Rainer Werner Fassbinder

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Rainer Werner Fassbinder (May 31, 1945 – June 10, 1982), German movie director and actor, was one of the most important representatives of the New German Cinema.

He was born in the Bavarian town of Bad Wörishofen. In his short life he not only made 43 films (including two shorts and the 15 1/2 hour Berlin Alexanderplatz), but he also worked as an actor (film and theatre), cameraman, composer, designer, editor, producer and theatre manager.

Fassbinder's prodigious cinematic output is legendary. He made, on average, a film every hundred days. His intense discipline and phenomenal creative energy when working were in violent contrast with the excesses of abasement and tortured relationships of his personal life with the people he drew around him in a surrogate family of actors (including Kurt Raab and Hanna Schygulla), technicians and cameramen (notably Michael Ballhaus) in a similar way to John Cassavetes.

Fassbinder died of a deliberate drug overdose at the age of 37. His death is often considered to mark the end of New German Cinema.

There is a biography in English, Fassbinder: The Life and Work of a Provocative Genius by Christian Braad Thomsen, translated by Martin Chalmers (ISBN 0-571-17842-1).

Udo Kier of Story of O and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective fame, was a protégée of Fassbinder's, and also his partner.

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Major works

Year	English Title	German Title	Medium
1969	Love Is Colder Than Death	Liebe ist kälter als der Tod	Film
1969	Katzelmacher	Katzelmacher	Film
1969	Gods of the Plague	Götter der Pest	Film
1969	Why Does Herr R. Run Amok?	Warum läuft Herr R. Amok?	Film
1970	Rio Das Mortes	Rio das Mortes	TV
1970	Whity	Whity	Film
1970	The Niklashausen Journey	Die Niklashauser Fahrt	TV
1970	The American Soldier	Der Amerikanische Soldat	Film
1970	Beware Of A Holy Whore	Warnung vor einer heiligen Nutte	Film
1971	Pioneers in Ingolstadt	Pioniere in Ingolstadt	Film
1971	The Merchant Of Four Seasons	Der Händler der vier Jahreszeiten	Film
1972	The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant	Die bitteren Tränen der Petra Von Kant	Film
1972	Jail Bait (1972)	Wildwechsel	Film
1972	Eight Hours Are Not A Day	Acht Stunden sind kein Tag	TV
1973	World on a Wire	Welt am Draht	TV
1973	Martha	Martha	TV
1973	Fear Eats the Soul	Angst essen Seele auf	Film
1974	Effi Briest	Fontane Effi Briest	Film
1974	Fox and His Friends	Faustrecht der Freiheit	Film
1975	Mother Küsters' Trip to Heaven	Mütter Küsters Fahrt zum Himmel	Film
1976	I Only Want You to Love Me	Ich will doch nur, dass Ihr mich liebt	TV
1976	Satan's Brew	Satansbraten	Film
1976	Chinese Roulette	Chinesisches Roulette	Film
1977	The Stationmaster's Wife	Bolwieser	Film
1977	Despair	Eine Reise Ins Licht-Despair	Film
1978	Germany In Autumn	Deutschland Im Herbst	Film
1978	The Marriage of Maria Braun	Die Ehe der Maria Braun	Film
1978	In A Year With Thirteen Moons	In einem Jahr mit 13 Monden	Film
1979	The Third Generation	Die dritte Generation	Film
1980	Berlin Alexanderplatz	Berlin Alexanderplatz	TV
1980	Lili Marleen	Lili Marleen	Film
1981	Lola	Lola	Film
1982	Veronika Voss	Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss	Film
1982	Querelle	Querelle	Film
1975	Garbage, the City and Death	Der Müll, die Stadt und der Tod	Theater