411 Berlin Alexanderplatz

[jorencain]

Berlin Alexanderplatz



Rainer Werner Fassbinder's fifteen-hour Berlin Alexanderplatz, based on Alfred Döblin's great modernist novel, was the crowning achievement of a prolific director who, at age thirty-four, had already made over thirty films. Fassbinder's immersive epic follows the hulking, childlike ex-convict Franz Biberkopf (Günter Lamprecht) as he attempts to "become an honest soul" amid the corrosive urban landscape of Weimar-era Germany. With equal parts cynicism and humanity, Fassbinder details a mammoth portrait of a common man struggling to survive in a viciously uncommon time.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• High-definition digital restoration by the Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation and Bavaria Media, supervised and approved by director of photography Xaver Schwarzenberger, with DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• Two documentaries by Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation president Juliane Lorenz: one from 2007 featuring interviews with the cast and crew, the other from 2006 on the restoration
• Hans-Dieter Hartl's 1980 documentary Notes on the Making of "Berlin Alexanderplatz"
• Phil Jutzi's 1931 feature-length film of Alfred Döblin's novel, from a screenplay cowritten by Döblin himself
• Interview from 2007 with Peter Jelavich, author of "Berlin Alexanderplatz": Radio, Film, and the Death of Weimar Culture
• PLUS: A book featuring an essay by filmmaker Tom Tykwer, reflections on the novel by Fassbinder and author Thomas Steinfeld, and an interview with Schwarzenberger

Criterionforum.org user rating averages

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[solent]

Not only does the Museum of Modern Art wish to get involved, but also the biggest and most aspiring DVD company in the world, the New-York-based Criterion, is keen to acquire Berlin Alexanderplatz in a special edition for its Criterion Collection and the US market. (Page 5)

If it ends up being Criterion, that'll be great, but I'll be happy just to see it. I've been so anxious to check it out, that I don't care who puts it out.

I saw it in the late 80s on SBS TV [Australia]. I had only seen 3 or 4 of Fassbinder's films at the time [now I've seen 95 %]. At the time I was amazed by the tone of the film and of how such a long 'film' could hold my interest every week. If it does come out it would have to be viewd a la SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE.

[The Elegant Dandy Fop]

According to that, the movie is 15 1/2 hours. More like a T.V. show season than a movie.

Is the time really 15 1/2 hours? If it is, it's going to be an expensive DVD set.

[Cinephrenic]

It was made for TV. It would probably be a 5-disc set and would make a beautiful one I think. Would be the Criterion collection's equivalent to mainstream TV series along with Scenes from a Marriage. Ofcourse, a more important.

[mbowmanh]

Fabulous news. I can´t wait. I hope in Germany the series would be put out by Arthouse/Kinowelt. They just released "Heimat 1,2, and 3" from Edgar Reitz. It is a well done set and Arthouse has already issued several Fassbinder films (with several more in the works).

[Lino]

If this comes through, it will no doubt be a landmark release. I've had the good chance of actually having seen this on the big screen a couple of years back and it really is an artistic achievement of the highest stature (that is, if you like Fassbinder).

It now seems crazy that they could get such high results in so little time and at such low cost. Just goes to show, I guess...

[ellipsis7]

Superb news... I would fully expect the CC to conclude a deal, and hopefully we can look forward to a release sometime in 2007, after completion of the restoration and maybe special presentation at the Berlin filmfest... Certainly the Fassbinder Foundation would not achieve a better quality release and greater market profile and penetration anywhere other than with the CC...

[zedz]

Yeah. I mean, realistically, who else is going to be prepared to take this one on?

Yes, it is 15 1/2 hours long. Yes, it is fabulous. Much more than just a mini-series.

[jorencain]

I'm copying this from the "dvdbeaver comparisons" thread:

Don't know what has been said on this forum, but it now sounds less definite than it did initially, but still probably on:

From the Fassbinder Foundation newsletter:

Twenty-five years later, the past hysteria is mere history now. The new presentation, in best quality and with a new technical format, enables a new engagement with the masterpiece, which is now part of cinematic cultural history. The task mainly involved blowing up the 16mm original negative to 35mm and putting the digital WetGate scan taken from the original negative onto HD format, which gives an authentic reproduction of the original lighting created by Fassbinder together with his cameraman Xaver Schwarzenberger; through this standard, it can also be viewed in TV and DVD format. Not only does the Museum of Modern Art wish to get involved, but also the biggest and most aspiring DVD company in the world, the New-York-based Criterion, is keen to acquire Berlin Alexanderplatz in a special edition for its Criterion Collection and the US market. Our French distribution partner Carlotta Films has also declared a serious interest, and we receive e-mails and enquiries every day asking about the DVD edition.

The RWFF has also contacted public institutions with regard to financial support for the restoration, and generated lively interest. We have incurred considerable financial outlay in purchasing the novel rights by way of initial contribution, we will also provide Fassbinder's own rights to the screenplay and other services of our own, so we hope that our partners too will follow this example.

The total budget for the restoration alone is, according to our internal budget, approx. � 750,000, and this has been covered by us to date at a level of 1/3 of costs. A sum of � 500,000 is still to be financed.

Completion of the project should take place at the end of 2006. Please support us as much as you can: with your encouragement and positive thoughts �and if you wish, also with donations, for which we can let you have a formal receipt.

For what it's worth, the Fassbinder Foundation does a very decent job with its handling of its property -- they seem much more in tune with reality than, say, the Len Lye Foundation or the Oskar Fischinger Foundation, which seems to want to pretend that a DVD market for avant garde films simply does not exist.

That said, I have been disappointed with one of the Wellspring Fassbinder DVDs which exhibit some strange artefacts in some cases -- e.g., Merchant of Four Seasons has some weird digital twitching that I can't explain. Beware of a Holy Whore, on the other hand, looked pretty great. I've been meaning to investigate the PAL version of "Merchant" to see how it looks. Has anyone in the States already done this investigation?

[godardslave]

thanks for the news gary.

of course, we all hope fervently criterion get the US rights.

if the restoration is scheduled to be complete by end of 2006, we probably wouldn't see a retail DVD set [given the size of the project] until at least the end of 2007, so "soon" would equal around 3 years away in this case.

[mbowmanh]

According to a Munich newspaper (Süddeutsche Zeitung from April 22) there is a Fassbinder retrospective which runs in France til June. It includes all of Fassbinders works except "Berlin Alexanderplatz" and is also accompanied by a "DVD-Edition". The article further states that the foundation is in the process of restoring BA and hopes to have a screening in Berlin before the end of the year.

[Arn777]

Yes it runs until early June, at the Centre George Pompidou, with a panel discussion with critics and some of Fassbinders collaborators (inc. Lorenz & Caven). the museum has just published a book. The dvds are released by Carlotta, 2 boxes, the only film not availbale on DVD in the US is the 3rd Generation. I would assume carlotta would chip in with criterion to support the restauration of BA.

[ellipsis7]

Looks good... I wonder if the book will make it into a parallel English translation like the Pompidou Centre's COCTEAU edition?...

[Arn777]

The book is by Thomas Elsaesser, which was published in English, but the Pompidou one looks bigger at 575 pages.

[thomega]

There is a note in this morning's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that 450.000 euros of funding for the restauration of Berlin Alexanderplatz have just been approved by the german equivalent of the NEA (Kulturstiftung des Bundes). That's the good news.

The not quite so good news is that the target date is the 25th anniversary of RWF's death in 2007.

[thewind]

I've always been curious about this film/series. Can someone point me toward a good link that helps describe it and its significance for me? I'm still pretty clueless when it comes to Fassbinder.

[Cinephrenic]

Here is Susan Sontag's essay at the Fassbinder Foundation:

[kieslowski_67]

Realistically, this has to be at least a 6D9 box set from CC. 15 1/2 hour movie spread onto 5 discs, and one disc with special features.

Or can I dare to dream a 15D9 box set with each of 13 chapters and the epilogue on a single dual layer disc?

Realistically, this has to be at least a 6D9 box set from CC. 15 1/2 hour movie spread onto 5 discs, and one disc with special features.

Or can I dare to dream a 15D9 box set with each of 13 chapters and the epilogue on a single dual layer disc?

I've always been curious about this film/series. Can someone point me toward a good link that helps describe it and its significance for me? I'm still pretty clueless when it comes to Fassbinder.

The Time review

German Cinema

Deutsches Filmhaus

Joe Ruffell review of Fassbinder's body of work

Jim Tushinski's tribute to Fassbinder

Another nice take on the film, with translation

[King of Kong]

I'm looking forward to seeing this film, having only seen one Fassbinder (Marriage of Maria Braun). I hope it comes out soon - it often makes those "too good for TV" lists that also include the Dekalog and The Singing Detective.

[Matt]

From Variety:

'Alexanderplatz' to be re-released
Fassbinder's magnum opus has been digitally restored

By ED MEZA

BERLIN — The Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation and Bavaria Media have teamed up to digitally restore the late German director's classic "Berlin Alexanderplatz" for an upcoming theatrical and DVD release.

Made for TV in 1980, the 14-part, 15 and a half-hour miniseries was produced by Bavaria Film for regional pubcaster WDR and is widely regarded as Fassbinder's magnum opus.

Based on the novel by Alfred Doeblin, the series chronicles the life of Franz Biberkopf, an ex-con living in 1920s Berlin and trying unsuccessfully to straighten himself out. The controversial series split the nation when it aired on TV here with its dark, gritty and unforgiving portrayal of the hardships of life.

Overseeing the restoration will be the production's original director of photography Xaver Schwarzenberger; Dieter Minx, who served as production manager of the series; and Juliane Lorenz, the pic's editor and current president of the Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation.

Backing the ambitious project are cultural subsidy and promotional orgs Kulturstiftung des Bundes, the Filmstiftung NRW, the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg and German Films, with the support of the Museum of Modern Art New York and the Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation.

Postproduction specialists Arri and Cinepostproduction are carrying out the digital remastering of the series using 2K scan procedure and digital frame-by-frame retouching to ready "Berlin Alexanderplatz" for its DVD and High Definition distribution as well as for special festival and event screenings.

The restoration process will be finished in early 2007, marking the 25th anniversary of Fassbinder´s death. (The filmmaker died on June 10, 1982, of a drug overdose.)

Bavaria Film Intl. is handling international distribution of the film.

[Cinesimilitude]

I am praying for this, the decalog, and Criterion HD in 07...

[Barmy]

From the front cover of this week's Variety:

'Berlin Alexanderplatz' wird digital aufbereitet für Kino und DVD

[Lino]

I hope Criterion manages to include this original Making-of in the upcoming release.

[denti alligator]

I hope Criterion manages to include this original Making-of in the upcoming release.

And, as I've mentioned before, the original Piel Jutzi version of the novel. And if any release deserves to have the book as an extra it would be this one.

[Cinephrenic]

I hope they include Jutzi's silent short.