Customer Reviews

The BRD Trilogy (The Marriage of Maria Braun / Veronika Voss / Lola) (The Criterion Collection)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Fassbinder's BRD trilogy is not a trilogy in the sense of being one continuous story spread over three films. Each film is separate and self-contained with different characters. Moreover all three films have a very different style. The link between the films is that they are all set in the period just after World War II and tell the story of the Federal Republic of Germany (BRD) and its recovery from the wreckage of defeat. Each film has as a central character a woman struggling to live in the new Germany. Fassbinder uses these women's lives to comment upon the history of the forties and fifties and especially to critique Germany's "Economic Miracle." The films however, are not politically heavy handed. Fassbinder may be critical of aspects of post-war German society, but his points arise naturally from the nature of the stories the films tell. He clearly saw that his first task as a filmmaker was to make films with strong stories, which were both intellectually and emotionally involving. He succeeds with the three films in the trilogy. One of the reasons for the success of these narratives is the acting. The performances, especially from the three main actresses, are superb. Furthermore these films show that Fassbinder did not forget that his audience should be able to comprehend his ideas. He avoids being cryptic or obscure.

The prints on the Criterion DVDs are very good. The films are presented in their original aspect ratios and look great. This is important especially for Lola with its unusual colour palette and for Veronika Voss with its stark black and white photography. Criterion also does very well in providing good subtitles to these films. Fassbinder often uses multiple layers of dialogue with, for example, characters talking while a radio plays one of Adenauer's speeches in the background. The difficult task of subtitling such scenes is carried out well.

This box set contains a huge amount of extras. Each film has a commentary and in addition there are over five hours of documentaries and interviews with the people involved in making the films. There is finally a fifty-page booklet about the trilogy. These DVDs are a great introduction to the work of Rainer Werner Fassbinder. The films are enjoyable and thought provoking and essential for anyone interested in post-war German culture.

As another reviewer has noted, Rainer Werner Fassbinder's so-called "BRD Trilogy" cannot be compared to other movie trilogies, which take the same characters and show them over different periods of time. Instead, it is a snapshot of the Bundesrepublik as it existed in the 1940s and 1950s, as seen through the stories of three different women.

"The Marriage of Maria Braun" starts immediately after WWII, and lasts through the creation of the Bundeswehr in 1954. We are introduced to a woman who is hardened by the war and its aftermath (or maybe, her innate strength enabled her to survive.) Maria Braun is tough, shrewd and manipulative -- and gets more so as the years pass. By and large, the story of this climber is engrossing and realistic. (One minor flaw -- no American will believe that the "American officer" running the ramshackle court in Maria's trial, early in the movie, is actually American. He sounds like a German affecting an American accent. Poor casting choice!) We do not find out until the end of the movie (and possibly not even then) whether and how the marriage of Maria Braun endured, or whether Maria changed so much as to make the marriage impossible.

"Veronika Voss" was the last to be filmed, but falls second in the trilogy in terms of time. Filmed entirely in black and white, it looks like a late-1940s film noir, and has the feel of a thriller. When the film opens (ca. 1956), Veronika is a washed-up actress from the Third Reich years, now addicted to morphine. Like Maria Braun, she too knows how to manipulate men, in this case, for money to buy drugs. As the film goes on, the mystery unfolds. Veronika is living in her dreams of the past, and two Holocaust survivors are attempting to flee from their own memories. This film, while not as widely acclaimed as "Maria Braun," is my personal favorite.

The third movie (actually made second) is "Lola," filmed in sharp, almost candy-colored tones. Like Maria Braun (but unlike Veronika Voss), Lola is a tough, strong, climber who moves up from prostitution to become the wife of a building inspector. The theme here is that under the faux "moral" patina of the town lies seething immorality and corruption.

Criterion gives you all this, plus a bonus disk with a documentary and an interview with Fassbinder, plus commentary on every one of the films. This is a great deal, and a fascinating look at the BRD in the 1950s -- a country running from, hiding, re-creating, and ultimately coming to terms with its past while building its future.

Rainer Werner Fassbinder was a genius. In his BRD (Bundesrepublik Deutschland) Trilogy, his objective was to chronicle the history of postwar Germany in a series of films told through the eyes of three truly memorable women. Fassbinder's The Marriage of Maria Braun, Veronika Voss, and Lola earned him the worldwide acclaim he deserved for his artistic genius in film.

1. The Marriage of Maria Braun (BRD 1) (1979).
The Marriage of Maria Braun (Die Ehe der Maria Braun) is the first in Fassbinder's BRD Trilogy. It is perhaps his best-known film, arguably Fassbinder's greatest masterpiece, and one of the finest movies ever made. Fassbinder made the film near the end of his dazzling career. It opens with a close-up camera shot of Hitler's picture being blown off of a wall during the Allied bombing of Berlin in the last days of World War II. In the ensuing chaos and falling bombs, Maria (Hanna Schygull, who starred in 20 Fassbinder films) marries Hermann Braun (Klaus Löwitsch) in a rushed wedding ceremony. The couple spend only a "half a day and a whole night" together before Hermann returns to the war. After she is later told that Hermann has been killed, Maria begins working in a bar patrronized by American soldiers, where she becomes the lover of a black soldier she calls "Mr. Bill" (George Byrd). When Hermann unexpectedly returns home, he finds Maria and the soldier naked in bed. Maria hits the soldier over the head with a bottle, killing him. Hermann takes the blame for the crime and is sentenced to prison. Maria then meets a French businessman, Karl Oswald (Ivan Desny), and becomes his lover. Unbeknownst to Maria, Oswald visits Hermann in prison and promises to leave him his company upon his death if Hermann agrees to stay away from Maria upon his release from prison. What happens to Maria and her husband in the final scene continues to be the subject of endless discussion. The Marriage of Maria Braun is a remarkable portrait of an ambitious woman who uses her sexuality as a means of achieving success. Hanna Schygulla's performance as Maria is radiant.

There should have been another Maria Braun in Fassbinder's career, but he died three years after making this film, alone in a room, naked on a mattress, watching "20,000 Years in Sing Sing" on television, consuming alcohol and cocaine.

2. Veronika Voss (BRD 2) (1982).
This was Fassbinder's next-to-last film before ending his life. (He died June 10, 1982 in Munich of a fatal overdose of drugs and alcohol.) Filmed in black and white, Veronika Voss (Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss, which means The Longing of Veronika Voss) is the second in Fassbinder's BRD Trilogy. Set in 1955 Munich, and loosely based on the career of actress Sybille Schmitz, the film tells the story of beautiful Veronika Voss (Rosel Zech), a once-popular, 1940s UFA film star (think of Marlene Dietrich) who is now a morphine addict struggling to get work. Though she dreams of returning to stardom, her life is a nightmare. She begins a love affair with a sports reporter named Robert Krohn (Hilmar Thate). He discovers that she is enslaved to a corrupt svengali-like neurologist named Dr. Marianne Katz (Annemarie Düringer). Katz is a sadist who keeps Veronika addicted to opiates. Krohn attempts to expose Dr. Katz by sending her a patient (Cornelia Froboess) pretending to be rich and in need of psychiatric care. Katz kills that woman. The film ends on a bleak, cheerless note. Ironically, Veronika's final act in the film becomes the director's final act in life.

3. Lola (BRD 3) (1981).
Maria Braun is about the ascent to success. Veronika Voss is about the descent into drugs and suicide. Fassbinder's last film, Lola, returns to the ascent to success storyline. Shot in vibrant colors, Lola is the third in his BRD Trilogy. Set in 1955 post-World War II West Germany, the film tells the story of a beautiful and seductive seductive cabaret singer-prostitute woman named Lola (Barbara Sukowa), who like Maria Braun, finds prosperity through her sexual gifts. Shuckert (Mario Adorf), a corrupt, local construction businessman is one of her many clients. By contrast, Von Bohm (Armin Mueller-Stahl), a new building commissioner with traditional "family values" falls in love with Lola, hoping to marry her, unaware that she is a prostitute. Shukert and Lola have a young daughter Marie, whom Shuckert supports, but refuses to recognize as his child. Because Lola is ambitious to become part of the respectable upper-middle-class, wanting only money, property, and love, she schemes to seduce Von Bohm into marrying her so that she and Marie can live happily ever after.

The Criterion edition of the BRD Trilogy is rich in extras, featuring new high-definition digital transfers of all three films; "I Don't Just Want You to Love Me," a feature-length documentary of Fassbinder's life and career; "Life Stories: A conversation with R.W. Fassbinder," a rare 45-minute interview with the director; a video interview with Fassbinder cinematographer Xaver Schwarzenberger; a video conversation between Fassbinder scholar Laurence Kardish and editor Juliane Lorenz; audio commentary on The Marriage of Maria Braun by cinematographer Michael Ballhaus and filmmaker Wim Wenders; a video interview with the star of The Marriage of Maria Braun and regular Fassbinder collaborator, Hanna Schygulla; a video interview with Fassbinder scholar Eric Rentschler on The Marriage of Maria Braun; audio commentary on Veronika Voss by Fassbinder scholar Tony Rayns; a new video conversation with Veronika Voss star Rosel Zech and editor Juliane Lorenz; "Dance with Death" (Tanz mit dem Tod), a one-hour portrait of UFA Studios star Sybille Schmitz, Fassbinder's inspiration for the character Veronika Voss; audio commentary on Lola by Fassbinder documentarian, biographer, and friend Christian Braad Thomsen; a new video interview with Lola star Barbara Sukowa; a new video interview with Fassbinder co-screenwriter Peter Märthesheimer; and new and improved English subtitle translations for all three films.

A highly-recommended Rainer Werner Fassbinder film experience. The BRD Trilogy and the 16-hour film Berlin Alexanderplatz are quintessential Fassbinder.

G. Merritt

"Maria and Her Men"

Sensual and tough Maria Braun (Hanna Schygula) marries a soldier in the middle of World War II and spends a half of day and the whole night with him. That's how long her marriage lasts before she loses him to the war and then to prison. She carries on with her life, becomes a successful businesswoman being not only sensual but intelligent, ambitious, and willing to use sex whenever or wherever necessary: "I don't know a thing about business, but I do know what German women want. You might even say I'm an expert on it". While climbing up to the success she always remembers her husband, Hermann (her man) and convinces herself that whatever she does - is for him, for their future happy life together. "Maria Braun"'s style reminds much of melodramas by Fassbinder's favorite Hollywood director, Douglas Sirk and offers a glimpse of the loss and survival in postwar Germany. Hanna Schygula literally shines in every scene of the movie and she is fantastic.
4/5

"Lorelei and the Man Who Understood and Admired Her"

"Lola" (1981), the second chapter of Fassbinder's BRD Trilogy is an update and a remake (in a way) of "The Blue Angel"(1930) directed by Josef von Sternberg with magnificent Marlene Dietrich as a singer Lola Lola but Fassbinder's film is marvelous by itself. Like "Marriage of Maria Braun" (1979) and "Veronica Voss" (1982) "Lola" tells the story of a strong and beautiful woman and her survival and search for love, success and happiness in postwar Germany. It's superb and dazzling and I kept smiling all time while I was watching it. It's an old story (and what is new in this world? Carmen had been dead and Lola Lola is old) but the style, the approach, the times, the place, his use of colors that seem to sing, to smile, to scream and to touch you gently are unique. Did he sell his soul to the Devil for these colors? The dresses, the songs, Barbara's voice, her legs that grow from the ears, her hair, oh my God, her and Hanna's (in "Marriage of Maria Braun) golden hair, these witching Loreleis, the walking sensuality - Fassbinder understood and admired women and I admire him for that.

"Lola" is a combination of many genres- satire, drama, comedy, and musical. It mixes glamor with very serious themes. Striking Barbara Sukowa is a singer-whore Lola who sets up to seduce the incorruptible local building commissioner, unbelievably blue-eyed Armin Mueller-Stahl. Lola went through many losses, humiliations, and disappointments during the war and right after it and she wants to be an independent business woman for which she decided to win over the man everyone kept telling was not for her.

As Barbara Sukowa recalls, Fassbinder told the critical stories but he did not make them dry or theoretical. He did not use the intellectual or academic approach to his stories. He hated gray "kitchen" naturalism and he was mixing Hollywood glamor with specific German realities creating his own style that was sexy and appealing. While many German film makers of his generation were influenced by the American directors like Martin Scorsese and John Cassavetes, Fassbinder was very impressed by Douglas Sirk and his style.

Rainer Werner Fassbinder died at the age of 37 just as he was completing his last movie, "Querell". He had made over 30 films during 12 years. He began directing in 1969 revealing in his work New Germany, often heartless and materialistic. Fassbinder's talent and the quantity and quality of his output are incredible. It is like he knew he would die young and he was obsessed by finishing as many films as it was physically possible, majority of which (including "Lola") was way ahead of their time.
5/5

"Dances with Death"

A famous German actress, Veronika Voss (Rozel Zech) in her forties tries to revive her career while struggling with alcohol and drugs in the final chapter to Fassbinder's trilogy about collapse of the West German postwar dream. The film was inspired by the tragic life of famous UFA actress, Sybille Schmitz (1909-1955). She began her career in the films by the giants such Georg Wilhelm Pabst and Carl Theodor Dreyer and soon became one of Germany's beloved actress. Everything changed during the WWII and especially after its end.

Fassbinder's film which was shot in black and white visually is very impressive. "Light and shadows are two cinema's best secrets" says Veronika in the movie and light and shadows make the film a joy to behold. I like it but I think it is the weakest part of the trilogy perhaps because "Lola" and "Maria Braun" are so strong. I found the documentary about Sybille Schmitz, "Dances with Death" which is included on Criterion DVD much more compelling.

Veronika - 3.5/5
Dances with Death 4/5

Since I watched this movie in 1980 I became a real admirer of the genius of Mr. Fassbinder.
All the story is a full circle. It's a untired fight against the fate and the search for the bliss not only of Maria Braun, but Germany in final instance, because the metaphor is brutally clear.
The sense of loss, the hope (altough no matter what),the intelligent and proactive personality of Maria, the spirit of to achieve the goal, the huge tension carried under the body of Maria Braun, just for love. Twelve years are lived in this tale from 1942 to 1954. This personal epic is so really described for Fassbinder without exploring but living and suffering in silence the pain and the anguish. Fassbinder made several true gems for all the eternity, but this film in particular has a strange enchantment, so convincent and so human that in my personal view (it constitutes not only the most sincere statement of Fassbinder for ejecting the inner demons of the Germany of the postwar) one of the most perfect examples of the supreme perfection in the germany cinema together with The bridge (Rowicki), the wrath of God (Herzog),the american friend (Wenders), the tin drum (Schlondorff) and Das Boot (Petersen).
Don't miss

These three films are all similar and yet different. They are all aout post-war Germany, they are all about women, and they are all about coruption. And yet it is hard to find a trilogy in which the films are so different. The Marriage of Maria Brown is about a women's dedication to her husband despite his absence - and her success through any means possible - including prostituting herself - which mirrors the situation of Germany and its economic miracle - which came at a large price which can be witnessed in the films powerful last scene.
Lola is also about a woman who is reduced to prostitution - but is also about a longing for innocence in a way. The character of Von Bohm represents this innocence - that over the course of the film gets dragged through the mud only to come out at the other end as he buys Lola from Schukert.
Veronica Voss is a fitting end to the trilogy ending in a very tragic scene from Rosel Zech.
Fassbinder's collaboration with Xaver Schwarzenberger in the last two films is amazing. Never has anyone exhibited as much control over lighting and image and its relationship to content as these two geniuses do here (and in Berlin Alexanderplatz).

I highly recommend this box set to anyone who enjoys movies, and particularly to anyone with an interest in Germany. Despite the serious and tragic aspects of these stories, they are extremely enjoyable to watch.

Maria Braun: What a lady! Though it ultimately destroys her, Maria uses life to her own ends rather than allow it to make mincemeat of her. Like Wedekind's Lulu, she effortlessly climbs the ladder, innocently using the men who love her. The pace of this movie takes one's breath away.

Veronika Voss: Poor dear! Already drug-addicted at the outset of the film, she cannot let go of what she had before the war. She is simply a pathetic shell of a woman that crumbles with a whimper at the end. Fun to watch? Well, Rainer and Xaver made a black and white stunner.

Lola: Try to resist her! Is it an act or is she really that innocent? After deceiving a building commissioner into falling in love with her, the truth destroys both their idealized pictures of love. The close of the film is devastating. Beautifully shot, and even more fast paced than Maria Braun.

The special features are fascinating, and, if you had them, you could spend hours with the 2 long documentaries, 8 interviews (including one with a ravished-looking Fassbinder), and 3 commentaries. Well worth the coin amazon asks!

Everyone has their favorite Fassbinder film from the famous BDR trilogy. Almost everyone loves the classic that finally garnered Fassbinder the international respect he was seeking, THE MARRIAGE OF MARIA BRAUN starring the absolutely stunning Hanna Schygulla. MARIA BRAUN has everything we love about Fassbinder wrapped in that tight black camisole Schygulla wears near the ending of the film. From its hilarious opening sequence of a marriage between a German soldier and his betrothed amid allied bombs, to the marriage which itself is constantly interrupted by Maria's success as a woman who uses her sexual prowess to get what she wants materially, but loses what she needs emotionally. Still many others find the distrubing story of THE LONGING OF VERONIKA VOSS to be Fassbinder's major work. Shot is the most intoxicating Black & White with star filters and gauze over the lens, this film replicates the faded glory and tawdry end of a Nazi era movie star, Veronika Voss (loosely based on the death of real life Nazi film star, Sybille Schmitz)with an unnerving visual authenticity. Voss is held captive in her drug addiction by a ruthless female doctor who keeps her hooked while siphoning all over her money and assets until she has literally nothing left to give. But even with these two brilliant achievements in the BDR trilogy, MARIA BRAUN and VERONIKA VOSS, for my money the real discovery and what makes the trilogy an ultimately unforgettable experience is LOLA. This is Fassbinder at his absolute perfect form. A simple theme of corruption and complicity told through the story of the town whore (Lola) who pretends to be chaste lady as she wins the affections of a German architect sent to rebuild a town after WWII is not the remake of Von Sternberg's THE BLUE ANGEL as Fassbinder's publists mentioned at the time. Instead, LOLA is as Micheal Toteberg mentions in his production histories of the films, a "Candy colored," tale of the amorality of the 1950's during the German Economic Miracle. In fact Lola is shot in that hyper-aestheticized color and lighting effects he developed with his cinematographer, Xavier Schwarzenberger that they would make notorious in Fassbinder's final film, Querelle. More than this, Fassbinder makes use of a little used transition effect (the blur-cut, as Toteberg calls it) that renders the themes of corruption and contradiction visible through the counter-punctual juxtapositioning of scenes that undercuts the sincerity of the emotions we witness. LOLA has incredible performances from its star Barbara Sukowa who brings a playful sincerity to her predicament, Armin Mueller-Stahl as the humilated architect Von Bohm who turns into an "Emeny of the People" once his heart is broken, and the fantastic Mario Adorf (The Tin Drum) is the most enjoyable villian whose lust for life almost makes you forgive his indiscretions. If you are even thinking about getting this Trilogy- you should already be purchasing it. Even if you only love one of the films- there will be enough within it to justify the price. But of course, each film will make an indellible impression upon you. This, again, is Fassbinder at his absolute uncontested best.

Much has already been written about this set, so I'll try to focus on what hasn't been covered. Very briefly, few of Fassbinder's contemporaries have re-evaluated this era of German history to the same extent as these films. All three films have much to recommend, but my favorite remains "Veronika Voss," a bonafide masterpiece and for my money, the best of the series. It's all the more heartbreaking that it was the last one produced - Fassbinder was preparing the next installment of the 'BRD' series, "Rosa Luxemburg" with Jane Fonda, when he died.

For an ambitious project like this, the context of the presentation can be very important, especially for people new to this subject matter and to Fassbinder. For that reason, the Criterion set is superlative, not only for the beautiful transfers of the films, but for the quality and quantity of the supplementary materials. Thoughtful and comprehensive, they include commentaries, interviews, both long and short documentaries and a fine essay from noted film critic Kent Jones. In general, they tackle the historical context of each film's story, what Fassbinder is trying to address with each of these films, the personal context, and the production details of each movie. As you trawl through these supplements you get the sense that every need was carefully considered and every effort was made to address them. For example, even though "Maria Braun" features filmmaker Wim Wenders and cinematographer Michael Ballhaus on its commentary track, they make use of written quotes (read by a narrator) to provide more additional insight and information. Like the best Criterion commentaries ("Silence of the Lambs" and "Dead Ringers" come to mind), this is a track that was carefully edited from multiple voices.

The bonus disc has the longest supplements, most notably the feature-length documentary "I Don't Just Want You To Love Me." A nice summation of his life and career utilizing interviews with many of his collaborators, the same documentary also draws on an extended interview with Fassbinder conducted in 1978, right before he made "Maria Braun" - that 49-minute interview is also included on the disc in its entirety. Two of my favorites though are the interviews with Hanna Schygulla and Peter Märthesheimer. Schygulla is the best thing about "Maria Braun," and her interview is very thoughtful and insightful, not just detailing her history with Fassbinder but giving us some insight into the film's ideas and how her work in that film has shaped her own life. Märthesheimer's interview is pretty fascinating, mostly because of the astounding differences between Hollywood and the German film industry of the 1970s (shaped by very different economic expectations). He also has some charming anecdotes about the series, including "Rosa Luxembourg," that I won't spoil here. But his own role in Fassbinder's career is pretty interesting in itself - originally known for the business side of things, he was given the task of writing "Maria Braun" (and later the other two films) even though he had no screenwriting experience beyond script advising. Though he had an education in sociology and psychology, he claims that neither was a conscious influence when he wrote the first (and supposedly only) draft of "Maria Braun."

As of this writing, the set has gone out-of-print, but this should only be temporary. Criterion has already informed consumers of their intention to reissue this set (hopefully on Blu-Ray), but no schedule has been set. I hope it's soon because I can't think of a better way of getting acquainted with these films.

All three films are visually different but they are linked in an interesting way. Fassbinder is subtle, ironic, startling ....
a question for those who have the set with the bonus material - the documentary on Fassbinder ends with a German leid (which also plays with the title screen) I would like very much if someone could identify this. Thanks.