Rainer Werner Fassbinder

I voted for "Fox and His Friends" but I also enjoyed "World on a Wire", available in full here:

[quote] World on a Wire (German: Welt am Draht) is a 1973 science fiction television serial, starring Klaus Löwitsch and directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Shot in 16 mm, it was made for German television and originally aired in 1973, as a two-part miniseries. It was based on the novel Simulacron-3 by Daniel F. Galouye. Its focus is not on action, but on sophistic and philosophic aspects of the human mind, simulation, and the role of scientific research. A theatrical remake entitled The Thirteenth Floor starring Craig Bierko was released in 1999.

"Effi Briest" is that rarity: a stunning adaptation of a great novel.

Is it true Fassbinder was a scatologist?

When ever I hear about Fassbinder, I always think of Laurie Anderson's White Lily....

Some Fassbinder enthusiast please tell me which of his films have the most full frontal cock shots.

Thank you.

R5: That’d be Fox and His Friends, handily.

[quote] That’d be Fox and His Friends, handily.

Verificatia here:

Ali: Fear Eats the Soul is a masterpiece

Considering how DL thinks all trans people are nuts I'm guessing In A Year of 13 Moons should be the top choice:

The melodramatic use of color in Lola is so damn lurid; it's my personal favorite.

Year of 13 Moons has the most fabulously depressing, darlings! Halston took me to see it, and I said, "Why, darling? Why would you take me to see this movie?"

And he said, "I thought you were in it, darling."

And I said, "Because it was in German? Only the dubbed version of Cabaret is in German and this wasn't Cabaret., Halston"

And he said, "No, darling, The Year of Junie Moon. That was you, wasn't it?"

And then Victor came over with a ton of quaaludes and the next thing I knew I was making Arthur with Tony Newley. Or was it Dudley Moore? I always got them confused. Was I in Young Frankenstein? I distinctly remember waking up in a trailer with Marty Feldman's eyeball in my purse.

I voted for In a Year with 13 Moons, but, in my book, it’s tied with The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, a fine film for a self-quarantine viewing. I enjoy some of his early output but feel like he was at the height of his powers between 1972-78 before he got too commercial with the BRD trilogy. He sounded like a truly sadistic man but on celluloid his heart was as pure as the finest, uncut Colombian blow. God only knows what kind of films he’d be making if he were still alive today.

Any chance a DL cine sleuth could find me Jail Bait with English subs?

I was friends with a German guy who use to work in the film industry back in the day. He told me that Fassbinder had a scat fetish and used to throw shit on the walls at the hotel rooms he stayed at to torment the maids who would have to clean it up once he checked out.

He was an exceptional filmmaker, but a sadistic asshole.

Jew-hating Nazi trash. Hard pass.

Full movie of "In a Year with 13 Moons" (select English subtitles):

Chinese Roulette is my favourite Fassbinder and as it wasn't listed I chose In a Year of 13 Moons. Really you could make a case about a dozen or so of his films as his best.

I could have voted for nearly every film on the list (except, curiously, the film in the lead, Querelle, which is shocking and memorable, but simply not up to the level of Ali, Petra, Fox, et al).

The Marriage of Maria Braun is truly a masterpiece, but I voted for Fox and His Friends, perhaps the most ruthlessly bleak look at human greed, loneliness, and the viciousness gay man can do to each other.

I've seen only Ali and Maria Braun: I thought the first one was a masterpiece but the second one was so terrible it turned me off RWF for good.

[quote] He was an exceptional filmmaker, but a sadistic asshole.

You can see the sadism in some of his films.

In "Martha" the male character deliberately encourages his new wife to get sunburned, then rapes her. It's excruciating to watch.

R19: Martha is actually one of my favorites not listed here and Margit Carstensen was the best in his roster of actors.

See also: Whity, Satan’s Brew, Chinese Roulette, Beware of a Holy Whore, and Why Does Herr R. Run Amok?

I liked Fear of Fear.

Great depiction of what it's like to live with an anxiety disorder.

I had to watch 13 Moons for a college film class. One of the most excruciating experiences of my life.

Great use of Kraftwerk in Chinese Roulette, too.

He was cute before he got fat in the final years before his death.

He was the kind of [italic]enfant terrible[/italic] his post-War generation to some extent demanded in the 70s--it's no accident he was born in 1945, and that his films were so often about the decadence and the failings of the Adenauer generation. He was akin to the same sensibility that bred the Baader-Meinhof gang members--like them, he was so worked up by his anger at what previous generations had done, he became ruthless and cruel. (Although of course he was not murderous.)

It's sad to me that German cinema has not really produced a director of his caliber since his death.

Querelle is a dud. On paper it promises so much, watching it is bore. Brad Davies (the only good thing about it) is very cute.

You’re an absolute idiot OP. ANY true Fassbinder fan knows the true answer is Chinese Roulette yet in your stupidity you left that out.

Dial down the hysteria, r26. F&F.

R5 Here’s Armin Meier (Fassbinder’s boyfriend) in ‘Satan’s Brew’.

With Fassbinder the line between sadism and compassion is so close as to be almost indistinguishable. He was one of the great observers of humanity.

Here’s a lesser known Fassbinder short (25 minutes) from ”Germany in Autumn” (1977), where Fassbinder argues with Armin and his mother on how to deal with terrorists. Shortly after Armin committed suicide.

I heard he was romantically involved with or at the very least smashed most of the actors in his work, R28.

I really like Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, it's on YouTube with English subtitles for those who haven't seen it.

The Moroccan male lead El Hedi ben Salem was Fassbinder's boyfriend for a while, they met at a gay bathhouse in Paris according to Wiki.

Wild!

[quote]Salem and Fassbinder's relationship was reportedly tumultuous. They fought frequently due in part to Salem's short temper which turned violent when he drank.[4] While Salem and Fassbinder were living together in Germany, Salem brought his two sons to live with them. This arrangement did not last long as the children were unprepared for life in a different culture and Salem and Fassbinder were not up to the task of raising children. Both frequently drank, took drugs and often left the children with friends.

[quote]In 1974, Fassbinder ended the relationship due to Salem's violence and drinking. After the breakup, Salem began drinking more heavily. Director Daniel Schmid, one of Fassbinder's close friends, later told Roger Ebert that shortly after the break up, Salem got drunk and "went to a place in Berlin and stabbed three people." Salem then returned to Fassbinder and told him "You don't have to be afraid anymore."

[quote]After the stabbings, none of which were fatal, Salem fled to France aided by Fassbinder and his friends.[10] Schmid later recalled that Salem had to be "virtually smuggled out of Germany" and that Fassbinder cried the entire time they were driving Salem out of Berlin.

[quote]While in France, Salem was arrested and jailed. While in custody at a prison in Nîmes in 1977, Salem hanged himself. News of Salem's death was kept from Fassbinder for years. He did not learn of his former lover's death until shortly before his own death in 1982.[10] Fassbinder dedicated his last film, Querelle (1982), to Salem.

I liked "Fox and Friends" and thought he was very appealing in it - in real life he seems to have engaged in a contest with Pasolini to see who could be the bigger asshole dirt-bag drugged-out hooker, but the character of Fox is oddly winsome and he might be one of the first directors to actually go full-frontal in his own films.

Because I'm a sucker for tragic, drug addicted chanteuses, I chose "Veronika Voss."

He was a coked up pig who treated his boyfriends and some actors like shit. Good from him that he did not live to see the "MeToo" era. Like Mapplethorpe, he should be forgotten.

R37: So you’re into this modern age where the proponents of #metoo are washed up actresses who were silent because solely because they were reaping benefits and not housekeepers on their knees at the Days Inn? Some would argue this culture is more destructive (and boring) where everything is heavily policed and anyone can simply be “canceled” at the drop of a hat.

Hoping these mentalities are finally in their death throes now that the world is effectively canceled.

LOVE Chinese Roulette

If you guys like Fassbinder, I highly recommend getting to see Daniel Schmid's movies, especially his La Paloma. Schmid was a good friend of Fassbinder, and had a very similar sensibility. La Paloma is a real mind-fuck, featuring many of the same actors Fassbinder used, including Ingrid Caven.

Querelle can be streamed below. Any voters want to share why it is their favorite?

[quote] If you guys like Fassbinder, I highly recommend getting to see Daniel Schmid's movies, especially his La Paloma. Schmid was a good friend of Fassbinder, and had a very similar sensibility.

Schimd 1983 interview by Roger Ebert:

I can't see that name without thinking about Michael Fassbender's giant dick, sorry.

Also, thanks R41, I haven't seen Querelle in ages.

Fassbinder, Armin Meier and Kurt Raab once visited the Mineshaft when they were in New York. Meier and Raab didn’t like the scene and went to a bathhouse instead, but, according to Raab, Fassbinder was obsessed with the fisting that was going on. It was something none of them had ever seen.

^ ...had ever seen before.

Querelle was horrible. I would have made a better movie myself with a Super8. He must have hated Jean Genet.

Petra von Kant i suppose as it was my first Fassbinder. There’s no one been a filmmaker like him. I like all his films because I like his voice, his sensibility, his esthetics, politics... his artistry. I like even the ones that are obscure or less celebrated. I really cannot pick one.

Dionysiac excess was the norm: he drank all day, snorted snowdrifts of coke like a vacuum and gorged on barbiturates by the bagful but work was all that mattered. He spent the next day behind the camera shooting his new project, editing its predecessor at night, and writing whatever was next until dawn.

I loved the 70s filmmakers who just did the work...making a film or more a year. Fassbinder and Altman and even Woody Allen. Yeah, some of the films weren't great but it was just real film making from their own perspectives and not watered down pablum.

Sidney Lumet was like that, a movie a year, sometimes two.

[quote] Martha is actually one of my favorites not listed here and Margit Carstensen was the best in his roster of actors.

Famous clip of "Martha":

What’s so famous about that clip? Querelle needed more nudity especially from Brad Davis. Only Marriage of Maria Braun has had a lasting impact on me but I haven’t really watched many of his films. Satan’s Brew is currently streaming on TCM I tried to watch it and thought it was truly terrible.

Fassbinder said that all of his movies are about the various ways people are using and abusing each other.