Rainer Werner Fassbinder

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Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Fassbinder on the set of Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980) with actress Hanna Schygulla in the background.
Born May 31, 1945(1945-05-31)
Bad Wörishofen, Bavaria, Germany
Died June 10, 1982 (aged 37)
Munich, Germany
Occupation film director, producer, actor and writer
Spouse(s) Ingrid Caven (1970-1972; div.)
Juliane Lorenz (1978-1982)

Rainer Werner Maria Fassbinder (May 31, 1945 – June 10, 1982) was a German movie director, screenwriter and actor. He is one of the most important representatives of the New German Cinema.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Fassbinder was born in the Bavarian town of Bad Wörishofen. In his short life he not only made 43 films (including two shorts and the 15 ½ hour Berlin Alexanderplatz), but he also worked as an actor (film and theatre), author, cameraman, composer, designer, editor, producer and theatre manager.

Fassbinder's prodigious cinematic output is legendary. He made, on average, a film every hundred days. His intense discipline and phenomenal creative energy when working were in violent contrast with the excesses of abasement and tortured relationships of his personal life with the people he drew around him in a surrogate family of actors (including Margit Carstensen, Kurt Raab, Günther Kaufmann and Hanna Schygulla), technicians and cameramen (notably Michael Ballhaus and Xaver Schwarzenberger) and composer Peer Raben in a similar way to John Cassavetes.

Fassbinder was openly gay and many of his films dealt with gay characters - keeping with his interest in characters that were deemed outsiders by society.

Fassbinder died at the age of 37 from heart failure resulting from a lethal interaction between cocaine, sleeping pills and alcohol. There is debate as to whether the overdose was accidental or not. His death is often considered to mark the end of New German Cinema.

There are two biographies in English, Fassbinder: The Life and Work of a Provocative Genius by Christian Braad Thomsen, translated by Martin Chalmers (ISBN 0-571-17842-1). and Love Is Colder than Death by Robert Katz.

[edit] Work

Famous for his frenetic pace in film-making, Fassbinder completed 41 film projects between 1969 and 1982, including 24 feature-length films for cinema, 14 for television and 2 TV series. His first 3 films were B&W shorts financed by his aged lover, Christoph Roser, who also starred in two or three of them along Fassbinder, Fassbinder's mother (Lilo Pempeit), and some of his future regulars (Irm Hermann, Michael Fengler).

[edit] Personal life

Fassbinder was entangled in multiple relationships with women, but more often with men. His personal life, always well publicized, met with gossip and scandal. Early in his career, he had a lasting, but fractured relationship with Irm Hermann, a former secretary whom he forced to become an actress.[1] Hermann, who idolized him, was tormented and tortured by him for over a decade.[2] This included domestic violence: "He couldn't conceive of my refusing him, and he tried everything. He almost beat me to death on the streets of Bochum ...."[3] In 1977, Hermann became romantically involved with another man and became pregnant by him. Fassbinder proposed to her and offered to adopt the child; she turned him down.[4]

Fassbinder's main love interest during his early period as a film director was Günther Kaufmann. Kaufmann was not a trained actor and entered cinema when, in 1970, Fassbinder fell madly in love with him. The director tried to buy his love with movie roles and expensive gifts,[5] but Kaufmann managed to destroy four Lamborghinis in a year. Like Salem, Fassbinder's next male partner, he was married and the father of two children.

Although he claimed to be opposed to matrimony as an institution, Fassbinder married Ingrid Caven, a regular actress in his films, in 1970. Their wedding reception was recycled in the film he was making at that time, The American Soldier.[6] Their relationship of mutual admiration survived the complete failure of their two-year marriage. "Ours was a love story in spite of the marriage," Ingrid explained in an interview, adding about her former husband's sexuality: "Rainer was a homosexual who also needed a woman. It’s that simple and that complex."[7] The three most important women of Fassbinder’s life, Irm Hermann, Ingrid Caven and Juliane Lorenz, his last partner, were not at all disturbed by his homosexuality.[8]

In 1971, Fassbinder fell in love with actor El Hedi ben Salem (c1935-82), a Berber from Morocco. Their turbulent relationship ended violently in 1974.[9] Salem, cast as Ali in Fear Eats the Soul, hanged himself in jail in 1982. Fassbinder, who barely outlived his former lover, dedicated his last film, Querelle, to Salem.

Armin Meier (1943-78), a former butcher who was almost illiterate and who had spent his early years in an orphanage, was Fassbinder's lover from 1974 to 1978.[10] He also appeared in several Fassbinder films in this period. After Fassbinder broke up with him, Meier committed suicide on Fassbinder’s birthday.[11] He was found dead in their apartment only days later. Devastated by Armin’s suicide, Fassbinder made In a Year with Thirteen Moons to exorcise his pain.

In the last four years of his life, Fassbinder's companion was Juliane Lorenz (born 1957), the editor of his films during this period. They were about to marry on several occasions, a mock wedding ceremony took place while they were in the United States, but finally never did so.[12] According to Lorenz, Fassbinder was by now no longer sleeping with men; they were still living together at the time of his death. Braad Thomsen though, has claimed they were drifting apart in his last year.[13][14]

[edit] Filmography

All titles written and directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder unless stated otherwise. According to Hanna Schygulla, Fassbinder had no part in making of Why Does Herr R. Run Amok?, that was realized off his idea by Michael Fengler, his assistant.[15]

Year English title Original title Notes
1965 This Night This Night Short. Lost.
1966 The City Tramp Der Stadtstreicher Short.
1966/67 The Little Chaos Das kleine Chaos Short.
1969 Love Is Colder Than Death Liebe ist kälter als der Tod
1969 Katzelmacher (aka Cock Artist) Katzelmacher Based on his play.
1970 Gods of the Plague Götter der Pest
1970 The Coffee House Das Kaffeehaus Video recording for German TV. Based on a play by Carlo Goldoni.
1970 Why Does Herr R. Run Amok? Warum läuft Herr R. Amok? Co-directed and written (improvisation instructions) with Michael Fengler.
1970 The American Soldier Der amerikanische Soldat
1970 The Niklashausen Journey Die Niklashauser Fahrt TV film. Co-directed with Michael Fengler.
1971 Rio das Mortes Rio das Mortes TV film.
1971 Pioneers in Ingolstadt Pioniere in Ingolstadt TV film. Based on a play by Marieluise Fleißer.
1971 Whity Whity
1971 Beware of a Holy Whore Warnung vor einer heiligen Nutte
1972 The Merchant of Four Seasons Händler der vier Jahreszeiten
1972 The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant Based on his play.
1972-1973 Eight Hours Are Not a Day Acht Stunden sind kein Tag TV series, 5 episodes.
1972 Bremen Freedom Bremer Freiheit TV film. Based on his play.
1973 Jail Bait Wildwechsel TV film. Based on a play by Franz Xaver Kroetz.
1973 World on a Wire Welt am Draht TV film in two parts. Based on the novel Simulacron-3 by Daniel F. Galouye. Co-written with Fritz Müller-Scherz.
1974 Nora Helmer Nora Helmer Video recording for German TV. Based on A Doll's House by Ibsen (German translation by Bernhard Schulze).
1974 Ali: Fear Eats the Soul Angst essen Seele auf Inspired by Douglas Sirk's All That Heaven Allows.
1974 Martha Martha 16mm TV film. Based on the story "For the Rest of Her Life" by Cornell Woolrich.
1974 Effi Briest Fontane - Effi Briest oder: Viele, die eine Ahnung haben
von ihren Möglichkeiten und Bedürfnissen und dennoch
das herrschende System in ihrem Kopf akzeptieren durch
ihre Taten und es somit festigen und durchaus bestätigen		 Based on the novel by Theodor Fontane.
1975 Like a Bird on a Wire Wie ein Vogel auf dem Draht TV film. Co-written with Christian Hohoff and Anja Hauptmann.
1975 Fox and His Friends Faustrecht der Freiheit Co-written with Christian Hohoff.
1975 Mother Küsters' Trip to Heaven Mutter Küsters Fahrt zum Himmel Co-written with Kurt Raab. Based on the short story "Mutter Krausens Fahrt Ins Glück" by Heinrich Zille.
1975 Fear of Fear Angst vor der Angst TV film. Based on the novel by Asta Scheib.
1976 I Only Want You to Love Me Ich will doch nur, daß ihr mich liebt TV film. Based on the book Lebenslänglich by Klaus Antes and Christiane Erhardt.
1976 Satan's Brew Satansbraten
1976 Chinese Roulette Chinesisches Roulette
1977 Women in New York Frauen in New York TV film. Based on the play by Clare Boothe Luce.
1977 The Stationmaster's Wife Bolwieser TV film in two parts. Based on the play by Oskar Maria Graf.
1978 Germany in Autumn Deutschland im Herbst Fassbinder directed 26-minute episode for this omnibus film.
1978 Despair Despair - Eine Reise ins Licht Screenplay by Tom Stoppard. Based on the novel by Vladimir Nabokov.
1978 In a Year of 13 Moons In einem Jahr mit 13 Monden
1979 The Marriage of Maria Braun Die Ehe der Maria Braun Co-written with Pea Fröhlich and Peter Märthesheimer.
1979 The Third Generation Die dritte Generation
1980 Berlin Alexanderplatz Berlin Alexanderplatz 16mm TV film series, 14 episodes. Based on the novel by Alfred Döblin.
1981 Lili Marleen Lili Marleen Based on Der Himmel hat viele Farben, the autobiography of Lale Andersen. Co-written with Manfred Purzer and Joshua Sinclair.
1981 Theater in Trance Theater im Trance Documentary.
1981 Lola Lola Co-written with Pea Fröhlich and Peter Märthesheimer.
1982 Veronika Voss Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss Co-written with Pea Fröhlich and Peter Märthesheimer.
1982 Querelle Querelle Co-written with Burkhard Driest. Based on the novel Querelle de Brest by Jean Genet.

[edit] Documentaries

  • Rainer Werner Fassbinder (1977) – German documentary made by Florian Hopf and Maximiliane Mainka. (29 minutes)
  • Life Stories: A Conversation with RWF (original title: Lebensläufe: RWF, 1982) – German TV documentary made by Peter W. Jansen as part of a regular series. Contains an in-depth interview given by RWF in his Paris home on 18 March 1978. (48 minutes)
  • RWF Last Works (original title: RWF Letzte Arbeiten, 1982) – German TV documentary made by Wolf Gremm during the shooting of Kamikaze 1989 and Querelle.
  • Room 666 (original title: Chambre 666, 1982) – Along with a number of his peers, Fassbinder participated in this Wim Wenders documentary project. (50 minutes)
  • I Don't Just Want You to Love Me (1992) – German feature-length documentary on Fassbinder's career. (90 minutes)
  • The Women of Fassbinder (original title: Frauen über R. W. Fassbinder 1992) – German television documentary made by Thomas Honickel. Margit Carstensen, Irm Hermann, Hanna Schygulla and (briefly) Rosel Zech are interviewed. (60 minutes)
  • The Many Women of Fassbinder (1997)
  • Life, Love and Celluloid (1998) – documentary film by Juliane Lorenz (in English) centring around the 1997 Museum of Modern Art retrospective in New York. Gottfried John and Günter Lamprecht are featured. (90 minutes)
  • Fassbinder in Hollywood (2002) – documentary made by Robert Fischer (mainly in English) and co-written by Ulli Lommel, who also appears. Michael Ballhaus, Hanna Schygulla and Wim Wenders are interviewed. (57 minutes)
  • Fassbinder's Women (2005) – French thematic anthology of film clips. (25 minutes)

[edit] References

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Lorenz Chaos as Usual, p.20
  2. ^ Hayman Fassbinder: Film Maker, p.22
  3. ^ Baer Ya Dormiré cuando este Muerto, p.65
  4. ^ Hayman Fassbinder: Film Maker, p.24
  5. ^ Hayman Fassbinder: Film Maker, p.62
  6. ^ Camille Nevers Cahiers du Cinema, no469, June 1993, interview with Caven as reprinted in Lorenz Chaos as Usual, p.43-44
  7. ^ Camille Nevers Cahiers du Cinema, no469, June 1993, interview with Caven as reprinted in Lorenz Chaos as Usual, p.45
  8. ^ Lorenz Chaos as Usual, p.245-46
  9. ^ Braad Thomsen Fassbinder, p.19
  10. ^ Hayman Fassbinder: Film Maker, p.682
  11. ^ Braad Thomsen Fassbinder, p.20
  12. ^ Lorenz Chaos as Usual, p.244
  13. ^ Braad Thomsen Fassbinder, p41
  14. ^ Hodgkiss, Rosalind ,"The bitter tears of Fassbinder's women",
  15. ^ Sontag, Susan (25.02.2003). "The Imperfect Storm". The Village Voice. http://www.villagevoice.com/2003-02-25/film/the-imperfect-storm/. Retrieved on 2009-06-04. 


[edit] External links


v • d • e
The films of Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Love Is Colder Than Death (1969)  · Katzelmacher (1969)  · Gods of the Plague (1970) · Why Does Herr R. Run Amok? (1970) · The American Soldier (1970) · Whity (1971) · Beware of a Holy Whore (1971) · The Merchant of Four Seasons (1972) · The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972) · Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974) · Effi Briest (1974) · Fox and His Friends (1975) · Mother Küsters' Trip to Heaven (1975) · Satan's Brew (1976) · Chinese Roulette (1976) · Germany in Autumn (1978, episode) · Despair (1978) · In a Year of 13 Moons (1978) · The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979) · The Third Generation (1979) · Lili Marleen (1981) · Theater in Trance (1981, documentary) · Lola (1981) · Veronika Voss (1982) · Querelle (1982)
Television works
The Coffee House (1970) · The Niklashausen Journey (1970) · Rio das Mortes (1971) · Pioneers in Ingolstadt (1971) · Eight Hours Are Not a Day (1972-73, series) · Bremen Freedom (1973) · Jail Bait (1973) · World on a Wire (1973) · Nora Helmer (1974) · Martha (1974) · Like a Bird on a Wire (1975) · Fear of Fear (1975) · I Only Want You to Love Me (1976) · Women in New York (1977) · The Stationmaster's Wife (1977) · Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980, series)
Shorts
This Night (1965) · The City Tramp (1966) · The Little Chaos (1966)
v • d • e
Cinema of Germany
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainer_Werner_Fassbinder"
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