Uli Edel (born Ulrich Edel, 11 April 1947, in Neuenburg am Rhein, Germany) is a German film and television director. He is best known for his work on Christiane F. – Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo (1981), Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989), Body of Evidence (1993), and The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008).
Early Life and Education
Edel studied German philology and theater studies before enrolling at the Hochschule für Fernsehen und Film (University of Television and Film) in Munich, where he studied directing. There, he met producer Bernd Eichinger, with whom he would collaborate on numerous projects. After graduation, he worked as an assistant director and editor for Douglas Sirk.
Career
Edel's first major feature film, Christiane F. – Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo (1981), based on the autobiography of Christiane Felscherinow about heroin addiction, was a major commercial and critical success. In 1989, he directed Last Exit to Brooklyn, an adaptation of Hubert Selby Jr.'s novel, which won him the Bavarian Film Award and the German Film Award for Best Director.
In 1990, Edel moved to Los Angeles and directed numerous American television productions and feature films. His television film Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny (1996) won three Golden Globe Awards, including Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV, and three Emmy Awards. He also directed the erotic thriller Body of Evidence (1993) starring Madonna and Willem Dafoe, the Western Purgatory (1999), the children's film The Little Vampire (2000), the miniseries The Mists of Avalon (2001), Julius Caesar (2002), and Ring of the Nibelungs (2004).
In 2008, Edel reunited with Bernd Eichinger for The Baader Meinhof Complex, a drama about the West German militant group the Red Army Faction. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Later works include the Bushido biopic Zeiten ändern dich (2010), the ZDF miniseries Das Adlon. Eine Familiensaga (2013), the History Channel miniseries Houdini (2014), the supernatural thriller Pay the Ghost (2015) starring Nicolas Cage, and the television series Der Palast (2021).
Awards
- 1990: Bavarian Film Award for Best Director (Last Exit to Brooklyn)
- 1990: German Film Award for Best Director (Last Exit to Brooklyn)
- 1996: Golden Globe Award for Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV (Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny)
- 2000: German Film Award for Best Children's Film (The Little Vampire)
- 2009: Nomination for German Film Award for Best Director (The Baader Meinhof Complex)
Personal Life
Edel is married to Gloria Edel. He has directed episodes of television series including Twin Peaks (Season 2, Episode 14 "Double Play"), Tales from the Crypt, Homicide: Life on the Street, and Oz.
