Angry Harvest 1986 N/R, 102 min. Genre: Foreign / Drama aka: Bitter Harvest
Director: Agnieszka Holland Cast: Armin Mueller-Stahl, Elisabeth Trissenaar, Wojciech Pszoniak, Gerd Baltus, Anita Hofer, Hans Beerhenke, Kate Jaenicke, Isa Haller, Margit Carstensen, Kurt Raab, Klaus Abramowsky, Malgoscha Gebel
During the winter of 1942-1943 in the midst of World War II and Nazi occupation, working-class Polish Catholic farmer Leon (Armin Mueller-Stahl) hides sophisticated Viennese Jewish refugee Rosa (Elisabeth Trissenaar) in his cellar. Leon soon falls in love with Rosa, but the relationship is doomed from the start and ends in tragedy.
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The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant 1972 N/R, 124 min. Genre: Foreign / Drama
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder Cast: Margit Carstensen, Hanna Schygulla, Katrin Schaake, Eva Mattes, Gisela Fackeldey, Irm Hermann
Lesbian fashion designer Petra von Kant (Margit Carstensen) mistreats her assistant, Marlene (Irm Hermann), and "enjoys" a love/hate relationship with her lover, Karin (Hanna Schygulla), in this slow-paced psychodrama. The film is set entirely in Petra's bedroom and has only three main characters, but the result is an entertaining two hours.
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Chinese Roulette 1976 N/R, 96 min. Genre: Foreign / Drama
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder Cast: Margit Carstensen, Ulli Lommel, Anna Karina, Brigitte Mira, Alexander Allerson, Andrea Schober, Macha Meril, Volker Spengler, Armin Meier, Roland Henschke
A wealthy, happily-married couple has a daughter who is crippled as a result of an accident. The husband heads off on a business trip to Oslo and his wife heads to Milan. But, both really pick up their lovers and go to the family vacation castle. When the four meet, they decide to continue with their respective plans at the castle. But when the daughter shows up and decides to play a game of "Chinese Roulette," the weekend takes a turn for the worse.
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Fear of Fear 1976 N/R, 88 min. Genre: Foreign / Drama
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder Cast: Margit Carstensen, Ulrich Faulhaber, Brigitte Mira, Irm Hermann, Armin Meier, Adrian Hoven, Kurt Raab, Ingrid Caven, Lilo Pempeit, Helga Maerthesheimer, Hark Bohm
Margot (Margit Carstensen) thinks that she is losing her mind after recently having a baby, but neither her husband nor in-laws seem to care about her problem. She begins a downward plunge through drink and drugs in another of Fassbinder's experimental tales.
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Martha 1974 TV, 116 min. Genre: Foreign / Drama
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder Cast: Margit Carstensen, Karlheinz Bohm, Barbara Valentin, Peter Chatel, Gisela Fackeldey, Adrian Hoven, Ortrud Beginnen, Kurt Raab, Ingrid Caven, Peter Berling, Gunter Lamprecht, El Hedi ben Salem
Martha (Margit Carstensen) has lived a protected life, but her lifestyle changes when, immediately following her father's death, she marries a stranger (Karlheinz Bohm), and the battles begin.
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Mother Kusters Goes to Heaven 1975 N/R, 110 min. Genre: Foreign / Drama aka: Mother Kuster's Trip to Heaven
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder Cast: Brigitte Mira, Ingrid Caven, Armin Meier, Irm Hermann, Gottfried John, Karlheinz Bohm, Margit Carstensen, Gustav Holzapfel, Lilo Pempeit, Peter Kern, Kurt Raab
Middle-aged Emma Kusters is the wife of an unhappy factory worker. One day he loses it, kills the factory owner's son, and then kills himself. Emma becomes a celebrity, giving interviews of her story, only to be made fun of by the press. Her daughter uses the notoriety to help in her singing career, while a Communist couple befriends her, only to use her to advance their cause. She is finally left alone after others had used her for their selfish desires. In the end she meets with an unselfish act when she is invited to dinner by the factory owner. A pessimistic outlook on the social issues of the day in Germany.
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Possession 1981 R, 120 min. Genre: Horror / Thriller
Director: Andrzei Zulawski Cast: Isabelle Adjani, Sam Neill, Heinz Bennent, Margit Carstensen, Johanna Hofer, Carl Duering, Shaun Lawton, Michael Hogben, Maximilian Ruthlein, Thomas Frey, Leslie Malton, Gerd Neubert
Mark (Sam Neill) returns from an extended business trip to find his wife, Anna (Isabelle Adjani), presumably insane. She also confesses to having a lover (Heinz Bennent). But the full truth is that she has given birth to a tentacled monster that she keeps in an apartment and with which she has a love affair. Mark, not knowing of this, has her followed, but both of the investigators are killed by Anna and fed to the monster. There are even doppelgangers around–seductive Helen (also Isabelle Adjani) tutors Mark's son. Whew! Earlier versions made for the U.S. market were cut to 80 minutes.
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Satan's Brew 1976 N/R, 106 min. Genre: Foreign / Comedy
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder Cast: Kurt Raab, Helen Vita, Margit Carstensen, Volker Spengler, Ingrid Caven, Y Sa Lo, Ulli Lommel, Katherina Buchhammer, Armin Meier, Vitus Zeplichal, Brigitte Mira, Peter Chatel
Washed-up writer Walter (Kurt Raab) needs money, but various efforts fail until his mistress helps, after which she asks him to kill her while in a sexually-aroused condition. He accommodates her and goes home to his brash, slovenly wife (Helen Vita) and mentally challenged Ernst (Volker Spengler) who tries to have sex with flies. After other adventures, he writes a piece, which his wife identifies as being written by a 19th century homosexual poet. Convinced he is a reincarnation of that poet, he sticks with that persona. And on it goes in this dark, dark comedy.
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The Third Generation 1979 N/R, 111 min. Genre: Foreign / Comedy / Drama
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder Cast: Eddie Constantine, Margit Carstensen, Hanna Schygulla, Udo Kier, Volker Spengler, Gunther Kaufmann, Hark Bohm, Bulle Ogier, Harry Baer, Vitus Zeplichal, Raul Gimenez, Y Sa Lo, Lilo Pempeit, Claus Holm
German terrorists–Rudolf, Paul, and August (Harry Baer, Raul Gimenez, and Volker Spengler)–masquerade as clowns and kidnap prominent industrialist Peter Lurz (Eddie Constantine) in an effort to attract attention to the evils of capitalism, but their inane mistakes prove to be their undoing.
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| 1. Angry Harvest (1986) aka: Bitter Harvest
2. The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant (1972)
3. Chinese Roulette (1976)
4. Fear of Fear (1976)
5. Martha (1974)
6. Mother Kusters Goes to Heaven (1975) aka: Mother Kuster's Trip to Heaven
7. Possession (1981)
8. Satan's Brew (1976)
9. The Third Generation (1979)
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