The American Friend (German: Der amerikanische Freund) is a 1977 film by Wim Wenders, loosely adapted from the novel Ripley's Game by Patricia Highsmith. The film is of the neo-noir genre, and features Dennis Hopper as career criminal Tom Ripley and Bruno Ganz as Jonathan Zimmermann, a terminally ill picture framer whom Ripley coerces into becoming an assassin.
Though primarily based on Ripley's Game (1974), the film also uses elements, uncredited, of Ripley Under Ground, which was later adapted to film in 2005.The source novel was cinematically adapted a second time in 2002 as Ripley's Game.
Tom Ripley (Dennis Hopper) is a wealthy American living in Hamburg, Germany. He is involved in an artwork forgery scheme, in which he appears at auctions to bid on forged paintings produced by an accomplice, artificially driving up the price. At one of these auctions, he is introduced to Jonathan Zimmermann (Bruno Ganz), a picture framer who is dying of a rare and unspecified blood disease. Zimmerman refuses to shake Ripley's hand when introduced, coldly saying, "I've heard of you" before walking away.
Ripley is approached by an associate, a French criminal named Raoul Minot (Gérard Blain), who asks him if he can murder a rival gangster. Ripley turns him down, but suggests getting Zimmerman to do it in order to get back at him for the slight. He spreads rumors about Zimmerman's illness taking a turn for the worse. Minot then approaches Zimmerman with the offer to kill the gangster for a great deal of money that he can put away for his wife and son after he dies.
Clasificación [ CM DVD 00880 ] Disponible en DVD, 4 Piso BJB)