no joke, you should see triumph of the will.

it is brute propaganda, yet stylish as fuckall. it takes horrible, real people and makes them look heroic. the photography is breathtaking. everything in it is true in the sense that it actually happened. it is a real (one of the few) documentary in which the director only used perspective and editing to stylize the film.

i couldn't get through the whole thing cuz it's too long.

Just as long as it's not that fucking film Run Lola Run I reckon you're doing ok.

I've not seen much Fassbinder actually - always meant to though.

Ekkssvvppllott wrote:I have not yet seen Heimat

I was wierdly addicted to Heimat as a teenager, but only caught certain sections of it, as it covered such a long timespan. For some reason it is utterly fascinating in that it just tells the story of a village through the 20th century. Is something to do with all of the modalities of characters and viewpoints. Maybe one day I'll get the whole lot. They have the really hefty box set in my local video shop.

Wim Wenders Alice in The Cities: It's about a fine a film as you could hope to watch.

Thanks guys, i'll check them all out when I can.

I'm about 1/3 of the way through Berlin Alexanderplatz. It's really intense! Easily the most German movie I've ever seen. Also probably the most novelistic movie I've ever seen, which makes sense seeing as how it's based on a novel.

Not sure what I was expecting, exactly, but I feel that what I've seen so far has exceeded my expectations.

Worth the bother and then some.

I'm a big fan of Lang, and he's been mentioned so all I'd like to do is add Dr. Mabuse to the list. There's three films about this guy, and like M, you can see the beginnings of Film Noir (a great moment for US cinema) being laid down.

Also, do as many Herzog docos as you can.

Andrew from tasmania wrote:Also, do as many Herzog docos as you can.

Also, whatever you do, don't mistake Incident at Lochness for a Herzog-calibre documentary, much less a Herzog documentary.

You will be greatly disappointed.

Incident at Lochness is something akin to a mockumentary, and a poorly executed one at that. (I had to turn it off.) The humor had no subtlety or originiality. I applaud Herzog's willingness to try something a bit different and not take himself too seriously, but, c'mon, you've gotta try harder than that, no matter who you are.

(Incidentally, I heard his recent feature based on Little Dieter... was pretty bad. Wish that wasn't such a surprise to hear, that even the great Herzog has serious trouble making a good film within studio constraints.)

Man, I really love German cinema. There's a certain recurring aesthetic that a lot of German directors have that aren't comparable to the French New Wavers or Italian filmmakers, for example. I think a lot of German films are rooted in a harsh realism--especially the ones by Lang, Herzog and Fassbinder.

I would recommend:

-It'll give you nightmares for days, but The Tin Drum is worth checking out

-Mephisto

-Christiane F., featuring junkies and a ton of Berlin-era David Bowie is super depressing but great

Rainer Werner Fassbinder

As previously mentioned, Ali: Fear Eats The Soul. What a movie.

Berlin Alexanderplatz was given the whoppin' 7-disc treatment by Criterion.

The Marriage of Maria Braun

Werner Herzog

You already got the drill. Definitely, Definitely, check out My Best Fiend, the documentary Herzog did about Klaus Kinski. Total lunatic that Kinski, but also a genius.