Bernhard Wicki

Bernhard Wicki (28 October 1919 – 5 January 2000) was an Austrian-Swiss actor, film director and screenwriter. He was a key figure in the revitalization of post-war German-language cinema, particularly in West Germany, and also directed several Hollywood films.
His works as a director include his debut 1959 anti-war film Die Brücke, the religious drama The Miracle of Father Malachia (1961), the Friedrich Dürrenmatt adaptation The Visit (1964), and the German segments of the World War II epic The Longest Day (1962). He won four German Film Awards for Best Direction.
Life and career
Wicki studied in the city of Breslau such topics as art history, history and German literature. In 1938, he transferred to the drama school of the Staatliches Schauspielhaus in Berlin. In 1939, because of his membership in the Bündische Jugend, he was imprisoned for many months in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. After his release, he moved to Vienna, then in 1944 to Switzerland.
After World War II, he starred in many films, including Die letzte Brücke (1953) and Es geschah am 20. Juli (1955). He was also a photographer. His first attempt at directing came three years later with the documentary Warum sind sie gegen uns? (1958). He became internationally famous with his 1959 anti-war film Die Brücke, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In 1961 he won the Silver Bear for Best Director at the 11th Berlin International Film Festival for his film The Miracle of Father Malachia. His break in Hollywood came shortly thereafter when he was chosen to direct Marlon Brando and Yul Brynner in the highly acclaimed World War II espionage thriller, Morituri in 1965.
Wicki was a patron of the International Film Festival in Emden-Norderney, which first started in 1990.
Wicki first married Agnes Fink, a fellow acting colleague, and later married Elisabeth Endriss, also a colleague. In the documentary Verstörung – und eine Art von Poesie (June 2007), Elisabeth Wicki-Endriss portrayed Wicki's life and work.
Wicki is buried at the Nymphenburger cemetery in Munich (grave number 4-1-23).
In 2001, the Bernhard Wicki Memorial Fund was established in Munich. Since 2002, it has awarded a yearly prize, The Bridge, to selected films that promote peace. A further prize of 15,000 euros, endowed in 2006, is presented in his name in the city of Emden.
Selected filmography
Director
Warum sind sie gegen uns? (1958)
Die Brücke (1959)
The Miracle of Father Malachia (1961)
The Longest Day (with Ken Annakin and Andrew Marton) (1962)
The Visit (1964)
Morituri (1965)
(1971)
Karpfs Karriere (1971)
The Conquest of the Citadel (1977)
(1984)
Sansibar oder Der letzte Grund (1987)
Spider's Web (1989)
Actor
Der Postmeister (1940) – Statist (uncredited)
The Falling Star (1950) – Otto
Young Heart Full of Love (1953) – Vitus Zingerl
The Last Bridge (1954) – Boro
Circus of Love (1954) – Franz
Prisoners of Love (1954) – Franz Martens
The Mosquito (1954) – Hugo
A Double Life (1954) – Rainer von Hohenburg
The Eternal Waltz (1954) – Johann Strauß Sohn
Children, Mother, and the General (1955) – Hauptmann Dornberg
Jackboot Mutiny (1955) – Oberst Graf v. Stauffenberg
Du mein stilles Tal (1955) – Erik Linden
Roses in Autumn (1955) – Geert von Innstetten
Fruit Without Love (1956) – Dr. Kolb
Weil du arm bist, mußt du früher sterben (1956) – Dr. Grüter
(1956) – Dr. Jan Vlimmen
Queen Louise (1957) – Zar Alexander
(1957) – Robert
The Zurich Engagement (1957) – Paul Frank
Es wird alles wieder gut (1957) – Unterhaltungschef Dr. Johann Krapp
Escape from Sahara (1958) – Luigi Locatelli
The Cat (1958) – Bernard Werner
Restless Night (1958) – Priest Brunner
Frauensee (1958) – Karl Anton Graf Chur
(1959) – Tex Richards
Stage Fright (1960) – Rohrbach
La Notte (1961) – Tommaso Garani
L'amore difficile (1962) – Hans (segment "Il serpente")
Eleven Years and One Day (1963) – Karl Rodenbach
Portuguese Vacation (1963) – Bernard
(1969) – Vaeter / Father
Carlos (1971, TV Movie) – Philipp
Crime and Passion (1976) – Rolf
Derrick (1977, Season 4, Episode 3: "Eine Nacht im Oktober") – Dr. Lechner
The Glass Cell (1978) – Police Commissioner Österreicher
Despair (1978) – Orlovius
The Left-Handed Woman (1978) – Verleger
The Man in the Rushes (1978) – Sir Gerald
Death Watch (1980) – Katherine's Dad
Derrick (1980, Season 7, Episode 9: "Zeuge Yuroski") – Karl Yurowski
In the Land of Cockaigne (1981, TV Movie) – James Türkheimer
(1982) – Lehrter
The Mysterious Stranger (1982, TV Movie) – Heinrich Stein
Spring Symphony (1983) – Baron von Fricken
A Love in Germany (1983) – Dr. Borg
Dangerous Moves (1984) – Pühl
Paris, Texas (1984) – Doctor Ulmer
Bereg (1984) – Weber, Verleger
A Kind of Anger (1984, TV Movie) – Philipp Sanger
(1985) – George Abbot
(1986) – Von der Mühle
Spider's Web (1989) – Herr Waizenbaum
The Betrothed (1989, TV Miniseries) – Gentleman's Father
Martha and I (1990) – Narrator (scenes deleted)
Success (1991) – Bichler
Das Geheimnis (1993) – Dr. Virgil Schwarz
Prinzenbad (1993) – Dany
Decorations and awards
1958: Film Award in Silver (documentary) for Warum sind sie gegen uns? (Why they are against us?)
1960: The Golden Bowl, Film Award (Director), German Film Critics Award, German Youth Film Award, Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination (Best Foreign Film) for Die Brücke (The Bridge)
1960: United Nations award for contribution to peace
1961: Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival (Best Director) for The Miracle of Father Malachia
1962: Bambi
1972: Golden Camera (Director) and Film Award (Director) for Das falsche Gewicht (The wrong weight)
1976: Film Award for many years of excellent work in the German film industry
1977: Film Award in Silver for The Conquest of the Citadel
1979: St. Jakob Prandtauer Prize for Science and Art of the city of St Pölten
1982: Great Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
1985: Film Award (Director) for Die Grünstein-Variante (The greenstone variant)
1986: Helmut Käutner Award
1986: Critics Award for Die Grünstein-Variante
1988: Adolf Grimme Award for Sansibar oder Der letzte Grund (Zanzibar or The last Reason)
1989: Film Award (Special Film Award 40 years Federal Republic of Germany) for Die Brücke
1989: Bavarian Film Award
1989: Honorary Award of the Abendzeitung (Evening Paper)
1989: Academy Award nomination (Best Foreign Film) and Film Award (Director) for The Spider's Web
1990: Berlin International Film Festival: Berlinale Camera
1990: Schwabing Art Prize (prize)
1992: Universum Film AG prize
1992: Bavarian Order of Merit
1998: DIVA Award
1999: Medal "Munich shines" in gold
2000: Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class
References
Further reading
Peter Zander: Bernhard Wicki. Bertz + Fischer Verlag, Berlin 1995, 2. überarbeitete Auflage,
Richard Blank: Jenseits der Brücke. Bernhard Wicki. Ein Leben für den Film, 1999
Andreas Weber (ed.): Er kann fliegen lassen. Gespräche und Texte über Bernhard Wicki. Literaturedition Niederösterreich, St. Pölten 2000,
Filmfestival Nordrhein-Westfalen (Hrsg.): Sanftmut und Gewalt – Der Regisseur und Schauspieler Bernhard Wicki. Filmographie, Biographie, Essays, Interview. Mit Beiträgen von Robert Fischer (Vorwort), Alexander Kluge, Laurens Straub, Wilhelm Roth, Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Hans Abich, Gunther Witte, Hermann Barth. edition filmwerkstatt, Essen 2004,
Inka Graeve Ingelmann (Hrsg.): Bernhard Wicki. Fotografien. Dumont Literatur und Kunst Verlag, Köln 2005, Gebunden Ausstellungskatalog
Elisabeth Endriss-Wicki: Die Filmlegende Bernhard Wicki. Verstörung – und eine Art von Poesie. Henschel Verlag, Berlin 2007,
Michel Quint, "Die schrecklichen Gärten". btb-Verlag 2002, (Übersetzung von Elisabeth Edl), Original edition: "Effroyables Jardins", Editions Joelle Losfeld, Paris 2000
External links
Photographs and literature
1919 births
2000 deaths
Austrian film directors
Austrian male film actors
Austrian male television actors
People from Sankt Pölten
Swiss film directors
Swiss male film actors
Swiss male television actors
German-language film directors
Silver Bear for Best Director recipients
Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class
20th-century Swiss male actors
20th-century Austrian actors
Best Director German Film Award winners