Search - Fassbinder: The BRD Trilogy - The Marriage of Maria Braun/Veronika Voss/Lola [Criterion Collection] on DVD

Movie Release: 2003 DVD Release: 09/30/2003 Format: DVD - Black and White,Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Edition: Dual Layered,Restored/Remastered Audio Tracks: German Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 4 Number of Discs: 4 Run Time: 5 hrs 39 mins Studio: Criterion Members Wishing: 24

Rainer Werner Fassbinder died in 1982 at the age of 37, thanks to his appetite for drugs and his obsession with work, and while the filmmaker was at the height of his fame at the time of his passing, the sheer bulk of his cinematic legacy -- over 40 films completed between 1969 and 1982, two of which were actually television miniseries -- made it difficult to evaluate it all and place his work into proper context. That's still the case to some degree, but Criterion's recent release of their box set =The BRD Trilogy -- consisting of his late-period masterworks The Marriage of Maria Braun, Veronika Voss, and Lola -- is not just a superb presentation of some of Fassbinder's most memorable work, but a fascinating and enlightening examination of the man's life, art, and working methods. The "BRD Trilogy" (which stands for "Bundesrepublik Deutschland," or "The Federal Republic of Germany") consists of three stories about women forced to make their way through the ethical landscape of the post-World War II "Economic Miracle," in which survival walks hand in hand with various sorts of moral compromise, and both technically and aesthetically, Criterion's team have gotten the details just right.

All three films have been given letterboxed transfers in their original aspect ratios -- The Marriage of Maria Braun and Lola at 1.66:1, Veronika Voss at 1.78:1 -- and all have been enhanced for anamorphic playback on 16 x 9 monitors. The films all look simply superb in these transfers, which is all the more impressive given how different their visual styles happen to be -- Maria Braun's muted and realistic color scheme, the high-contrast monochrome of Veronika Voss, and the bright candy-hued images of Lola. The audio for all three films has been mastered in Dolby Digital Mono from original magnetic elements, and if the improvement is less striking than the visuals, the cleaner audio does make a real difference, especially in Fassbinder's use of vintage radio broadcasts in all three films (which receive adequate subtitling there, which wasn't the case in previous issues).

The set's collection of supplemental material is both informative and suitably exhausting. All three films have been given distinct audio commentaries: Maria Braun's is a patchwork of observations by friend and filmmaker Wim Wenders, reminiscences from cameraman Michael Ballhaus, and extracts from writings by and about Fassbinder, while Veronika Voss features a detailed running analysis from critic Tony Rayns and Lola is paired with a biographical commentary from Christian Braad Thomsen. Each disc includes bonus interviews and documentaries. Maria Braun features an interview with leading lady (and frequent collaborator) Hanna Schygulla, as well as author Eric Rentschler. Veronika Voss includes a conversation between actress Rosel Zech (who played Veronika) and Fassbinder's frequent editor Juliane Lorenz, as well as an hour-long documentary on Sybille Schmitz, the UFA star who inspired the character of Voss. And Lola is accompanied by an interview with Barbara Sukowa, who played the title role, and Peter Märthesheimer, who co-wrote the screenplays for the BRD films. And as if all this wasn't enough, Criterion has added a fourth disc to the package, which includes a conversation between editor and Fassbinder Foundation director Lorenz and Laurence Kardish of the Museum of Modern Art's Film and Media Department; an interview with cinematographer Xaver Schwarzenberger, who worked on many of Fassbinder's later projects; a feature-length documentary on Fassbinder, Ich Will Nicht Nur, Dass Ihr Mich Liebt (aka I Don't Just Want You to Love Me), and an hour-long chat with Fassbinder himself (chain-smoking and looking more than a bit worse for wear), filmed for German television in 1978. Add a beautifully designed 52-page booklet with original and reprinted essays on Fassbinder's life, work, and the BRD films, and the final result is an exhaustively thorough package that's remarkably executed even by Criterion's high standards. Given the size of his oeuvre, a definitive Fassbinder collection on DVD is either impractical or impossible, but =The BRD Trilogy is as intelligent and well-executed a study of one of the crucial periods of his career as anyone could hope for, and essential viewing for anyone with an interest in his work. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide