The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972) A+ Rated: Seventeen Fassbinder Films

The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant

AFTER HIS UNTIMELY DEATH IN 1982, AN ENTIRE MICROECONOMY OF GERMAN FILMMAKING COLLAPSED OVERNIGHT

DIRECTOR: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
BOTTOM LINE: A landmark in both Queer Cinema and the New German Cinemawriter/director/producer/ Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s examination of the dynamics of a lesbian love triangle was shot, in true Fassbinder fashion, over a few hours in der Wunderkind’s apartment. However, “Petra von Kant” is as influential today as in 1972. Based on Fassbinder’s play, it takes place entirely in the home of its eponymous heroine, an outrageously spoilt fashion designer. When a new sexually fluid young thing arrives from Australia (Hanna Schygulla), Petra (Margit Carstensen) begins to turn her attention away from her loyal friend and caretaker Marlene (Irm Hermann), leading the viewer down avenues of emotional codependency you never knew existed. If the plot sounds familiar, it was remade in 1998 by Lisa Cholodenko as “High Art” with Ally Sheedy, Patricia Clarkson, and Radha Mitchell.

SORRY TOM ROBINSON. BOTH “BITTER TEARS’ AND “TAXI ZUM KLO” ARE IN COLOR NOT B&W!

Singer/songwriter Tom Robinson immortalized the movie in his song “Atmospherics” (co-written with Peter Gabriel) from his 1984 album “Hope and Glory.” He pairs it with another gay classic, Frank Ripploh’s “Taxi zum Klo,” from 1981, which is outside the scope of this article and will be covered another day. Presumably, for the purpose of rhyming, Gabriel and Robinson say that both movies are in black and white. Sorry, guys, they are both in color.
Cinematography by Michael Ballhaus. Production Design by Kurt Raab. Maja Lemcke designed the costumes, and they are astonishing.

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https://thebrownees.net/sixty-five-queer-films-made-under-the-hays-code-1934-1967

https://thebrownees.net/sixty-five-queer-films-made-under-the-hays-code-1934-1967-table-summary

https://thebrownees.net/fifty-two-post-hays-code-queer-films-released-in-the-decade-1967-1976

https://thebrownees.net/fififty-two-post-hays-code-queer-films-released-in-the-decade-1967-1976-table-summary

Seventeen Fassbinder Films Rated! He was astonishingly productive over a period of fourteen years.

NUMBERYEARFILM TITLEActorsRATINGCINEMATOGRAPHERNOTES
11969Love is Colder than DeathUlli Lommel
Hanna Schygulla
Ingrid Caven
B- Dietrich LohmannIngrid Caven was
married to Fassbinder
from 1970-1972.
Fassbinder’s first of numerous feature collaborations with composer and onetime lover Peer Raben.
21970Why Does Herr R. Run Amok?Kurt Raab
Ingrid Caven
B
Dietrich Lohmann
Co-directed
and co-written
by Michael Fengler
31971Beware a Holy WhoreHanna Schygulla
Eddie Constantine
B-Michael Ballhaus
41972The Merchant of Four SeasonsHans Hirschmuller
Hanna Schygulla
Irm Hermann
Kurt Raab
B Dietrich Lohmann
51972The Bitter Tears of Petra von KantMargit Carstensen
Hanna Schygulla
Irm Hermann
Eva Mattes

A+Michael BallhausFassbinder’s masterpiece
61974Ali: Fear Eats the SoulBrigitte Mira
El Hedi ben Salem
Barbara Valentin
Irm Hermann
A-Jurgen Jurges
71974Effi BriestHanna SchygullaB-Dietrich Lohmann
81975Fox and His FriendsMichael Rainer Fassbinder
Karlheinz Bohm
B+Michael Ballhaus
91977The Stationmaster’s WifeElizabeth Trissenaar
Kurt Raab
Udo Keir
A-
(the uncut
TV version)
Michael BallhausMade for German TV
Later, an inferior cut version was released in cinemas.
Alternative title “Bolweiser.”
The first Fassbinder movie to be edited by his partner for the last five years of his life, Juliane Lorenz.
101978DespairDirk BogardeCMichael BallhausScreenplay by Tom Stoppard
Based on the
novel by Vladimir Nabokov
Fassbinder’s first
English-language film.
111978In the Year of 13 MoonsVolker Spengler
Ingrid Caven
CRainer Werner FassbinderMade in
response to
the suicide of Fassbinder’s
lover
Armin Meier
121979The Marriage of Maria BraunHanna SchygullaBMichael Ballhaus
131980Berlin AlexanderplatzThe third film in the BRD trilogy.
This is a loose adaptation of Heinrich Mann’s “Professor Unrat,” which Josef von Sternberg previously adapted as “The Blue Angel.”
A-
(the uncut
TV version
Xaver SchwarzenbergerFourteen-episode
West German TV series.
Released theatrically
in the United States.
Also broadcast on PBS,
Bravo and Channel 4.
Based on the
novel by Alfred Doblin.
141981Lili MarleenHanna Schygulla
Giancarlo Giannini
Udo Kier
B-Xaver Schwarzenberger
&
Michael Ballhaus
The first film in the BRD trilogy.
151981LolaBarbara Sukowa
Armin Mueller-Stahl
C-Xaver SchwarzenbergerThe third film in the BRD trilogy.
This is a loose adaptation of Heinrich Mann’s “Professor Unrat,” which Josef von Sternberg previously adapted as “The Blue Angel.”
161982Veronika VossRosel ZechAXaver SchwarzenbergerThe second film of the BRD trilogy.
171982QuerelleBrad Davis
Franco Nero
CXaver SchwarzenbergerBased on “Querelle of Brest” by Jean Genet

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