Shot on location - Films and TV-series: A Most Wanted Man

10 January 2020

Berlin, Germany

Although the film A MOST WANTED MAN is largely set in Hamburg (see Hamburg, Germany), a few scenes were shot in Berlin. The author of the book, John le Carré, worked in both Hamburg and Berlin as a British agent and diplomat..

Brandenburger Gate, Berlin, 4 July 2019

John le Carré was also involved in the production of the movie. In addition to writing the book, he made serveral visits to the set. His sons Simon Cornwell and Stephen Cornwell were producers of the film.
Filming in Berlin in November 2012 took only two days, compared to 38 shooting days in Hamburg. The first scene is a telephone conversation that Michael Axelrod (Herbert Grönemeyer), head of the Secret Service, makes at night.

He drives with his chauffeur on the Straße des 17. Juni with the Brandenburg Gate behind him. This location was undoubtedly chosen to make it immediately clear that this is Berlin.

A Most Wanted Man, 0:16:56

Brandenburger Gate, Berlijn, 1 July 2019

Later in the film, Günther Bachmann (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and his assistant Irna Frey (Nina Hoss), members of an anti-terrorist unit, visit Berlin to meet Axelrod. The Home Office building is actually the Ludwig Erhard Haus, a futuristic-looking building that houses amongst others the Berlin stock exchange. The address of the Ludwig Erhard Haus is Fasanenstraße 85, coincidentally our hotel was also on this street.

A Most Wanted Man, 1:32:57

Ludwig Erhard Haus, Berlin, 29 June 2019

Screenshots © Film4/Demarest Films

19 December 2019

Hamburg, Germany

The third film directed by Anton Corbijn, A MOST WANTED MAN, is based on the book of the same name by John le Carré from 2008. The story is set in Hamburg, where the author worked as a British agent and consul. Warning: the text may give away details of the plot.

Anton Corbijn, Rachel McAdams and Willem Dafoe during
filming in the lobby of hotel Atlantic, as seen in
The Making of A Most Wanted Man, 0:06:58

Issa Karpov (Grigoriy Dobrygin), a Russian-Chechen refugee, illegally comes to Hamburg in the hope of receiving the fortune left to him by his deceased father. Immigration lawyer Annabel Richter (Rachel McAdams) brings him into contact with British banker Tommy Brue (Willem Dafoe). They are soon noticed by a German anti-terror unit led by Günther Bachmann (Philip Seymour Hoffman). The American security service, represented by diplomatic attaché Martha Sullivan (Robin Wright), has also taken an interest.

Filming took place between 21 September and 23 November 2012 at more than 30 locations in Hamburg. A few scenes were filmed in Berlin (see Berlin, Germany). In the movie, Hamburg appears gray and dark, which enhances the grim atmosphere of the story. During our visit the city did not make such a gloomy impression.

At the beginning of the film, Günther Bachmann meets The Admiral (Martin Wuttke) at the Zum Silbersack cafe. He is a shady figure who knows more about the whereabouts of Issa Karpov. The cafe really exists and is located on Silbersackstraße 9, a side street of the Reeperbahn. This area looked pretty beat up. Two scenes were filmed inside the cafe, but during our visit the place was closed.

A Most Wanted Man, 0:10:49

Cafe Zum Silbersack, Hamburg, 27 June 2019

In the evening Günther Bachmann and his assistant Irna Frey (Nina Hoss) are watching the Atlantic Kempinski hotel where Annabel Richter is meeting Tommy Brue. The hotel is also mentioned in the book and can be seen in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies. The lobby was also used for filming, but the hotel does not allow photographing inside. For Philip Seymour Hoffman the Atlantic hotel was familiar territory, he stayed there years earlier when he appeared in a play in Hamburg.

A Most Wanted Man, 0:30:54

Holzdamm, Hamburg, 25 June 2019

A Most Wanted Man, 0:31:39

Atlantic Kempinski hotel, Hamburg, 25 June 2019

When Brue leaves the hotel, a blue ceramic portrait of Wilhelm II (1859-1941) can be seen through the revolving glass door. He was the kaiser of Germany when the hotel was opened in 1909. In the featurette Spymaster: John le Carré in Hamburg, which is on the dvd as a bonus, John le Carré visits the hotel and says that Wilhelm II hated the British Queen Victoria so much that he wanted to destroy the British navy.

A Most Wanted Man, 0:31:24

Atlantic Kempinski hotel, Hamburg, 25 June 2019

Spymaster: John le Carré in Hamburg, 0:06:16

Atlantic Kempinski hotel, Hamburg, 25 June 2019

The film ends with a confrontation involving all main characters. This scene was filmed on Johannes-Brahms-Platz, a square named after the Hamburg-born composer. Karpov and Richter, together with philanthropist Dr. Faisal Abdullah (Homayoun Ershadi), have just visited Brue's bank. The building is the Brahms Kontor which was under construction during our visit.

A Most Wanted Man, 1:42:40

Brahms Kontor, Johannes-Brahms-Platz, Hamburg, 27 June 2019

A Most Wanted Man, 1:43:11

Johannes-Brahms-Platz, Hamburg, 27 June 2019

When they leave the bank, Bachmann poses as a taxi driver, but it turns out that Sullivan and her German colleague Dieter Mohr (Rainer Bock, standing on the balcony) have lured them into ambush. Both Karpov and Abdullah are arrested, leaving the others defeated in the square.