Berlin Alexanderplatz [7 Discs] [Criterion Collection]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Rainer Werner Fassbinder's sweeping 16-hour-long drama Berlin Alexanderplatz is an adaptation of the novel by Alfred Doblin. Franz Biberkopf (Gunter Lamprecht) is released from prison as the film opens; he had been jailed for four years after killing his girlfriend Ida. Franz becomes involved with Lina (Elisabeth Trissenaar) and promises to no longer break the law. The 1920s German economy is horrible, and Franz has difficulty providing for himself and his partner. He goes into business with Lina's uncle, who eventually betrays Franz, sending him into a serious downward spiral. Franz becomes involved with a criminal named Reinhold (Gottfried John), a womanizer who convinces Franz to get rid of the woman Reinhold himself has discarded. After a botched robbery, Franz loses his arm in a car accident. With assistance from his ex-girlfriend Eva (Fassbinder regular Hanna Schygulla) and her pimp, Franz recovers and returns to the city. He starts to make some money by acting as a pimp for a prostitute named Mieze (Barbara Sukowa), but Reinhold returns and kills her. The authorities arrest Franz for the murder. The film ends with Franz in a mental hospital, a prime candidate to join the ranks of the upstart National Socialist party. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 7
• Screen: Color
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Subtitle: Eng
• Features:
  • New high-definition digital transfer form the 2006 restoration by the Fassbinder Foundation and Bavaria Media, supervised and approved by director of photography Xaver Schwarzenberger
  • Two new documentaries by Fassbinder Foundation president Juliane Lorenz: one featuring interviews with the cast and crew (on disc six), the other on the restoration
  • Hans-Dieter Hartl's 1980 documetnary Notes on the Making of "Berlin Alexanderplatz"
  • Phil Jutzi's 1931, ninety-minute film of Alfred Doblin himself
  • New video interview with Peter Jelavich, author of Berlin Alexanderplatz: Radio, Film, and the Death of Weimar Culture
  • New and improved English subtitle translation
  • Plus: a book featuring an essay by filmmaker Tom Tykwer, reflections from Fassbinder, and interview with Schwarzenberger, and German author Thomas Steinfeld on the novel

AWARDS

• Berlin International Film Festival

•     Film Presented - 2007

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Gunter Lamprecht - Franz Biberkopf
       Hanna Schygulla - Eva
       Franz Buchrieser - Meck
       Gottfried John - Reinhold
       Barbara Sukowa - Mieze
       Elisabeth Trissenaar - Lina
       Brigitte Mira - Frau Bast
       Volker Spengler - Bruno
       Ivan Desny - Rudi
       Claus Holm - Landlord

• Director:

  Rainer Werner Fassbinder

• Producer:

  Peter Märthesheimer

• Screenwriter:

  Rainer Werner Fassbinder

• Book Author:

  Alfred Doblin

• Cinematographer:

  Xaver Schwarzenberger

• Composer (Music Score):

  Peer Raben

• Editor:

  Juliane Lorenz

• Art Director:

  Barbara Baum

• Costume Designer:

  Barbara Baum