news

German Critic Peter W. Jansen Died
My German Father
By Andrei Plakhov

Peter W. Jansen, prominent German film critic and radio journalist, has passed away at the age of 78 after a long illness.

Peter Jansen belonged to the post-war generation of left-intellectuals who deeply felt and reflected the guilt of the German nation. Once I had a discussion with him regarding the American bombing of Yugoslavia, and Peter shocked me by saying it would be fair if Germany was completely destroyed in WWII and so paid for the crimes of Nazism in such a way.

He was close to the major figures of the new German cinema — Fassbinder, Schloendorff, Reitz — making many radio dialogues and interviews with them. His analysis of Werner Herzog's films belongs to the most profound, and his countless publications on Bertolucci, Kubrick, Tarkovski, Sokurov and many other internationally acclaimed directors give an example of his devoted professional work over five decades. He was a key cultural speaker for the radio station Südwestfunk in Baden-Baden and ran a program "Jansens Kino" about his favorite films. He published his articles also in the Russian "Kinovedcheskiye Zapiski", the Polish "Kino", and the Swiss "Filmbulletin". He was the owner of a unique collection of videotapes and film soundtracks.

I admired his high moral and intellectual standards, sharp sense of humor, rare professionalism and workaholic nature. Moreover, I enjoyed a friendship with him and his family for many years and considered him my German father.

Andrei Plakhov
© FIPRESCI 2008

top