The new Second Sight BD of Berlin Alexanderplatz arrived yesterday. It’s a handsome, five-disc digipak set, presented in a hard slipbox, with a 60-page perfect-bound book. Limited to 2,000 copies. Given the limitations of the source material, the picture quality isn’t a massive improvement, but fine detail, especially in clothing, and grain certainly advance over the old DVD editions. Some photos, courtesy of a user over at Blu-ray.com:
You need to watch Chinese Roulette. It's one of Fassbinder's lesser-known films, but its intensity, its grittiness and the cinematograohy by Michael Ballhaus are brilliant. It's a thorough observation on people who try to hide their problems and who choose to live an illusion rather than examining where their lives went wrong - in the end, it's a child who becomes aware of this and turns this into a dangerous and highly psychopathic game over the course of a weekend, slowly driving the adults insane. I've just started Fassbinder, but this film and Fear Eats the Soul are already in high acclaim for me
Chinese Roulette is so dark, even for Fassbinder. The way he takes that angelic-looking, young disabled girl and makes her one of the most twisted, evil characters in all of cinema is a master stroke.
Heads up, Second Sight in the U.K. have soft-announced their BD of World on a Wire for December: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B07GK1Q2FN/ If the running time stated in the Amazon listing is correct, a quick calculation indicates that this will run at 25fps, as per the original German television broadcast. (The Criterion BD runs at 24fps, in order to circumvent playback problems on North American equipment.) Second Sight have been doing a great job of late, so I’m hoping that this will be another fine release. To have it at the correct playback speed will certainly be a plus. Here’s hoping it doesn’t get delayed significantly, like Berlin Alexanderplatz.
These are the three I’ve seen and I have the same editions too. I particularly enjoyed Ali: Fear Eats The Soul. Next up is The Marriage Of Maria Braun, which I’ve had for a while but not yet watched
You have much RWF goodness to explore. The Marriage of Maria Braun is a good shout for your next one. Also consider seeing The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant and Fox and His Friends. HMV and Fopp have an Arrow Academy sale on right now, and you can pick up their Fassbinder BDs for as little as £6 each.
Yes, I bought the three U.K. editions i already have from Fopp for £6 each. Think I might also be buying Berlin Alexanderplatz sooner rather than later. Thanks for the recommendations.
Criterion do that with all their European television stuff, where the native frame rate is 25fps. Their upcoming Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day BD suffers from the same affliction, as does their Dekalog, etc. Regarding World on a Wire: Criterion = 212 minutes Second Sight listing = 204 minutes 212 * 0.96 = 203.52.
Veronika Voss has been one of my favorite films ever since I first saw it, and I've seen it many times now. Largely for its striking visual style, though it has many other worthy aspects. Over the years I've been gratified to see its critical and public notice improve. It's now tied for third (with The Marriage of Maria Braun) among his theatrical releases on imdb. I think Maria Braun and Lola are very good places to start for anyone unfamiliar with Fassbinder's works. They're not for everyone, though. I remember seeing The Stationmaster's Wife (Bolweiser) in the theater with my friends...everyone found it compelling but depressing. I've not yet seen World on a Wire.
Criterion is releasing in February a Blu-ray edition of "Berlin Alexanderplatz" - will this be the same master as appeared on the DVD release from 2007?
I'm hoping Criterion puts out a comprehensive set of Fassbinder's films similar to what we just got with Ingmar Bergman. But not for at least another year. That Bergman box is enormous and will take a long time to get through.
I don’t think the Fassbinder Foundation has finished restoring everything yet. But yes, that would be lovely. The Bergman set is immense, and great value considering how many films you get for the price. Release of the year, by a country mile.
Back in the 80’s the firm i worked for told me i could no longer carry over any of my annual leave and forced me to take a week off..not really feeling motivated to go to a holiday destination i decided that i’ll just rent some videos and have a mini film festival..i went to my local video rental outlet that had the complete series of Berlin Akexanderplatz...(i think it was 9 tapes)...intrigued i rented and watched the first two volumes..i was hooked!...over the following days i watched the whole series and was glad i had the week off....I now own a DVD version of the series and think it’s time to revisit Berlin Alexanderplatz.
A: Fourth uninterrupted Berlin Alexanderplatz rewatch. Q: How can you tell when your teenager has gone 'round the bend for good?
Second Sight has released the specs for their forthcoming World on a Wire BD. Fassbinder’s ahead of its time sci-fi masterpiece WORLD ON A WIRE will be released on Blu-ray and on-demand February 18th. The 2-disc LIMITED EDITION Blu-ray special features include: • No Strings Attached - an interview with assistant director Renate Leiffer • Observing Fassbinder – a tribute to photographer Peter Gauhe • Looking Ahead to Today documentary • On-set featurette • Original Broadcast Recap • The Simulation Argument – an interview with Professor Nick Bostrom • Rigid slipcase packaging • 50 page perfect-bound booklet featuring new essays by Anton Bitel and Daniel Bird and archival writing by Daniel Oberhaus and Christian Braad Thomsen
Big fan of Fassbinder. His stuff has had a profound influence on me. The New German Cinema directors were the generation who’s parents participated in or ignored the Holocaust. Imagine having THAT conversation with your mom and dad. Thomsen’s book on Fassbinder is a good read too.
Just getting into Baal tonight. As usual, I started with the Criterion's special features: I hadn't realized how important this project was to director, Volker Schlöndorff's creative unfoldment or how close the portrait of Baal would prove to be of Fassbinder. I particularly like the observation of Schlöndorff on the behavior of Baal and Fassbinder in pushing those who loved them or followed them to such extremes that they ultimately revolted. I'm not sure how deep that goes or if it comes close to what anyone would call love but it's an obvious dynamic in Fassbinder's allure.
I really enjoyed this version of Baal. Fassbinder was made to play the role. It’s also interesting to compare with Alan Clarke’s 1982 version, starring David Bowie. Bowie gave a decent performance, I think, but I prefer the earlier film.