Fassbinder. He certainly burnt the candle at both ends- he seemed to exist only to do drugs, drink, and make movies (when they found his body he had the script for his next movie lying next to him). I’ve still got some work to do on his films but I’ve caught over 20 and have 11 of them in the archives (with a few on the border that will probably make it with another viewing). He died at age 37. During his life he directed 39 feature fiction works in 14 years (1969-1982) which is staggering. He has 5 films in the top 500 and 9 in the top 100 of their respective decade show incredible depth. The images here and depth of filmography would suggest a top 25 auteur—I’m just lacking that one film in the top 200 or so to vault him up the rankings.

Best film: Veronika Voss. It’s Fassbinder’s most visually stylish film, his best film, and the second to last film before his death. So tragic.


total archiveable films: 11
top 100 films: 0


top 500 films: 5 (Veronika Voss, The Marriage of Maria Braun, Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, Lola, Berlin Alexanderplatz)

top 100 films of the decade: 9 (Veronika Voss, The Marriage of Maria Braun, Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, Lola, Berlin Alexanderplatz, Fox and His Friends, The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, World on a Wire, In a Year with 13 Moons)

most overrated: This incredibly beautiful image aside I can’t get behind TSPDT’s ranking of In a Year With 13 Moons. They have it at #377 and #3 for Fassbinder—I have 13 Moons outside of my top 500 and as Fassbinder’s 9th.

most underrated: The entire BDR trilogy (The Marriage of Maria Braun, Veronika Voss, Lola). Google it and pick it up if you want to start a Fassbinder study. I have it as his #1, #2, and #4 films. I’ll have to check it out again soon to make sure it just wasn’t the case of some of his films exceeding my expectations and some not living up to it–but this is where I am now. They’re so visually stylish. They’re all underrated but if I had to single out one it would be Lola which isn’t in the TSPDT top 1000 at all and the other two are. This is also what makes Fassbinder’s early death all the more tragic- these were all at the very end of his career which makes he was really getting better and hitting his peak as he died.



gem I want to spotlight: The Marriage of Maria Braun. Read the RT reviews. “Enormous”, “visually breathtaking and intellectually demanding”, “a masterwork” “alarmingly frightening”. Like I said this is the starting point of the BDR trilogy.


stylistic innovations/traits: He’s part Douglas Sirk (who I keep forgetting was also German), part Godard (counterculture– certainly Lola is visually influenced by the French New Wave and Pierrot in particular) and wholly Fassbinder. Certainly Almodovar and Todd Haynes owe a lot to Fassbinder (they also borrow from Sirk). His films are a part of the unbelievable cinematic outburst from Germany during the era (often called the German New Wave – it’s Fassbinder, Herzog and Wenders leading the way). He took sharp aim at West Germany in many ways and Fassbinder was a champion of subculture or counterculture cinema. As David Quinlan says on TSPDT “there is something hypnotically fascinating in the way some of Fassbinder’s characters destroy themselves.” Visually Fassbinder favored striking set pieces and a rich and detailed mise-en-scene which seems crazy for as prolific as he was. The images here are magnificent- framing—clearly an all-time master of mise-en-scene.


top 10
- Veronika Voss
- The Marriage of Maria Braun
- Ali: Fear Eats the Soul
- Lola
- Berlin Alexanderplatz
- Fox and His Friends
- The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant
- World on a Wire
- In a Year with 13 Moons
- The Merchant of Four Seasons

By year and grades
1972- The Merchant of Four Seasons | R |
1972- The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant | HR |
1973- World on a Wire | HR |
1974- Ali- Fear Eats the Soul | MS |
1975- Fox and His Friends | HR |
1976- I Only Want You To Love Me | R |
1978- In a Year With 13 Moons | HR |
1978- The Marriage of Maria Braun | MS |
1980- Berlin Alexanderplatz | MS |
1981- Lola | MS |
1982- Veronika Voss | MS |
*MP is Masterpiece- top 1-3 quality of the year film
MS is Must-see- top 5-6 quality of the year film
HR is Highly Recommend- top 10 quality of the year film
R is Recommend- outside the top 10 of the year quality film but still in the archives
What do you think of Rosel zech in Veronica voss ? Is she one of the year’s best ? I thought she was great.
@M*A*S*H- She is excellent. I finished the 1982 update page a week or so ago (post coming in the next few days) and she gets a mention as one of the year’s best. There are so many excellent performances (especially from actresses) in Fassbinder’s work during this stretch.
Yup.. I wanna thank you for introducing me to Fassbinder. I saw ur 1981 page and lola being hailed there. Looking at those images , it reminded me of a transcendent experience I had a few months ago watching umbrellas of Cherbourg (also got to know about it from you) so I saw Lola and now Veronica voss also I’m planning to watch Berlin Alexanderplatz (I have it) but I’m unable to find Marriage of Maria braun, I found it on YouTube though but I don’t know about the quality or English subtitles.
@M*A*S*H- Love hearing this. thanks for sharing!
I apologize, not all of these were watched in order and it shows (I even addressed it a few times)
The Merchant of Four Seasons:
Kicking everything off with a strong closeup of Hirschmüller as he is turning in circles
Right afterward we get that high angle shot of him and Hermann looking up at… I believe that is Ingrid Caven, Fassbinder’s wife (I almost wonder if I should put that in quotations knowing Fassbinder)
A somewhat striking image at 4 minutes as Caven closes the door as Hirschmüller delivers her pears; he is surrounded by black everything; clearly shows ability but I’ve seen a few of his later films by now and he does it better in those
One of Hermann through a net and surrounded by some flowers at 5 minutes; can be found on Drake’s 1972 page
One of Hermann and their daughter sitting at the dinner table at 7 minutes
Fassbinder moves the camera over a table of Hirschmüller and some of his friends drinking beer at 8 minutes
The film had gotten a bit weaker and I considered leaving it behind when this wonderful composition of Hermann next to two mannequins came on screen at 14 minutes; there’s a shot like this on Edward Yang’s page of The Terrorizers, a film I’m eager to see
Fassbinder is notable for the zoom; one from Hirschmüller’s face to the entirety of his bedroom as he realizes Hermann has left him (at least for the time being) after he came home drunk and beat her
One in a long, narrow bathroom with two doors on the sides of the frame at 18 minutes
The symmetricality began early for Fassbinder; one of Hanna Schygulla (as Hirschmüller’s sister) cradling Hermann’s daughter surrounded by red drapes
Schygulla’s POV watching Hirschmüller pull up to his family’s house
Low angle of the entire family composed around the frame after Hirschmüller collapses at the house (liver failure maybe?)
Hermann goes and meets a man who had catcalled her earlier in the film (she is divorcing Hirschmüller); there is a good frame inside the car with the backs of their heads blocking the sides of the frame
A shot looking up a hospital stairway at 34 minutes; there’s one just like this in La Dolce Vita on Fellini’s page; I’d be very surprised if it didn’t influence Fassbinder here
I don’t even know what to do with the film’s narrative structure; it’s a misfire; there are parts in the modern day where he is a pear salesman and in the past before he joined the French Foreign Legion prior to the film’s events and there’s nothing that indicates which time period he is in at one time
Hirschmüller brings a new man into the business and it happens to be the man Hermann had been having sex with earlier; some good cinema in this scene where they see eachother again
An overhead shot of Hirschmüller’s and Hermann’s legs as they are having sex; great use of the ruffled bedsheets around them as mise-en-scene
A funny bit as Hirschmüller is watching Scheydt (his new assistant) as he takes on the business of selling fruit; the film makes us think Hirschmüller is onto him for his affair with Hermann but at the end Fassbinder surprises us as we fins out he is just watching him to see the way he interacts with customers, as Hermann had made up some story about Scheydt “looking like a criminal” in order to convince Hirschmüller to fire him so she could hide their affair
Recurring bit about Hermann being tall and Hirschmüller being short when most relationships at the other way around
Hermann convinces Scheydt to charge more for fruit than Hirschmüller instructs him to in order to keep the balance for himself; this leads into a great rolling shot as we see Scheydt selling fruit when it moves to show Hirschmüller watching him; she only told him to do that knowing her husband would notice
This leads into this great dynamic with the tension between the three characters as Hirschmüller now appears to know of their affair; he throws Scheydt out before a we see a flashback of him attempting to court Ingrid Caven; I didn’t notice this previously but you can tell the flashbacks by the slightly grainier film stock used and I think the saturation is higher as well
Klaus Löwitsch, the star of World on a Wire, works at a restaurant Hirschmüller is at, and Fassbinder makes a cameo as a guy Hirschmüller is eating with; Löwitsch has, like Hirschmüller, recently left the Légion Étrangère
One of those camera movements from a mirror into the real world like in World on a Wire (felt like there were 100 of these in his 1973 film); here it goes back to the mirror again in a really nice shot
One of those held silences like in Tarkovsky where there’s a repeating noise in the background (here, a clock ticking); really strong here; there are a lot of films that misfire on this actually and this is not one of them
8 months have passed and Hirschmüller goes to see Ingrid Caven again; she presents herself naked in front of him and asks him to lie on her bed with her but he, who has become more loyal to his wife over time, declines
This spectacular one of Caven naked on the bed with yellow set design all around her; her bed is yellow and so are the drapes at the window behind her
An excellent shot of Schygulla, in closeup at the right, and Hirschmüller, who has gone to visit her as well, in the background at the left; one of the film’s finest
Another incredible composition with the characters in the same positions within the frame at a different angle; this time they are facing away from eachother, but both in a downward direction; this is Antonioni
The two of them have a quiet conversation about their lives as he makes tea; I love the sound of the kettle boiling in the background
Wow; excellent shot of Hirschmüller leaving her apartment through a frosted glass door (which blurs his silhouette) at 71 minutes as Schygulla watches him leave; she is the only person to have shown him any sympathy over the course of the film
I will note that the great shots are A) greater and B) coming more often at this point in the film
Strong zoom into Hirschmüller staring out the window of his apartment (which he does often) as Löwitsch is helping the daughter do her homework (something she asked Hirschmüller to do in the past); he starts to feel irrelevant as Löwitsch runs the business better than he ever could and, because of his heart attack (not liver failure) earlier in the film, he cannot run it himself
Symmetrical frame of the whole family dressed in black at 75 minutes
A great rolling shot through their faces at dinner; a lot like the one in Greenaway’s The Draughtsman’s Contract or in Fassbinder’s own Ali: Fear Eats the Soul
While they are at dinner, Schygulla admonishes the entire family for the way they have treated Hirschmüller as a drunken idiot in the past while receiving him as a friend now; great camera movement between their faces in this scene
Schygulla is not in much of the film but she probably gives the best performance on a per-minute basis, though the acting is all around great
Oh my god! This wonderful but shortly-held image of Hermann in close left, the child in the center, and Hirschmüller in background right as they look down, somewhat despondently, at their dinner plates; this shot has been done by Bergman, by Scorsese, by Woody Allen (there’s a shot like this one I think from Interiors on the 1978 page of the characters from that film looking out the window); this shot is just excellent
Hirschmüller is back at the bar with the boys; Hermann is there too actually; he pours down countless shots as Hermann tells him he will die
The camera pans between his buddies as he pours down his shots which he dedicates to a number of people such as his asshole brother-in-law, Ingrid Caven, the police, who he once worked for, and the Foreign Legion
A cut to a flashback of Hirschmüller being whipped by El Hedi Ben Salem from Ali in Morocco during his time with the Legion; some of his Legion brothers are searching for him; what the fuck is happening right now? This film has taken such a wild turn to the right and I don’t want it to stop
I’m sorry but there’s no way you can say this scene of Hirschmüller being tied to a tree and whipped by Salem isn’t straight out of one of Fassbinder’s wet dreams
Hirschmüller asks Salem to just kill him right there but his Legion friends shoot Salem first; immediately afterward the film cuts to Hirschmüller dropping dead at the bar
Hermann and Löwitsch are at the funeral and Löwitsch notices Caven is there; we watch the two walking arm and arm away from the camera
A great final shot of Hermann, with her daughter, and Löwitsch in a car as Hermann asks Löwitsch to marry her and take over the business since he knows how to work it, is good with the daughter, and because Hermann finds him attractive; the two are divided by a beam splitting the windshield in this shot, and they don’t look at eachother, just straight forward
The first hour is actually a very good film but the best auteur cinema comes in the last 20 minutes
The title is interesting; contains “four seasons” and the film does indeed take place over the course of a year
I like to think of his method of turning in a circle as he yells the prices of his fruit to the people around him as him screaming at the world for being the hell he lives in; the poster certainly gives that image for me
Recommend/Highly Recommend; might be willing to go to a full HR with some thought
The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant:
A very nice frame-within-a-frame at 4 minutes
Closeup of Carstensen on the phone at 5 minutes
There’s an erotic painting in Carstensen’s room; I wonder if Fassbinder was influenced by Fellini Satyricon at all; the painting has some of its imagery
A 180-degree camera movement in Carstensen’s room; leads into this brilliant frame with two layers of depth of Carstensen close to the camera and Irm Hermann further away; then we edit to the reverse shot; really good
Carstensen has Hermann – her secretary who she’s in a sexual relationship with – write a letter out of nowhere to Joseph Mankiewicz
They dance together to The Platters’ “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes”
Katrin Schaake comes in to meet Carstensen, who then ignores Hermann for the rest of the scene in the apartment
Carstensen owns a few mannequins for sexual purposes in her apartment; there’s a great frame composing their heads that Fassbinder holds for a little while at 18 minutes
Wonderful closeup of Schaake at 21 minutes followed by a closeup of Carstensen in a mirror that zooms outward; really strong
A drawn out zoom into Hermann’s face than then refocuses and goes to a closeup of Carstensen; wower at 29 minutes
I like the juxtaposition of Carstensen and Schaake against her painting right afterward
34 minutes before Hanna Schygulla finally enters the film
Great one using the side of Hermann’s head blocking half of the frame at 36 minutes
Fade to black to end the scene just short of the 39 minute mark
Hermann getting Carstensen ready to go out with Schygulla; it’s shot at leg height; makes Fassbinder appear self-taught
Low angle of Schygulla looking at herself in the mirror at 41 minutes; great stuff
We then edit right afterwards to a shot of Schygulla in the mirror with Carstensen standing behind her; the camera turns and we get a closeup of Schygulla
Another shot of the mirror at 42 minutes and Fassbinder does the exact same camera movement, but this time with the characters in the reverse positions
Carstensen and Schygulla are only 3 years apart in age? More like 20, wow
Hermann starts typing loudly to drown out the sound of Carstensen and Schygulla’s flirting
Schygulla against the painting from a low angle at 48 minutes; great one
One with half the screen blocked of Hermann typing at 54 minutes; followed by one of those Antonioni shots of Carstensen and Schygulla juxtaposed against eachother in depth not looking at eachother; there’s a great one of these (stronger than the one here) in Bunuel’s masterpiece Belle de Jour
I once posted a shot in Andrei Rublev exactly like this one of Carstensen and Schygulla at 56 minutes; a beautiful composition
This becomes a long take as Schygulla describes traumatic events from her past that affected her; Carstensen did the same thing actually in the first scene
An hour into the film and we have not left Carstensen’s apartment
Love the scene of Schygulla dancing as Carstensen is talking to her
Long, drawn out camera movement across the entire room leading into Hermann’s distraught face as Carstensen confesses her love for Schygulla
Fassbinder’s main influence here is clearly Bergman with all the emotional confessions, female perspective and even the general visual style of the film is a lot like Bergman’s own 1972 entry, Cries and Whispers; I can’t talk about Fassbinder’s descent from Sirk as I haven’t seen any of his films yet
The second scene again ends with a fade to black
Nice frame of the room showing Carstensen and Schygulla in particular shot at different layers of depth
A wonderfully filled frame; especially note the corners; at 69 minutes
We witness a punishing breakdown in the relationship between Carstensen and Schygulla as Schygulla refuses to kiss Carstensen; this scene particularly is shot in closeup so we’re right there with the emotions of the characters
Harsh scene as we witness Carstensen breaking down; the titular Bitter Tears; she seems to put down others to hide her own decline into irrelevance
One should note the changes in costume; particularly in relation to Carstensen; throughout the episodes
Incredible frame showing Carstensen and Schygulla separated by a wooden beam in the apartment as Schygulla is going to meet her husband; another Antonioni trademark here
Schygulla says goodbye, and the scene fades to black
Carstensen, now in an extremely noteworthy blonde wig and a real dress, sitting in the middle of her barren room, not even a bed, just a drink and a telephone waiting for Schygulla to call; this is the film’s greatest shot
While Carstensen’s daughter is visiting, Schaake visits again and gives Carstensen a baby doll that strongly resembles Schygulla
At one point Carstensen believes Schygulla is coming into her apartment and the camera slow pans over to the door only to show Carstensen’s mother coming in
Great low angle of Carstensen throwing back some alcohol at 109 minutes
Great low angle with Carstensen at the phone again as her mother stands taking up the right third of the screen and Hermann, Schaake and Eva Mattes (the daughter) standing elsewhere in the frame at 112 minutes
Fassbinder holds this shot for several minutes; when the opera comes on it takes it to another level
One should notice Hermann standing in the background, unacknowledged, of so many frames in the film
In the end, Carstensen promises Hermann she will treat her better and they will have a true relationship, but Hermann knows better
Brilliant ending scene where Hermann packs up all of her stuff walking on and off the frame as Carstensen watches
A Must-See film after one viewing; possibly a Masterpiece with a second
World on a Wire:
I have seen it; I’d say it’s a Must-See after one viewing, but I think I want to watch it again before I talk about it here.
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul:
As I think I’ve mentioned a few times, I watched Ali a few months before all of these, and have not yet found time to watch it again. It is Fassbinder’s best film and a masterpiece.
Fox and His Friends:
Tracking crane shot over the circus Fassbinder works at to start the film
Stars Karlheinz Böhm who some may remember from Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom; a film I’ve been eager to get back to after a few years
Great zoom out shot of some men in a car; focuses originally on one of their hands on the wheel; framing the circus ringleader
Fassbinder actually looks a lot like Russell Crowe
The circus closes since the owner gets arrested for tax fraud
Fassbinder framed by the legs of two men at 7 minutes; seems to be one of his trademark shots
Great one moving up a clock tower at 10 minutes
Flowers in the set design as Fassbinder walks into a florist’s store at 13 minutes; a few great uses of blocking actually in this scene
Fassbinder’s jacket has “Fox” studded on the background; somehow I feel he used this name cause it sounds like “fucks”
The women who runs the store Fassbinder turns in his lottery ticket at is the lead actress from Ali
Nice one of Böhm standing behind a curtain at 18 minutes
Fassbinder clearly loves shots with blocking as the camera shoots over a character’s shoulder; many of those in his body of work
A shot through 2 doorways at 23 minutes
Peephole shot at 27 minutes; like Polanski; awesome
2 shot of Chatel and Bär at 29 minutes; Chatel in a yellow bathrobe
Great one of Chatel arguing with his father in his workplace as their employees watch from afar at 30 minutes
Over-the-shoulder shot at 31 minutes followed up by Fassbinder framed between two beer bottles
Chatel takes Fassbinder away from the low-class bar he was at and to a high-end restaurant where he orders in French as Fassbinder tries to follow along
Nice shot of Chatel, Fassbinder and Hoven (Chatel’s father) shot through a window at 39 minutes
Lots of penises around in this scene set in a gay bathhouse
Great shot tracking across a series of mirrors leading into a closeup of Böhm sitting down a few inches from a man’s cock (I’m so sorry for writing that…)
Fassbinder withdraws 100k Deutsch Marks from the bank and immediately gives them to Chatel as a donation to the business; leads into a great shot of the two walking out of the bank as the door blocks the camera
Chatel and Fassbinder walk through an apartment they are planning to buy as Chatel plans the layout with Fassbinder not understanding just about anything he is saying; so unused to a high-class life
Wonderful mirror shot showing Chatel and Bär walking towards eachother (though it appears they’re are walking in the same direction) at 54 minutes; Fassbinder is at Bär’s clothing store getting refitted
Framing of a scene of Chatel’s family and Fassbinder at dinner at 59 minutes
A few shots where Fassbinder (as director) pans the camera over some of the characters faces very slowly; strong technique here; there’s an extremely strong one in Ali when Brigitte Mira reveals her relationship with Salem to her children
Fassbinder is back at the bar with Chatel and reveals he won the lottery to some of his low-class friends and the contract for the loan he just gave to Chatel; the guys in the bar know Chatel is scamming Fassbinder but say nothing
I’m reminded of Sandler’s office on Punch-Drunk Love whenever they’re in Chatel’s father’s business
Chatel makes Fassbinder pay for a trip to Morocco they are taking
Nice tracking shot over the literal word “Marokko” (the German spelling) before we cut to their vacation
Usage of a Venetian blind-like roof at 17 minutes
We get the Letterboxd poster for this film of Fassbinder smoking around this time
They meet El Hedi ben Salem, the male lead of Ali, for a sexual tryst in Morocco
Framing the trio in an outside restaurant at 80 minutes; there’s a shot just like this one in Ali
Wow camera movement between two rooms in the business at 85 minutes
Major controversy as the business is in financial trouble, which Chatel uses to swindle Fassbinder out of even more of his money
The great Bresson shot using the bars of stairs to divide the frame at 87 minutes
A great shot in their apartment as they are serving dinner to Chatel’s parents using a lamp on the left side of the screen for blocking
I have heard about a possible autistic reading of this film; earlier, while they’re at the bank, Fassbinder starts counting off numbers for no reason to the annoyance of Chatel, and now while they at dinner Fassbinder does some weird game involving a match and Chatel’s mother’s finger; I don’t think it adds anything to the film as an artistic work and I feel these scenes were included more to show Fox’s lack of understanding of the upper class life but it is a bit interesting to think about
I really wonder why Fassbinder stays with Chatel with how much he insults him? He must be really blind
A stunning camera pan in a bar at 96 minutes
Mirror shot while Fassbinder is at the doctor’s at 102 minutes
Great one of Fassbinder and Chatel walking in a… restaurant maybe? Then it refocuses to a medium-close shot of Böhm, who they are meeting there
Wow; high angle of the 3 posed on the stairs together at 107 minutes; might be the best frame in the film
A slightly similar high angle of Fassbinder shot from a staircase at 110 minutes
There was a line earlier about “drawing the short stick” that I considered mentioning earlier that comes back now
Watching this after Petra, it is honestly painfully clear noticing the vast difference in the strength of the compositions; there’s nothing like that shot of Carstensen and Schygulla in Petra that Drake has above the “Best Performance Male” segment on the 1972 page (also on Fassbinder’s TSPDT page)
Wonderful one of Fassbinder either passed out or dead; leaning the latter from a shot of his Valium bottle; from a long distance in a subway; he gets robbed of the remainder of his wealth by some kids
I’m going to say the above shot is the best in the film, ahead of the one on the stairs
Böhm and Bär happen to be in the subway and come upon him dead; this is the only time in the film they appear to show any genuine concern for his well-being
The film then goes to the kids robbing as much off of Fassbinder as they can
It says on TSPDT that 2 of Fassbinder’s favorite films were The Damned and Salò and at times (the gay bathhouse scene in particular) it shows)
Highly Recommend/Must-See with some reflection
In a Year of 13 Moons:
Great long shot of Spengler being beaten by some men who find out he is not a he
Wonderful shot through several doorways using the rule of thirds of Spengler as he (I’m referring to the actor not the character) arrives home
Great one of Scheydt at a low angle throwing his stuff in a suitcase
Honestly Fassbinder’s evolution as a director is so clear here; the great moments of cinema just are more common and faster-coming than in his previous films
Wow; a bathroom with mirrors all around the walls; extremely unique set design; the mirrors are staggered with black squares
Tracking shot in a slaughterhouse at 18 minutes followed by a montage as cows are being killed; really great stuff; love the composition of the workers as they go about their job
Very aggressive delivery of a monologue from Spengler with the cow massacre on screen
The slaughterhouse is used here as a metaphor for Spengler cutting off his own penis
Spengler notably does not really sound like a woman at all; he has the voice of a man; this is clearly intentional from Fassbinder of course
I love the tracking shots through the slaughterhouse as the camera observes the dead cows; excellent work; you wouldn’t see cinema this strong in Fassbinder’s earlier films (excepting Ali)
Great shots using doorways and hallways as blocking of the frame as Spengler returns home trying to find Scheydt, who has left him; you feel Spengler’s claustrophobia as his world is closing around him
Wonderful mirror shot of Spengler on his bed at 26 minutes; an angled shot
Keyhole shot of the same subject at 27 minutes
Many excellent shots using doorways to close off half the screen or more; one at 30 minutes as Spengler and Trissenaar, his ex-wife before the transition, are arguing
An obstructed frame at 33 minutes of Spengler walking into a bar; the camera then pans upwards and displays the reflection above; amazing work
More mirrors; Spengler talks to some of the people in the bar and is promptly ignored; Spengler can be seen in the frame and is talking to people whose reflections can be seen in the miror
Another shot emphasizing the claustrophobia at 35 minutes; very many of these heavily obstructed frames with Spengler in the corner
Colored lighting in this bar scene as well
Montage between various objects at a location (I think a druggie hangout) called “Soul Frieda” at 38 minutes
It ends with a long take with a few characters including Spengler and Caven as they discuss various topics – each is doing something different within the frame – really great
One of the characters is lifting weights and there’s a shot where his dumbbells periodically cover the face of one of the other characters
A shot of Pempeit – playing a nun Spengler is supposed to meet – framed by a gate at 45 minutes; I think he was raised by her?
Low angle closeup of Pempeit as Spengler explains who he is, despite the clothing he is wearing that would indicate otherwise
Voiceover from Pempeit describing Spengler’s childhood at the orphanage as we watch Caven walk with a distraught expression; Pempeit then walks back on screen and the camera tracks her and then finds Spengler and it tracks him; seriously jaw-dropping; it’s exhilarating watching Fassbinder grow as an artist
A short cut away before we go back to the camera tracking back to Pempeit and then back to Caven, who it revolves around for a moment before following Pempeit again from a different angle
You know the shot from Casino where Scorsese tracks between Pesci’s gang and then the shot goes to a closeup of Pesci? That basically happens here with Pempeit and Caven
We return to Spengler for a short second to see him collapsed on the ground
Caven looking at herself in a mirror at 58 minutes
They are in his apartment; a lamp at her bedside table has a shade that produces a Venetian blinds effect around it
One of Caven and Spengler with their faces pressed together as she monologues to him
An interesting, but not unwelcome turn of events as Caven watched a television program about General Pinochet which she changes channel to an interview with the famed German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder; wait…
Great one of Caven dancing in the dark (cinephile pun not intended) through a doorway at 64 minutes
The TV eventually goes back to Pinochet and we get a lengthy voiceover of his speech played over the interactions of the characters and a dissolve montage of some architecture shots
Von Sternberg obstruction with a Bush at 67 minutes
Spengler is talking to a man about John, Spengler’s ex-lover; the man is looking up at an apartment John lives in and is in focus and Spengler is right behind him and out of focus, pacing around a lot
Clearly Fassbinder is a fan of the monologue; feels like every scene has one
The guy repeats thrice to Spengler that John’s name in-film is spelled uncustomarily in the German language
Shadows on the walls in a segment in a staircase like Nosferatu
Some genuine wower frames as Spengler walks about the apartment below John’s; it is under construction; brilliant set design
Spengler witnessed a spontaneous gun battle happening outside through a window; I think it was the police practicing for a real scenario
Repeating red light in the apartment as Spengler is found by a suicidal entering
Love the frame with that repeating light as the man hangs a noose in the apartment as Spengler’s legs can be seen dangling into the frame
Great camera movement between the faces of Spengler, laying on the ground, and the man, who is standing up
Long shot of the two blocked by some wooden beams in the construction as the man sits by his noose
Spengler tells him “I think you should do it now” as in commit suicide, and he obliges; great frame of him hanging with his shadow behind him and another of Spengler watching, giving us the Letterboxd backdrop for this film
Love these shots in the office in which John works; one of these is the brilliant five-door shot that Drake has screenshotted on Fassbinder’s page
I love the tracking shot of Spengler and Kauffman walking about the office; there’s a segment where the camera just tracks the architecture outside as they speak in there background
Kauffman is very good here; he doesn’t feel forced at all, very charismatic
Wow; the doorway shot arrives at 90 minutes; fantastic
Composition of John and his 3 subordinates watching TV as Spengler and Kauffman observe them
Spengler finally gets to meet John, who fails to recognize the former
Interesting scene where they all hold a random celebration for John who parades around the room like a small child; all of them start gallivanting around the room like a bunch of wackos, watching and mimicking the dance moves shown on the TV in front of them
A strong composition of the six as John realizes who Spengler is; Spengler off-screen blocking the left and the others staggered throughout the frame at various depths in front of the camera
They go back to Spengler’s apartment and there’s a great shot of Spengler and John framed through a doorway at 100 minutes
There’s a strange obsession with Morocco in Fassbinder’s work; Hirschmüller served in the Foreign Legion in Morocco in Merchant, Fassbinder and Chatel vacation in Morocco in Fox, and Spengler went to Morocco to get a sex change by chopping his penis off here; it’s definitely because of Salem
Wonderful tracking shot into a disheartened Spengler seeing John and Caven beginning to make love at 103 minutes
Spengler cuts his hair a bit before dressing up as a man, and then goes out to see his wife and daughter (who we have not seen yet)
A Yang-like frame of them eating outside with some kites hanging from the tree above them
Masterful Antonioni-like frame – none of them looking at eachother – as Spengler describes his dissatisfaction with his gender transition in a belated attempt to get his wife back; she says she will always love him but does not take him back and he runs away
Spengler had done an interview with a German magazine that is important to the plot of the film; at 117 minutes the interviewer’s wife listens to the interview with him after Spengler had gone up to see them.
This interview plays as a voiceover as the interviewer, his wife, and Spengler’s daughter go to Spengler’s apartment, which is guarded by Kauffman because John is there, and they find Spengler is dead
Freeze-frame of the staircase to his apartment to end the film
Notably Fassbinder worked as his own cinematographer here; this is some of his best work visually actually
I feel like there’s something here that doesn’t grab me as much as Fassbinder’s other films, but the further I get removed from the viewing and reflect on how the film’s images connect to eachother, the more that feeling fades into the distance and I think the film gets stronger
Must-See/Masterpiece
The Marriage of Maria Braun:
The film is off to an explosive start (literally) as we start off with a shot of a portrait of Hitler that is destroyed in an Allied bombing as the camera immediately zooms into Schygulla and Löwitsch getting married. The next scene is one of everybody in the vicinity trying to escape the Allied bombing. Easily one of the best opening scenes probably in all of cinema.
I love the credits where they just fill in everybody’s names across the entire screen and occasionally switch them out for other names
A blocked frame of Uhlen at 4 minutes; this new scene has such amazing set design, mise-en-scene legend
Schygulla is at the train station looking for Löwitsch returning from the war; a great shot tracking her across a wooden fence followed by some handheld cinematography of some Allied soldiers getting off the train; such a hectic scene
360-degree shot at 7 minutes
There it is; the Letterboxd header for this film
Wonderful composition of the Allied soldiers in a mess hall followed by a low angle showing them blocked by the legs of chairs; the same shot appears in World on a Wire
Schygulla has this cardboard sign on her back with her husband’s picture and his name; it looks kind of funny and I feel that’s intentional
Another blocked frame of Uhlen that moves to a close up of another man, and then back to Uhlen standing somewhere else at 10 minutes; I see a bit of Thelma Ritter (particularly from Rear Window) in her here
Ha! Back to the blocked shot again! The blocking is done with a hole in the wall. This is awesome
Schygulla and her friend walk through war torn Germany at 14 minutes; a great low angle shot to end the scene
Wow; the friend in 2 mirrors and Schygulla in the frame at 15 minutes
She and a salesman discuss the works of Heinrich von Kleist; oh, not to read it, but to burn it. Great stuff here
Amazing shot of Schygulla sitting on a beam, looking back at the camera at 19 minutes; natural light coming in through a window
She’s applying to be a prostitute and her boss mentions not to bring her wedding ring to work; the camera zooms into the ring and refocuses on it
She goes back to the train station; this time she just gives up on finding Löwitsch and throws her cardboard sign under the train wheels
Lots of shots using pulled-back curtains for blocking
Rolling tracking shot in the bar where Schygulla works at 24 minutes
Pun where Schygulla attacks the attention of Allied soldier Byrd, who is black; “better Black than Brown” referring to her own surname, Braun
Amazing composition at 28 minutes; 3 levels of depth, one an extreme closeup of a man’s hands, as none of the characters are looking at eachother; the man is Gottfried John, who returns to inform the family, and, when she comes back, Schygulla, that Löwitsch is dead (had to milk out all the commas there)
Brilliant; John, Trissenaar (his wife) and Uhlen all standing together, almost appearing as one single body, with Schygulla standing nearby at 31 minutes
She heads to the bar to be held by Byrd and as they hold eachother close, their bodies are covered up by the dancing crowd as the camera pulls back
Composition of the family and Byrd at a picnic behind their house at 32 minutes
Montage of Schygulla and Byrd – both naked – raking their hands across each other’s bodies at 34 minutes; there’s a split-screen scene quite like this early on in Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream
Schygulla is pregnant now with Byrd’s child
Schygulla and Byrd begin to undress to have sex as a man who suspiciously resembles Löwitsch (yes, we find out it is him) watches them in the doorsill unseen
What a bizarre scene that ensues; Löwitsch punches Schygulla hard in the face and knocks her down, then sits in a chair and begins smoking a cigarette, then breaks down and begins tearing apart his bedsheets, angry that they have been used by another man, then tries to assault Byrd who, being a giant, overpowers him, however Schygulla then gets up and in a strange turn of events, breaks a bottle over Byrd’s head, knocking him out, and she and Löwitsch just look at eachother.
It turns out she had actually just killed Byrd and now is on trial; Löwitsch, John, is also at the trial; there’s a great shot where the camera tracks Löwitsch walking and then transition into a medium shot of him on the left side of the screen.
Her friends and family are also at the trial; a nice shot where the camera switches between their faces
Löwitsch is troubled as we finally see him resolve to confess to murdering Byrd in place of Schygulla despite not having done so
Wonderful overhead shot of the two speaking in prison visitation at 43 minutes; repeats a few times over the scene
It turns out Schygulla’s child with Byrd has miscarried; it is not spoken whether this was an accident or if it occurred through… more intentional means
I love the chaotic scenes in the film with Schygulla surrounded by a loud crowd
Wow; Uhlen in a doorway on the left side of the screen at 54 minutes
The Bresson prison bars shot at 56 minutes; Löwitsch is standing by the bars and Schygulla is further away being framed by them
Doorway shot of Schygulla, Desny (her new boss) and Bohm at dinner at 60 minutes
A subtlely-beautiful shot of Schygulla and Desny facing away from the camera at 63 minutes
“Is that his things are between people outside now? So cold?” Löwitsch’s reaction to Schygulla telling him about her affair with Desny
Great shot of the prison guard watching them clinking his keys
John, Bohm, and Schygulla are present at a company meeting; they are shot through a glass window at 72 minutes
Brilliant Sternbergian obstruction of Schygulla and Desny at 74 minutes; they’re in the prison negotiating the possibility of getting Löwitsch out; obstructing the frame at countless levels of depth
Lamps galore in the frame as Schygulla and Desny are making love at 76 minutes
The camera movement in this scene where Schygulla is trying to find John is awesome; great pans between faces
An excellent end to a scene of everybody dancing; Trissenaar is complaining about how John doesn’t love her anymore and putting down Uhlen’s new lover, and after they talk, Schygulla walks through everybody else dancing to go dance with Desny; after this, the camera pans back through everybody ending with Trissenaar unable to face them
Closeup of a telephone at 93 minutes
So many great compositions in an expensive restaurant where Schygulla and Desny are eating at 100 minutes; the tables, the waiters, the columns, etc.
A scene where John and Schygulla are exploring old locations they knew that were destroyed in the war; there are some great shots there including one below some beams they are walking on
Earlier, Löwitsch had gotten out of prison and promised to send Schygulla a rose every month after leaving to find wealth in Canada or Australia (funny; this reminds me of Lola; the Demy one). She gets home, sees a rose at her doorstep, and goes to find a vase full of many roses
A great shot of Schygulla again in the restaurant; Desny has died and she gets up from her chair before vomiting
Love these doorway shots of Schygulla having drunk herself out of lucidity in her home. She hears the door ring, and opens it to find Löwitsch, looking much richer.
This is the first time the two of them have actually been husband and wife (living together and the like) since their marriage at the beginning of the movie
Schygulla gives the best performance of her career at least until I see Berlin Alexanderplatz; Löwitsch is very good in what parts of the movie he is in as well.
Gorgeous tracking long shot of the two in their house; the camera slowly tracks to the left over a long period as they discuss their relationship whilst a sports game plays over the radio (or television); some objects periodically block the frame as the camera moves
A wonderful refocus at 114 minutes
Löwitsch’s face upside down (Schygulla’s POV); a great shot
Bohm arrives at the house to have Desny’s will read to Schygulla and Löwitsch; he leaves a sizeable amount of money to Löwitsch, his “friend, though we loved the same woman,” rather than to Schygulla. Löwitsch wills the money to Schygulla anyway.
A great shot of Löwitsch in a mirror, looking up as his name is read on the will.
The film ends as Schygulla accidentally blows up the house in a gas explosion, killing them both, to the horror of Bohm and his French escort who have just left the house; this is a bookend to their marriage in the Allied bombing at the beginning
The film ends with a montage of inverted black-and-white photographs of German Chancellors Konrad Adenauer, Ludwig Erhard, Kurt Georg Kiesinger, and Willy Brandt; Brandt’s photo, the first Chancellor of the Social Democratic Party, inverts back once again to normality. This series of images is another bookend to the shot of Hitler that opens the film.
Somehow, despite being a significant hit internationally in 1979 and Fassbinder’s most recognized film perhaps beaten only by Ali, this ends up at only #627 on TSPDT.
A masterpiece
Berlin Alexanderplatz:
Not yet seen! I hope to watch it over the next few weeks or so.
Lola:
I will start by noting that I am referring, as you all should expect, to the 1981 RW Fassbinder film, not the 1961 Jacques Demy ensemble melodrama which is an incredible film and, after some reflection this month after seeing it first in June, I think a masterpiece. Both are notably inspired by The Blue Angel, which I hope to watch in the future.
Multicolored credits; red, green, pink and purple are Fassbinder’s colors
The opening shot is a stroke of genius; that zoom out from Sukowa starting in a closeup; the red lighting covering the frame
A nice shot at a bathroom sink with a mirror (and 2 faces in it) in bottom right, a flashing light periodically illuminating the frame, and restroom graffiti decorating the walls
The lighting cannot be praised enough; Fassbinder at an entirely new level compared to his previous work visually; clearly he had more money to make this
A gorgeous blocked frame at 11 minutes; as the take holds it also includes 2 refocuses
Foreground/background work here; there’s a house and there are pets there, such as rabbits, which we watch move around
Not unlike the Demy Lola, both films are named after their female leads (Anouk Aimée and Barbara Sukowa) but the lead characters are really the males (Marc Michel, whose performance is actually pretty underrated imo, and here is Armin Müller-Stahl, who some may know from Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises).
Wonderful green lighting in a frame of Müller-Stahl in his new office at 13 minutes; low angle
One of those 360 shots around a table; this appears at varying speeds in other great films like Hour of the Wolf and The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover
Fassbinder often used avant-garde furniture styles in his films; some great frames involving these
Great use of dissolves here, generally involving a refocus first; actually not particularly common in Fassbinder’s filmography
I love the costume design, particularly for Sukowa’s outfits; great white and black polka dot sleeveless dress she’s wearing in a scene with Müller-Stahl in a church
A particularly immaculate dissolve at 53 minutes; they are about to kiss, but are interrupted by a passing vehicle and the scene cuts to Müller-Stahl at the violin
Another wonderful dissolve; he is buying her a ring and the camera pans downward towards the ring before dissolving to the two at the church again; she is stringing him along
An incredible doorway shot at 63 minutes; love the color contrast in it; the shot almost appears as if computer-generated
The compositions within the club are just wonderful; one notable one at 67 minutes; they’re particularly special because of the lighting
A wonderful shot of Müller-Stahl and Fuchs at work in the former’s office at 70 minutes; he has some objects hanging from the ceiling that block the frame
It’s a particularly great effect when Fassbinder turns the camera rapidly and takes us through a wide variety of colors
Müller-Stahl has gone the entire film up to 81 minutes in thinking Sukowa is just an innocent girl and it’s quite something watching the scene where he realizes she is a whore for the first time
Sukowa really goes crazy in her cabaret routine here; what a sight as she traipses around the entire club
The same 360 shot returns at 89 minutes
Recurring bit about how Fuchs is an anarcho-communist and fan of the work of Mikhail Bakunin
There’s definite consistency here in the dissolve technique Fassbinder uses
Müller-Stahl and another man use the phrase “The Rules of the Game” a few times in a conversation.
It’s notable how many of Fassbinder’s films take place in immediate postwar Germany: this, Maria Braun, Merchant, I’m sure there are a few others
There’s a statue being built in the town to honor dead German soldiers of WW2 that is continuously being picketed by anti-war protests
Müller-Stahl has real presence here in these scenes showing his stability declining; he’s a husk of a man; Sukowa tries to take hold of him and he just brushes her off
A Must-See film
Veronika Voss:
Clearly Fassbinder’s most brazen film stylistically from the get-go; the editing in the black-and-white film sequence Zech and Fassbinder are watching followed up by the amazing star-shaped lights all across the screen; think about it: blocking via lighting; that is genius right there
One of those Joe Pesci Casino shots in a rainstorm at 4 minutes
Beautiful shot showing the full length of a window in a train at 6 minutes
For a director most famous for his usage of color, I think I’ll take Fassbinder in black and white; I mean holy shit this is beautiful
A Dutch angle inside the train; wow
Noteworthy usage of wipe edits
A wonderful shot of Zech and Thate at a restaurant from across another balcony at the place; also some low angles of both of them as they talk; very strong
Tracking Zech from above as she walks through the restaurant; her shadow very apparently following behind her
Zech gives unquestionably one of the greatest performances in a Fassbinder film; so overly intense on screen; she completely inhabits the drug-addled Veronika Voss
Fassbinder clearly evolving as an editor here; first Lola a year earlier and now this; I can’t say I think his evolution was totally complete by his death in 1982 but his technique is strong regardless
Stunning foreground/background work showcasing the work environment in Thate’s office; I really love the ceiling fan that changes the lighting moderately a few times a second
The edits you see in this film… I’m not sure you could ever find them anywhere else; there’s one that somewhat resembles a hammer crashing down on an anvil
Thate goes into the doctor’s place to inquire about Zech and it’s just a completely white place; his jacket is about all the black you will see; stunning set design
I wonder how Fassbinder managed to get that look with the lighting; Zech’s jewelry genuinely shimmers
A stunner of Zech and another man standing amongst some statues at 28 minutes
A stunning high angle through a barred window at 31 minutes; a shot for a noir
Staggering mise-en-scene across the entire frame at every level of depth possible at 35 minutes
Smooth transition to a flashback; Zech’s life during the war with Armin Müller-Stahl; it can be noted by the dark lighting in the futur contrasted by the lights being turned on in the past
Another Dutch angle at 42 minutes as Thate looks at Zech in the doctor’s office; immaculate; Fassbinder has never previously used this technique to my knowledge
There are many shots through car windows; often frosted over by rain to obstruct the frame
More shots in that white clinic; feels like we’re in Alphaville or something
I love this running gag with Günther Kaufmann always playing an American soldier in Germany in like all of Fassbinder’s late period work; he’s appeared in this capacity in all of the last few Fassbinder films I’ve seen; I’m just curious as to why he doesn’t change it up
Watching Thate in the clinic at breakfast with Düringer and Kaufmann through a window at 48 minutes
The film is a noir; Zech as the femme fatale and Thate as the man she ropes into uncovering her life, the visual style, the struggle against a greater enemy in the clinic operators
A star edit at 56 minutes
Really, this is the one time Fassbinder had an overlap with like Lang or Murnau in the 20s; he is very informed by German Expressionism here in his use of high-contrast black-and-white
We’re on the set of Zech’s film finally, and the shot begins showing the film camera on a dolly about to get moved in; our camera, from our POV, literally moves with the camera in the film forward; that’s awesome
God’s-eye shot of Zech writhing on the ground over her drugs on the film set
Foreground/background work in a bar where Müller-Stahl and Thate (who met on the film set) are discussing their shared relationship with Zech; in the background there is a prostitute picking up men at the bar
As many as 5 levels of depth at one time in a shot in a hallway in the clinic; one of the people in the shot is just shown on the right edge of the screen
One of those camera movements into a mirror that is about every other shot in World on a Wire at 78 minutes
A masterful camera movement from Thate in bed to a picture he owns of Zech at 82 minutes
Düringer and Froböss are discussing the subject of loneliness as a radio broadcast on West Germany’s joining the European Economic Community (later European Union) is heard
There’s a disco ball in the clinic; in the scenes involving it it spins around creating a nice repeating lighting pattern
Fassbinder cutting back on the wipes at 98 minutes
An immaculate composition at 99 minutes
Zech is locked in her room, tearing it apart; she starts going down the Deneuve route in Repulsion
Her death does not appear on screen; it is shown to us in a newspaper
Must-See/Masterpiece; leaning Masterpiece
@Zane- Wow- so impressed by this. I will be coming back to this often when I get to my Fassbinder study. I just finished Michael Mann– I want to see some Derek Jarman but haven’t decided what to do next— maybe Fassbinder.
Udo Kier on working with the New German Cinema directors:
“Werner Herzog, I knew him for so many years, when Fassbinder was at his highest moment. But we had a rule: an actor of Fassbinder could never work with Werner Herzog or Wim Wenders. If we had done that, we would be spies. ‘Ah, you worked with Werner; how was it? How did he direct you?’ I was one of Fassbinder’s actors.”
Expanding on the above I know a few times when this happened, I know Brigitte Mira worked with Herzog on The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser, Hanna Schygulla was in Wrong Move from Wenders and Gunther Lamprecht had a role in Das Boot even if Wolfgang Petersen wasn’t on the level of those three. There are probably other examples I’m not thinking of right now likely adding Volker Schloendorff into this conversation but I would need to look first.
Also, I do believe this here was the only time all 3 were pictured together (Wenders’ documentary Room 666): https://twitter.com/mubi/status/1294299742755860480
Peter Berling acted in Aguirre, Fitzcarraldo, Cobra Verde, The Marriage of Maria Braun and Veronika Voss.
I’m curious as to your thoughts on Querelle? It’s bizarre but I was so blown away by the film’s visuals and atmosphere when I saw it, IMO some of Fassbinder’s strongest work. He clearly was only getting stronger as an artist before his death
@Ce- Thanks for the comment- so this is a blind spot for me. Excited to get to it.
Have you seen Effi Briest?
I have to say I was thoroughly impressed by this one.
It has a remarkable b/w photography. One of the most beautifully composed movies ever. Incredible exteriors and interiors shot in gorgeous b/w. And Hanna Schygulla was marvelous as well. One of her best performances.
I’ll call it a MS. Too 5 of the year quality film.
@M*A*S*H- Thank you for the recommendation. I have not caught Effi Briest yet.
It’s on YouTube right now. For free and available with english subtitles and excellent quality. Idk how you plan to watch movies but you should catch it up right now. Trust me you’ll be impressed. Here’s the link,
https://youtu.be/Vcdx9N4UDlE
@M*A*S*H- Thanks for sharing this- I do see it on criterion as well. I may do a Fassbinder study in 2023- certainly a director where every single available film needs to be seen.
@M*A*S*H – thanks for the suggestion. Checked the Letterboxd reviews before watching and I noticed it was lot of praise for the visuals and many “style over substance” comments. Sounds right up my alley! So, I watched it and thought it was great. Going HR and perhaps HR/MS after one watch.
@LeBron Smith- really glad to know that you saw it. I recently finished my Fassbinder Study and I wanted to put up a full length comment. Just processing some things.
I’ve seen 9 of his films and 7 out of 9 are MS for me including this one. It’s really a very stylish film visually, gorgeous visuals. One of Schygulla’s strongest performances.
Just look at these images.
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0071458/mediaindex/?ref_=tt_mi_sm
Were you able to catch up more of Fassbinder films, if yes then how many of his films are now in the archives?
Is Ali: Fear Eats the Soul his highest graded film now?
@Alt Mash- I have been able to catch up with quite a few over the past few years- but not a full-blown sort of complete chronological study. I will have to spend a little time and look at the list when I update his page.
Hi just my 2c here. I’ve only seen Herzog’s two so-called MPs, Aguirre and Firzcarraldo, and have now seen 3 Fassbinders: Lola, Maria Braun, and Ali:Fear Eats the Soul. I can’t comment on their filmography as a whole as I’m too new to this, but I found the Fassbinder films in my admittedly smal sample all superior to Herzog’s. I’m really surprised at the gap between the two in your ranking and wonder why you rate Fassbinder so much lower. His films are stylish, with great mise en scene, lighting, and he gets better performances from his actors, something Herzog doesn’t even seem to care about, let alone a script. Both Lola and Ali are sublime in their beauty, and evoke an emotional response thats totally lacking in Herzog’s nutty epics, interesting as they are.
@Tom Van Buskirk thank you for sharing your thoughts so far
My ranking of Fassbinder`s films that I`ve seen:
1. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul MP
2. Veronika Voss MP
3. The Marriage of Maria Braun MP
4. Berlin Alexanderplatz MS/MP
5. Despair MS/MP
6. Lola MS
7. In a Year with 13 Moons MS
8. World on a Wire MS
9. Fox and His Friends HR/MS
10. The Third Generation HR/MS
11. The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant HR/MS
10 Best Performances
1. Schygulla- The Marriage of Maria Braun
2. Bogarde- Despair
3. Lamprecht- Berlin Alexanderplatz
4. Schygulla- Berlin Alexandeplatz
5. Zech- Veronika Voss
6. Sukowa- Lola
7. Schygulla- the Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant
8. Spengler- In a Year with 13 Moons
9. Fassbinder- Fox and His Friends
10. Mira- Ali: Fear Eats the Soul