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Displaying all 22 wall posts
DeJardinblum
22Nov11
It is rarely so clear as during the epilogue's hallucinatory slaughterhouse sequence, as Franz is tortured and Mieze exsanguinated while Fassbinder himself looks on with two angels; as the guiding wires of the director's great homage converge on autobiography and eulogy; as the witness's vocabulary commits the crime of an interior, rarely is it ever so clear: this is one of cinema's absolute moments.
Sean Patrick Stevens likes this
Cani
16Oct11
There are so many things to recollect from Fassbinder’s tribute to his favorite novel: the glorious opening sequence, the subway scenes, Eva’s reaction to a gun that isn’t there, Mieze’s introduction, Franz’s and Mieze’s drinking bout in part ten, ect. The thirteen parts were like mana from heaven (or hell) and the epilogue was a violent overdose that made me admire Fassbinder a little bit more
DeJardinblum likes this
comeandsee
8Aug11
one of the best experiences one person can have with cinema and/or tv in this case. fassbinder did not know how to make bad films. his vision is so unbending and every frame is a masterpiece, a new piece of modern art. the acting is as good as it has ever been, hanna schygulla is a ghostly presence. i do not know how to recommend this one enough.
Caden Cotard
18Jul11
An absolutely momentous film (or miniseries, as it were). It took nearly a year for Fassbinder to adapt Döblin's tome, but he manages to bring to life one of the greatest characters of all time. And, in doing so, elicits a truly extraordinary performance from Lamprecht. It's a long haul to sit through, but it's a beautiful experience if you do.
David Huxley
9Jul11
The film is constructed around the relationships between Franz Biberkopf and the other characters, but none so fascinating as the one between him and Reinhold. In the final two hours, the "Epilogue", Fassbinder re-imagines the previous thirteen hour-long episodes in a surreal fantasia of images and symbols, followed by a starkly contrasting resolution, which is practically mundane in comparison to what preceded it.
actingoutpolitics
27Mar11
Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s “Berlin Alexanderplatz” Among numerous semantic whirlpools to which Fassbinder’s film exposes the viewers – the relationship between Franz and Reinhold is the most intriguing and intellectually challenging, even more than Franz’ relationship with Eva, Mieze, Lina or Meck, his resistance to participate in workers’ politico-economic struggle, his “political conservatism”, his “idealism” or history of his “moral” struggle with himself, and many other topics, issues and enigmas. The film becomes more and more relevant to the situation in US in the beginning of 21st century when mass pauperization of population (becoming less and less liberally educated) helps to reduce psychological life to basic archetypes of feelings and thinking. Fassbinder demonstrates that these “Biblical” archetypes of perception of the world and behavior are still very far from being understood as they form and express themselves in an atmosphere of psycho-cultural fascization characteristic of the 1920’s when the events of “Berlin Alexanderplatz” takes place. Please, visit www.actingoutpolitics.com to read the article about this film (with analysis of shots), and also essays about other Fassbinder’s films, and also films by Godard, Bergman, Resnais, Bunuel, Bresson, Kurosawa, Antonioni, Pasolini, Cavani, Bertolucci, Alain Tanner and Moshe Mizrahi. By Victor Enyutin
actingoutpolitics
27Mar11
Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s “Berlin Alexanderplatz” Among numerous semantic whirlpools to which Fassbinder’s film exposes the viewers – the relationship between Franz and Reinhold is the most intriguing and intellectually challenging, even more than Franz’ relationship with Eva, Mieze, Lina or Meck, his resistance to participate in workers’ politico-economic struggle, his “political conservatism”, his “idealism” or history of his “moral” struggle with himself, and many other topics, issues and enigmas. The film becomes more and more relevant to the situation in US in the beginning of 21st century when mass pauperization of population (becoming less and less liberally educated) helps to reduce psychological life to basic archetypes of feelings and thinking. Fassbinder demonstrates that these “Biblical” archetypes of perception of the world and behavior are still very far from being understood as they form and express themselves in an atmosphere of psycho-cultural fascization characteristic of the 1920’s when the events of “Berlin Alexanderplatz” takes place. Please, visit www.actingoutpolitics.com to read the article about this film (with analysis of shots), and also essays about other Fassbinder’s films, and also films by Godard, Bergman, Resnais, Bunuel, Bresson, Kurosawa, Antonioni, Pasolini, Cavani, Bertolucci, Alain Tanner and Moshe Mizrahi. By Victor Enyutin
Martin Florio
3Dec10
This is a great wonderful film. I have been promising myself to see it for many years. Now I am at chapter 9, and loving every single minute of it. The mise en scene is magnificent, simple and beautifull, and the performances are amanazing. This one's from the heart, Rainer.
JP. Schmidt
21Aug10
While not perfect. The film portrays so much passion, heart, and will to make something great; it is a filmmaker doing their best possible. Literally you feel blood vessels busting from the attempt at one's own perfection in one's own art. Does the film feel strained? Once or twice, but not without merit. Truly a cinematic experience the viewer will never forget. Required a late night diner visit for coffee for me.
Stephen Jay Walsh
30Mar10
The postman brought the DVD today. Now just need to find a spare fifteen hours.
Jose Sarmiento Hinojosa
28Mar10
Si hay una obra que resuma todo lo oscuro del ser humano, Fassbinder la ha dirigido. Pocas obras fílmicas pertenecen a este nivel casi sobrenatural en donde la miseria humana se sublima con la fantasía. Obra maestra inconmensurable.
Tony Stark
27Nov08
I really enjoyed this. The 15 1/2 hours went by faster than the 3 hours of "Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End".
