Horst Rainer Erler (26 August 1933 – 8 November 2023) was a German director, screenwriter, writer and producer.

Life and career

Born in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, Erler grew up in Solln and entered the film industry as the assistant director of

Rudolf Jugert Rudolf Jugert (1907–1979) was a German film director. Selected filmography * ''Film Without a Title'' (1948) * ''Hello, Fraulein!, Hallo, Fräulein!'' (1949) * ''A Day Will Come (1950 film), A Day Will Come'' (1950) * ''Nights on the Road'' (195 ...

, a role he fulfilled for eight years. During his career he directed over 40 feature films and five stage works, and wrote 14 novels and more than two dozen short stories. In 1972, Rainer Erler founded the production company Pentagramma with his wife Renate. He had his international breakout in 1979 with the television thriller film '' Fleisch'', which launched the career of

Jutta Speidel Jutta Speidel (; born 26 March 1954) is a German actress. She had her first television role at the age of 15. Jutta Speidel appeared in ''Schulmadchen Report 1'' (1970), which was directed by Ernst Hofbauer and produced by Wolf C. Hartwig. She ac ...

, was sold in over 120 countries and even released theatrically in a large number of them. His films were often characterized by an original mixture of

exploitation Exploitation may refer to: *Exploitation of natural resources *Exploitation of labour **Forced labour *Exploitation colonialism *Slavery **Sexual slavery and other forms *Oppression *Psychological manipulation In arts and entertainment *Exploita ...

, science fiction and political themes. Active until 2000, during his career Erler received numerous awards and honours, notably the

Deutscher Science Fiction Preis Deutscher Science Fiction Preis is a German literary award. Together with the Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis, it is one of the most prestigious awards for German science fiction literature. The award was established in 1985 by the , a German Science Fiction ...

and the

Federal Cross of Merit The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

. In his later years he moved to

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, Australia, where he died on 8 November 2023, at the age of 90.

Selected filmography

* ' (1962, TV film) * ''Sonderurlaub'' (1963, TV film) * ''The Ringer'' (1963, TV film) — based on the eponymous play by

Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was a war correspondent during th ...

* ' (1963, TV film) * ' (1964, TV film) — based on the novel ''False Bounty'' by * ' (1966, TV film) * ' (1967) * ''Endkampf'' (1968, TV film) * ' (1968) * ''Der Attentäter'' (1969, TV film) * ' (1970, TV film) * ' (1972, TV series, 16 episodes) * ''Der Amateur'' (1972, TV film) — based on the novel ''Think of a Number'' by

Anders Bodelsen Anders Bodelsen (11 February 1937 – 17 October 2021) was a Danish writer primarily associated with the 1960 new-realism wave in Danish literature, along with Christian Kampmann and Henrik Stangerup. Bodelsen preferred the social-realistic styl ...

* ''

Das Blaue Palais Das Blaue Palais is a series of five TV feature films written and directed by German author and filmmaker . All five stories about the research and findings of an interdisciplinary scientific project have also been published as novels by Goldmann ...

'' ( ''The Blue Palace'', 1974–1976, TV series, 5 episodes) * ' ( ''The Rubbish Tip'', 1975, TV film) * ' (1975, TV film) * ' (1977, TV film) * ' (1978, TV film) * '' Fleisch'' ( ''Spare Parts'', 1979, TV film) * ''

A Guru Comes ''Ein Guru kommt'' is a 1980 German television film and is also Bruce Willis' second film role, as an uncredited extra. The film in English is called ''A Guru Comes''. Plot A failed opera singer rises to the leader of a new religious community. ...

'' ( ''Here Comes the Guru'', 1980, TV film) * ' (1981, TV film) * ' (1984, TV film) * ''

Nuclear Conspiracy Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: *Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics *Nuclear space *Nuclear ...

'' (1986, TV film) * ' (1989, TV film) * ' ( ''A Fatal Assignment'', 1991, TV film)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Erler, Rainer 1933 births 2023 deaths People from Munich German film directors German television directors German screenwriters German science fiction writers German male novelists German male short story writers German expatriates in Australia Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany