{fahs'-bin-dur, ry'-nur vair'-nur}^Rainer Werner Fassbinder, b. May 31,
1946, d. June 10, 1982, was one of Germany's greatest and most prolific
film directors as well as a stage and screen actor and scriptwriter. He
joined the Munich Action Theater in 1967 and began making films two years
later, using a permanent ensemble of experienced actors. Fassbinder's work
reflects the influence of Bertolt Brecht and Karl Marx, and of Freudian
psychology; his choice of material was influenced by the American filmmaker
Douglas Sirk. His subject matter ranges from the failure of friends to
communicate, as portrayed in Katzelmacher (1969), to the dullness of daily
existence, depicted in Warum lauft Herr R. Amok? (Why Does Herr R. Run
Amok?, 1969) and Die bittren Tranen der Petra von Kant (The Bitter Tears of
Petra von Kant, 1972). Particularly admired are the bittersweet Der Handler
der vier Jahreszeiten (Merchant of the Four Seasons, 1971), the stylish
Effi Breist, and Ali: Angst essen Seele auf (Ali: Fear Eats the Soul,
1974), a study in adversity. Fassbinder's Faustrecht der Freiheit (1975),
released in English as Fox and his Friends, created a new wave of interest
in his films in both the United States and Europe. In 1978, Fassbinder
released his first English language film, Despair, starring Dirk Bogarde.
His most commercially successful films were The Marriage of Maria Braun
(1979), Veronika Voss (1982), Querelle (released 1983), and the 15 hour
Berlin Alexanderplatz (released 1983) which portrays life in Berlin between
the World Wars. GAUTAM DASGUPTA