Epic decadence
Pasquale lannone offers a beginner's guide to Rainer Werner Fassbinder's 1980 opus, Berlin Alexanderplatz: Remastered. It is a rare treat though, at more than 15 hours long, it's not for the faint hearted
he I‘L‘L‘cnl deaths of art cinetna L'Ulossl Ingmar Bergman and Michelangelo Antonioni at the ages of 8‘) and 94 respectively led me to wonder about some of the great filmmakers who did not make it to their fifth decade. let alone approach their tenth. This group includes directors .lean \'igo. .lean liltslaclle. Larissa Shepitko. Michael Reeyes and the astonishingly prolific Rainer \Verner l‘ttssltitltlct‘. who died in WK: at the age of 30. l‘assbinder was. along with \Verner ller/og. Alexander Kluge. lidgar Reit/ and Win] Wenders. one of the key filmmakers of the New (ierman ('inema of the l‘)7()s. but this description is barely sufficient to characterise an oeuvre which is unprecedented in the history of film. both in quality and quantity. Beginning in ION). Fassbinder tnade 33 feature films for cinema and TV. four TV series (a total of 23 episodes) and four feature-length video films a total of ()0 pieces for film and television in 13 years.
It’s a very impressive work rate, but what kind of filmmaker was Fassbinder?
(‘oming out of the Munich 'anti-theater' group. l-‘assbinder's early films were undoubtedly indebted to the l‘rench New Wave. But his declared ambition was to make ‘(ierman Hollywood Films. that is to say films that were ‘wonderful and beautiful but which could nevertheless be critical successes'. l‘or inspiration. Fassbinder turned to the films of Michael (‘uni/. Raoul Walsh and. most significantly. the lash melodramas of Douglas Sirk.
Screening at this year's lillil" in its full. restored (BU-minute version is Berlin Alexanderplatl. the monumental opus made in 1980. both his most personal film and the summation of l3 years of unrelenting experimentation in a variety of media. genres and settings.
But to give up over 15 precious festival
hours for a single film is madness surely? Absolutely. ‘You may laugh.’ said Fassbinder in 1980. 'but I believe my life would have turned out very differently if I hadn't carried around with me. in my heart. my flesh. my soul. Alfred Doblin's Berlin .-\lemmiwplut: Having read the novel during his ‘almost murderous puberty'.
52 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE :3- a: A...) g.
Fassbinder re—read it upon embarking on his own career and was determined to adapt it for cinema. Ll [H'UL‘L‘\\ \ylllL‘ll ltmls H\L‘l' Al tlL'Cllth. During this time. many of the themes and much of the flavour of I)oblin's novel would filter through into his many feature films.
l)llhll\llL‘Ll in l‘ll‘). the novel tells the story Ul
l-‘ran/ Biberlsopf. who. on his release from prison. is confronted with the poverty. unemployment. crime and bourgeoning .\'a/ism of l‘)2()s (iermany. ()ne of the first (iertnan noyels to adopt the technique of James .loy cc with its rapid shifts between interior monologue. collage of quotations and interior monologue it is a post-( (you city—noyel that ranks alongside .lohn l)os l’assos‘ .llun/mmm Tram/er. Between 197‘) and WM). litssbiittlet' adapted the novel into a TV film in 13 parts with a two-hour epilogue.
www.list.co.uklfilm
But if it is structured in 13 parts, why see it all over two days rather than spread out over several weeks like a traditional TV series?
('rucially. Ber/m .l/ctum/u‘p/u/g‘ is a 'l\' film. not a 'l‘\' series. Susan Sontag perhaps put it lk‘sl when she HlMCHL‘tl Illilli ‘lll Her/I'll gl/emmlt'rp/uri. cinema. that hybrid art. has at last achie\ed some of the dilatory. open hunt and accumulatiy e power of the novel. lhe more one can watch of the film o\ er the shortest time works best . . . e\actly as one reads a long novel. with ma\imum pleasure and intensity'
Filmhouse, 623 8080, 16-22 Aug, 6pm; 25 Aug (Package 1), 1pm; 26 Aug, 2.30pm (Package 2), £30 (no concs), individual screenings £6.50 (£4.55).