Book Description

Alfred Doblin's 1929 Berlin Alexanderplatz is amasterpiece of modern European literature. The first German novel to adoptthe technique of James Joyce, it tells the story of ex-con Franz Biberkopf.Struggling to survive among the poverty, unemployment, crime, andburgeoning Nazism of 1920s Germany, fate teases him with a little pleasurebefore cruelly turning him in.

Book Description
In this book of writings by and about Fassbinder, revealing statements by the artist himself are published in English for the first time. In addition, film historian Thomas Elsaesser and Georgia Brown, film critic for New York City's Village Voice, provide a critical framework that is at once comprehensive and illuminating; and Frankfurt film critic Wolfram Schtte examines Fassbinder's place within postwar German film history. The volume also contains an illustrated filmography and recollections by colleagues and friends, including Fassbinder's editor, Juliane Lorenz, the actresses Hanna Schygulla and Jeanne Moreau, and fellow directors Wim Wenders and Volker Schlondorff. ... Read more

Book Description
Word count: 3227. ... Read more

Book Description
Rainer Werner Fassbiner left behind a literary and cinematic legacy which holds a unique place in the history of European film and in the culture of the twentieth century. It evolved as the expression of an era, between 1966 and 1982, in a country which was then another Germany and which no longer exists. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Tawdry, lurid gossip
Chaos as Usual contains interviews from almost everyone in the Fassbinder pantheon.Unfortunately, they consist mostly of gossip and depictions of a disturbed individual.There is almost no insight into Fassbinder's art or creativity, nor much into his inner life, I feel.Stories of his debauched life and emotional terrorism are well-known, so much so that they provide a critical cliche."Oh, Fassbinder, the cruel artist who manipulated his actors so."This merely diverts from the power that his films have.What use is this collection of chatter?

I must admit, however, that certain interviews provide some detail about his early involvement in Munich's theatre scene, but that's about the sum total.I can only recommend this for completists or masochists.

Word for Word
"Conversations" is less a critical analysis of Fassbinder's work and more a testimony to the sex, drugs, and scandalous mystique that surrounded him.

Witnesses include Hanna Schygulla, Michael Ballhaus, Juliane Lorenz and dozens more who were part of the Fassbinder inner circle.

Not a dull moment on this journey into the joy and terror of Fassbinder. ... Read more