Rainer Werner Fassbinder (1945 - 1982)
Related: gay cinema - German cinema - New German Cinema
Water Drops On Burning Rocks (2000) - François Ozon
[Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]French director François Ozon directed a film based on Fassbinder's play. Ozon's work is in general very reminiscent of Fassbinder's.
Biography
Rainer Werner Fassbinder (May 31, 1945 - June 10, 1982), German movie director and actor, was one of the most important representatives of the New German Cinema.
He was born in the Bavarian town of Bad Wörishofen. He died of a drug overdose; his death is often considered the end of New German Cinema.
In his short life he not only made 41 films, but he also worked as an actor (film and theatre), cameraman, composer, designer, editor, producer and theatre manager. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fassbinder [Oct 2004]
Die Bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant/The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972) - Rainer Werner Fassbinder
- Die Bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant/The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972) - Rainer Werner Fassbinder [Amazon US]
Rainer Werner Fassbinder adapted his own play for this modern twist on The Women, the great all-female Hollywood classic of sex and social conventions in high society. Margit Carstensen is successful dress designer Petra, Irm Hermann her silent, obedient secretary/servant/Girl Friday Marlene (whom she alternately abuses and ignores), and Hanna Schygulla the callow, shallow young Karin, a seemingly naive blond beauty Petra treats as part protegée, part pet, until the calculating kitten turns on Petra. Michael Ballhaus's prowling camera finds Marlene silently hovering on the borders of Petra's dramas, looking on through doors and windows like an adoring lover from afar. Bouncing between catty melodrama and naked emotional need, it's a quintessentially Fassbinder portrait of doomed love, jealousy, and social taboos. The DVD features commentary by Fassbinder scholar Jane Shattuc, the early 1966 Fassbinder short films The City Tramp and The Little Chaos, the bonus documentary Rainer Werner Fassbinder, and filmographies. --Sean Axmaker for amazon.com
Querelle (1982) - Rainer Werner Fassbinder
- Querelle (1982) - Rainer Werner Fassbinder [Amazon US]
First of all when you get the DVD version, you have the opportunity to watch the film as it was originally filmed - in English. Anyone who speaks French and can read lips knows that the film was dubbed into French (and not just bad sync-sound) - the film was later released back in the states with English subtitles under the French dub (talk about a triple threat).
I must say that I love this movie for tackling issues that 20 years ago were definitely still taboo in the mainstream. Although not a masterpiece in terms of plot development, I believe it stays true to the development of Jean Genet's characters - and of course the cinematography is stunning. Like watching a live action Tom of Finland cartoon directed by David Lynch at times... Wonderful. --Andrew Mackintosh for amazon.com
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