-drinking neighborhood prostitute Tralala, who is gang-raped in the story's tragic climax
. However, the film remained a fringe success, probably because its theme was far too downbeat for mainstream consumption.
Further works include Body of Evidence, which was nominated for six Razzie Awards; Tyson
; Rasputin, which won the Golden Globe for Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV; Little Vampire; Purgatory, starring Sam Shepard
and Eric Roberts
; the 2001 mini series The Mists of Avalon
; and the 2002 mini series Julius Caesar starring Jeremy Sisto
, Christopher Walken
and the late Richard Harris in his penultimate role.
In 2004 he directed a feature film/TV two-parter Sword Of Xanten (aka Ring of the Nibelungs and aka Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King
), based on the Volsunga saga
and the Nibelungenlied
.
In 2008 his film Der Baader Meinhof Komplex
was released in Germany. The critically acclaimed drama was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
Work
After studying theatre science in MunichMunich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, he was accepted into Munich Film School alongside Bernd Eichinger
Bernd Eichinger
Bernd Eichinger was a German film producer and director.- Life and career :Eichinger was born in Neuburg an der Donau. He attended the University of Television and Film Munich in the 1970s, and bought a stake in the fledgling studio company Neue Constantin Film in 1979, becoming its executive...
. Uli befriended him and they started working together on their exercise movies, sharing a love for the nouvelle vague
French New Wave
The New Wave was a blanket term coined by critics for a group of French filmmakers of the late 1950s and 1960s, influenced by Italian Neorealism and classical Hollywood cinema. Although never a formally organized movement, the New Wave filmmakers were linked by their self-conscious rejection of...
and Italian neorealism
Italian neorealism
Italian neorealism is a style of film characterized by stories set amongst the poor and working class, filmed on location, frequently using nonprofessional actors...
as well as popular U.S. mainstream cinema.
While still enrolled in film school, Edel started taking acting lessons. He wanted to know about the Stanislavski
Konstantin Stanislavski
Constantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski , was a Russian actor and theatre director. Building on the directorially-unified aesthetic and ensemble playing of the Meiningen company and the naturalistic staging of Antoine and the independent theatre movement, Stanislavski organized his realistic...
and Strasberg
Lee Strasberg
Lee Strasberg was an American actor, director and acting teacher. He cofounded, with directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931, which was hailed as "America's first true theatrical collective"...
theories. After finishing the studies Uli worked as assistant director with Douglas Sirk
Douglas Sirk
Douglas Sirk was a Danish-German film director best known for his work in Hollywood melodramas in the 1950s.-Life and work:...
and directed two TV productions.
In 1980 he joined Bernd Eichinger
Bernd Eichinger
Bernd Eichinger was a German film producer and director.- Life and career :Eichinger was born in Neuburg an der Donau. He attended the University of Television and Film Munich in the 1970s, and bought a stake in the fledgling studio company Neue Constantin Film in 1979, becoming its executive...
(production) and Herman Weigel
Herman Weigel
Herman Weigel is a German film producer and script writer. He is one of the writers and producer of the television series Hausmeister Krause. Weigel is a graduate of the Munich Academy for Television and Film.-External links:...
(screenplay) for the authentic story of adolescent drug addict Christiane F.
Christiane F.
Christiane F. is a former heroin addict famous for her contribution to the autobiographical book , and the film based on the book, which describes her struggle with various forms of drug addiction during her teens.-Early life:Christiane was born in Hamburg, but her family moved to West Berlin when...
, Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo
Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo (film)
Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo is a 1981 film that portrays the drug scene in West Berlin in the 1970s, based on the novel of the same name written following tape recordings of Christiane F.-Synopsis:...
. It turned out to be a big domestic and international success when it was released a year later. Six years later the three reactivated their partnership once more for another success — Last Exit to Brooklyn
Last Exit to Brooklyn (film)
Last Exit to Brooklyn is a 1989 English-language German drama film, directed by Uli Edel, and based on the eponymous novel by Hubert Selby Jr.- Plot :...
, based on Hubert Selby’s dark, controversial 1964 novel about life on the breadline in 1952 Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
. It starred Jennifer Jason Leigh
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Jennifer Jason Leigh is an American film and stage actress, best known for her roles in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Single White Female, Last Exit to Brooklyn, Georgia and Short Cuts...
, Stephen Lang
Stephen Lang (actor)
Stephen Lang is an American actor and playwright. He started in theatre on Broadway but is well known for his film portrayals of Stonewall Jackson in Gods and Generals and George Pickett in Gettysburg , as well as for his 2009 roles as Colonel Miles Quaritch in Avatar and as Texan lawman Charles...
, Jerry Orbach
Jerry Orbach
Jerome Bernard "Jerry" Orbach was an American actor and singer. He was well known for his starring role as Detective Lennie Briscoe in the Law & Order television series and as the voice of Lumière in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. As well, Orbach was a noted musical theatre star...
, Burt Young
Burt Young
Burt Young is an American actor, painter and author. He is best known for his Academy Award-nominated role as Sylvester Stallone's brother-in-law and friend Paulie in the Rocky film series.-Personal life:...
, Ricki Lake
Ricki Lake
Ricki Pamela Lake is an American actress, producer, and television host. She is best known for her starring role as Tracy Turnblad in the original Hairspray, her ground-breaking documentary film The Business of Being Born, and her talk show which was broadcasted internationally from...
, Alexis Arquette
Alexis Arquette
Alexis Arquette is an American trans woman, actress, musician, and cabaret performer.-Early life:...
and Sam Rockwell
Sam Rockwell
Sam Rockwell is an American actor known for his leading roles in Lawn Dogs, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Choke and Moon, as well as for his supporting roles in The Green Mile, Iron Man 2, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Frost/Nixon, Galaxy Quest, Matchstick Men, The Assassination of...
. A haunting musical score was provided by Mark Knopfler
Mark Knopfler
Mark Freuder Knopfler, OBE is a Scottish-born British guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977...
of rock band Dire Straits
Dire Straits
Dire Straits were a British rock band active from 1977 to 1995, composed of Mark Knopfler , his younger brother David Knopfler , John Illsley , and Pick Withers .Dire Straits' sound drew from a variety of musical influences, including jazz, folk, blues, and came closest...
. The film received excellent reviews and won Best Supporting Actress awards from the New York Film Critics Circle and Boston Society of Film Critics
Boston Society of Film Critics
The Boston Society of Film Critics is an organization of film reviewers from Boston, Massachusetts, United States, based publications.The BSFC was formed in 1981 to make "Boston's unique critical perspective heard on a national and international level by awarding commendations to the best of the...
for Leigh's performance as the tough, hard-drinking neighborhood prostitute Tralala, who is gang-raped in the story's tragic climax
Climax (narrative)
The Climax is the point in the story where the main character's point of view changes, or the most exciting/action filled part of the story. It also known has the main turning point in the story...
. However, the film remained a fringe success, probably because its theme was far too downbeat for mainstream consumption.
Further works include Body of Evidence, which was nominated for six Razzie Awards; Tyson
Tyson (1995 film)
Tyson is a 1995 television film based on the life of American heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson. Directed by Uli Edel, it is an adaptation of the 1987 book Fire and Fear: The Inside Story of Mike Tyson by José Torres, former boxer and former chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission...
; Rasputin, which won the Golden Globe for Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV; Little Vampire; Purgatory, starring Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard is an American playwright, actor, and television and film director. He is the author of several books of short stories, essays, and memoirs, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play Buried Child...
and Eric Roberts
Eric Roberts
Eric Anthony Roberts is an American actor. His career began with King of the Gypsies , earning a Golden Globe nomination for best actor debut. He starred as the protagonist in the 1980 dramatisation of Willa Cather's 1905 short story, Paul's Case...
; the 2001 mini series The Mists of Avalon
The Mists of Avalon
The Mists of Avalon is a 1983 novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley, in which she relates the Arthurian legends from the perspective of the female characters.-Plot introduction:...
; and the 2002 mini series Julius Caesar starring Jeremy Sisto
Jeremy Sisto
Jeremy Merton Sisto is an American actor. Sisto has had recurring roles as Billy Chenowith on the HBO series Six Feet Under and Detective Cyrus Lupo on Law & Order on television and also starred in the films Jesus, Clueless and Thirteen.-Early life:Sisto was born in Grass Valley, California, the...
, Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken is an American stage and screen actor. He has appeared in more than 100 movies and television shows, including Joe Dirt, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, The Prophecy trilogy, The Dogs of War, Sleepy Hollow, Brainstorm, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, At Close Range, King of New...
and the late Richard Harris in his penultimate role.
In 2004 he directed a feature film/TV two-parter Sword Of Xanten (aka Ring of the Nibelungs and aka Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King
Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King
Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King is a fantasy film and mini-series based on the Norse mythology story Völsungasaga and the German epic poem Nibelungenlied, which tells the mythological story of Siegfried the Dragon-Slayer...
), based on the Volsunga saga
Volsunga saga
The Völsungasaga is a legendary saga, a late 13th century Icelandic prose rendition of the origin and decline of the Völsung clan . It is largely based on epic poetry...
and the Nibelungenlied
Nibelungenlied
The Nibelungenlied, translated as The Song of the Nibelungs, is an epic poem in Middle High German. The story tells of dragon-slayer Siegfried at the court of the Burgundians, how he was murdered, and of his wife Kriemhild's revenge....
.
In 2008 his film Der Baader Meinhof Komplex
Der Baader Meinhof Komplex
The Baader Meinhof Complex is a 2008 German film by Uli Edel. Written and produced by Bernd Eichinger, it stars Moritz Bleibtreu, Martina Gedeck and Johanna Wokalek. The film is based on the 1985 German best selling non-fiction book of the same name by Stefan Aust...
was released in Germany. The critically acclaimed drama was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
Selected filmography
- Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof ZooChristiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo (film)Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo is a 1981 film that portrays the drug scene in West Berlin in the 1970s, based on the novel of the same name written following tape recordings of Christiane F.-Synopsis:...
(1981) - Last Exit to BrooklynLast Exit to Brooklyn (film)Last Exit to Brooklyn is a 1989 English-language German drama film, directed by Uli Edel, and based on the eponymous novel by Hubert Selby Jr.- Plot :...
(1989) - Body of Evidence (1993)
- Confessions of a Sorority GirlConfessions of a Sorority GirlConfessions of a Sorority Girl is a 1994 television film directed by Uli Edel. It stars Alyssa Milano and Jamie Luner, who were also together in the sixth season of Melrose Place in 1997. The movie is loosely based on the 1957 film Sorority Girl starring Susan Cabot and Barboura Morris...
(TV) (1994) - Rasputin: Dark Servant of DestinyRasputin: Dark Servant of DestinyRasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny is a biographical 1996 TV film about Rasputin.-Awards:Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny won a Golden Globe for Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for TV. Alan Rickman, starring as Rasputin, won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for his work in this movie...
(TV) (1995) - TysonTyson (1995 film)Tyson is a 1995 television film based on the life of American heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson. Directed by Uli Edel, it is an adaptation of the 1987 book Fire and Fear: The Inside Story of Mike Tyson by José Torres, former boxer and former chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission...
(TV) (1995) - Purgatory (TV) (1999)
- The Mists of AvalonThe Mists of AvalonThe Mists of Avalon is a 1983 novel by Marion Zimmer Bradley, in which she relates the Arthurian legends from the perspective of the female characters.-Plot introduction:...
(TV) (2001) - King of TexasKing of TexasKing of Texas is a 2002 American television film based on William Shakespeare's King Lear directed by Uli Edel.-Plot:The film takes the plot of William Shakespeare's King Lear and places it in the Republic of Texas during the 19th century. Stewart stars as John Lear, a wealthy cattle baron and...
(TV) (2002) - Julius Caesar (TV) (2002)
- Dark Kingdom: The Dragon KingDark Kingdom: The Dragon KingDark Kingdom: The Dragon King is a fantasy film and mini-series based on the Norse mythology story Völsungasaga and the German epic poem Nibelungenlied, which tells the mythological story of Siegfried the Dragon-Slayer...
(2004) - Der Baader Meinhof KomplexDer Baader Meinhof KomplexThe Baader Meinhof Complex is a 2008 German film by Uli Edel. Written and produced by Bernd Eichinger, it stars Moritz Bleibtreu, Martina Gedeck and Johanna Wokalek. The film is based on the 1985 German best selling non-fiction book of the same name by Stefan Aust...
(2008) - Zeiten ändern dichZeiten ändern dichZeiten ändern dich is a German biographical film directed by Uli Edel and starring Bushido, Elyas M'Barek, Moritz Bleibtreu, Karoline Schuch, Fler, Kay One and Nyze. The film is based on Bushido's 2008 autobiography...
(2010)
Awards
- 1989 Bavarian Film AwardsBayerischer FilmpreisThe Bavarian Film Awards have been awarded annually since 1979 by the State Government of Bavaria in Germany for “exceptional achievement in German filmmaking.” Along with the German Film Awards, these are the most highly regarded awards for filmmaking achievement in Germany.The Bavarian Film...
, Best Director http://www.bayern.de/Anlage19170/PreistraegerdesBayerischenFilmpreises-Pierrot.pdf
- 1997 Golden Globes, Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV
External links
- Uli Edel at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...