Search - The Third Generation on DVD

MPAA Rating: NR Movie Release: 1979 DVD Release: 07/25/2006 Format: DVD - Color,Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Audio Tracks: German Subtitles: English SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 2 hrs 7 mins Studio: Tango Entertainment Members Wishing: 2 Genres: Comedy Drama, Satire, Black Comedy, Political Satire

German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder both directed and photographed The Third Generation (Die Dritte Generation). Displaying a sense of humor that can most kindly be described as perverse, Fassbinder follows the exploits of a group of well-heeled German terrorists. Without truly taking sides, the director demonstrates how the terrorists are essentially shooting themselves in the foot. The more havoc they spread, the tighter the government restrictions against other radicals. Eddie Constantine, the sang-froid leading man of many a Lemmy Caution espionage film, is ironically cast in The Third Generation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Margit Carstensen - Letra
Eddie Constantine - Lenz
Hanna Schygulla - Susanne
Volker Spengler - August

In 1979, shortly before Rainer Werner Fassbinder began concerning himself with Germany's past with his "BRD Trilogy" and Berlin Alexanderplatz, he took a mordant look at its present with Die Dritte Generation (aka The Third Generation), a bitterly satiric comedy of wealthy and clueless terrorists, which has been given its first release on North American DVD in this edition from Infinity Arthouse. The Third Generation has been transferred to disc in its original full-frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and the image is well-detailed and colorful, though it also reveals some of the grain of Fassbinder's camerawork. The audio has been mastered in Dolby Digital Stereo, preserving the film's original monophonic sound mix, and the audio is clear and crisp here. The dialogue is in German, with optional subtitles in English. As a bonus, this release includes an interview with Juliane Lorenz, Fassbinder's close friend and editor, as well as a small gallery of still photos (reproduced in too small a size to appreciate their details) and the film's original German trailer (and previews of two other titles released on DVD by Infinity). The Third Generation is often overlooked among Fassbinder's important later titles, but this release confirms that it's an audacious and effective work, and its arrival on DVD is more than welcome. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide