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Originally Posted by h8kurdt

Only Ali:Fear eats the soul and The marriage of Eva Braun thinking about it. I thought I'd see Tears of Petra Von Kant but if I have I remember zilch.

 

We watched this last night for film club. I really enjoyed it and one the seems to have been mostly forgotten, about which is a shame, as there's a lot to recommend for it. Also, there's a song in they play a few times and it's catchy as hell and so, so good

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRXM-qGIeZA

oooh saura is great. still important in spain and latin america i think.

...

the thing with fassbinder to remember you probably already know but it’s central to the like/dislike is that he came out of the theatre (and one of the reasons why he was so prolific was he stuck to his company more or less and essentially did filmed theatre.)

the other thing is that he was under heavy brechtian influence so they’re not going for naturalism and things can appear odd.

third is he was heavy under influence of douglas sirk (demonyo turned me on to him, ask him anout sirk) which i think was also a second-hand brechtian thing after all but also very hollywood.

fassbinders cinematography is great, had an eye for beauty and understood a great shot, but for me he’s not primarily cinematic, he’s theatrical instead. so going with a mind to see a political play that also uses the devices of 50s technicolor melodrama might be a good entrance.

i won’t deny im also under the influence of his legend—the genius, the relentless work rate, the debauchery, the devious manipulation of his circle, the early death. so i guess that does color my perception a bit.

and he was a damn good actor!


so hmmm lost the plot of what i was saying haaa haaaaa

oh in a way i also think what blocks people out is he was dealing with very german topics german problems and german issues—the postwar, the recovery, fascism in the family, etc. and i can catch some of that but i also know i miss little things—like in chinese roulette ther’s something about the name of the nanny traunitz and i get what the character is supposed to be and there is some big reveal at the end—but i don’t have the full context.

anyway...

i liked the merchant of four seasons more than ali, as i recall.

and try “fox and his friends” maybe? fassbinder himself plays the character.

also, satan’s brew i recall was hilarious. not great or deep but very funny, thinking of damned artists and what not. wanna rewatch it this week.

these are his middle period more or less, after the black and white stuff but before his more famous ones.

ah i gotta run out of the house.... feck, as father hackett sez.