Wolfgang Petersen's war epic "Das Boot" was a spectacular movie success in the 1980s — first in Germany, and then in the US. Moviegoers got a strong adrenaline rush through this claustrophobic German submarine mission set in 1941 in the Atlantic Ocean. The film was nominated for six Oscars.

Among Wolfgang Petersen's work for the cult German crime series "Tatort," one episode from 1977 was so popular that it was later released in theaters as "For Your Love Only." It not only boosted his career; it was also a springboard for the then 16-year-old actress Nastassja Kinski, who played a student having an affair with her professor. The film still regularly airs on German television.

Petersen's next film, "The Consequence" (1977) had many detractors in Germany. It described a gay couple's relationship — a taboo topic back then. Scenes were cut out in the TV version and the Bavarian local TV broadcaster refused to show the film at all — but it nevertheless made its way to movie screens, and received different awards.

Petersen directed the multi-million dollar epic fantasy film "The NeverEnding Story" in 1984. Based on the novel by German author Michael Ende, this blockbuster was filmed in West Germany. Hollywood was awaiting the ambitious filmmaker.

The 1985 science fiction film "Enemy Mine" was partly shot in Germany, but was mainly Hollywood-financed, and US actors Dennis Quaid and Louis Gossett Jr. played the lead roles. For Petersen, it was to be the last film he would shoot in Germany for a long time.

The thriller "Shattered" (1991) was actually Petersen's first US film, but it was the 1993 action film "In the Line of Fire" (1993) that marked the real breakthrough for the German director. The film about an obsessed, ageing former CIA agent (Clint Eastwood) was a box office success.

In 1995, movie theaters released Petersen's "Outbreak," a captivating medical disaster thriller about the outbreak of a deadly new fictional virus in a small African village that then spreads to California. Starring Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman and Donald Sutherland, it was a box office success.

"Air Force One" (1997) was another box office hit. The German director convinced the crowds with a suspenseful action plot involving the kidnapping of the airplane carrying the US president (Harrison Ford) — who defeats the terrorists in the end. The film was criticized in Europe for its heavy US patriotism.

The disaster drama "The Perfect Storm" (2000), based on a non-fiction bestseller by the same name, tells the story of a commercial fishing boat lost at sea. The film featured George Clooney in the role of weather-beaten Captain Billy Tyne.

Production costs for "The Perfect Storm" were high, but they were topped for "Troy," which had a $175-million budget. Not everyone was convinced by the 162-minute tale of the Trojan War starring Brad Pitt. Three years after the premiere, Petersen created a director's cut, adding an extra 40 minutes to his lengthy epic.

Petersen's last Hollywood movie, the 2006 disaster film "Poseidon," was a box office flop. The director finally returned to Germany for his following project, a crime comedy about four urban professionals who plan to rob a bank. "Four Against the Bank" was released in 2016. (This picture gallery has been updated from 2016).