Rainer Erler was born in Munich-Nymphenburg on August 26, 1933, the son of a school principal. During his school years, he became interested in film, gave lectures on film dramaturgy, wrote reviews and studio reports from the Geiselgasteig Studios, and directed plays on the studio stage.

After graduating in 1952, he began his career in the film industry as a director's assistant. Between 1953 and 1957 he worked on numerous films by Rudolf Jugert, including "Rosen im Herbst" ("Roses in Autumn", 1955) and "Der Meineidbauer" ("The Perjured Farmer", 1956). He then worked on projects such as Franz Peter Wirth's "Helden" ("Arms and the Man", 1958), Wolfgang Liebeneiner's "Jacqueline" (1959) and Kurt Hoffmann's "Das Spukschloss im Spessart" ("The Haunted Castle", 1960). He was trained as a producer by Erich Pommer, who returned to Europe from Hollywood in the 1950s.

Erler's first own fiction film was the fantastic comedy "Seelenwanderung" (TV, 1962), for which he received several awards, including the Ernst Lubitsch Prize. In the following years he gained recognition as a director of socially critical, often satirical TV films such as "Orden für die Wunderkinder" ("Honours for Sale", 1963) or "Das Bohrloch oder Bayern ist nicht Texas" ("Drilling Hole, or Bavaria Isn't Texas", 1965). In the 1970s, he focused more on futuristic themes and created a series of films with a clear educational purpose, questioning the blind belief in progress at the expense of people and the environment, as well as the role of science under the influence of politics and economic calculations.

Triggered by the publication of the Club of Rome's alarming report "Limits to Growth" on the ecological future of our planet in the spring of 1972, Erler created his five-part science thriller series "Das blaue Palais" (1974-1976) about a group of researchers and their struggle against industrial greed, scientific ambition, and personal vanity - a clear plea for an ethic that should be imposed not only on the economy, but also on science itself.

Erler explored similar themes - usually combining suspenseful plots with educational elements - in films such as "Plutonium" (1978), about the disappearance of highly enriched fissile material, "Das schöne Ende dieser Welt" (1983) about the questionable dealings of European chemical corporations in third-world countries, and "News – Bericht über eine Reise in eine strahlende Zukunft" ("News Report on a Journey to a Bright Future", 1986) about the secret, illegal disposal of nuclear waste.

He also provided chilling insights into a society whose morality had not evolved in step with its technological capabilities in works such as "Operation Ganymed" (1977), about a failed space mission; "Fleisch" ("Spare Parts" 1979), about the ruthless methods of organ traffickers; and "Die Kaltenbach Papiere" ("A Fatal Assignment", 1990), about an intrigue involving three nuclear warheads.

At the same time, Erler remained true to his satirical side, directing offbeat comedies such as "Die Halde" ("The Rubbish Tip", 1974), about a small garden community's struggle against a gigantic garbage dump; "Ein Guru kommt" ("Here Comes the Guru", 1980), about an unsuccessful opera singer who inherits a spiritual sect; and "Zucker" ("Sugar", 1989), in which genetically modified microbes turn all paper into sugar.

Rainer Erler was for many years a founding member of the board of directors of the Federal Association of German Television and Film Directors and was a member of the Federal Association of German Television Producers and the Association of German Feature Film Producers. He reinforced the social criticism expressed in many of his films through his memberships in organizations such as the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Solarenergie (German Society for Solar Energy), Greenpeace, the Naturschutzbund (German Society for Nature Conservation), and numerous animal rights groups.

In 2000, the Rainer Erler Archive was established at the Akademie der Künste in Berlin, which now contains all of his films, books and manuscripts, as well as an extensive collection of press reports, reviews, photographs and secondary literature.

Rainer Erler lived with his wife Renate in Perth, Australia. He died there 8 November 2023, age 90.