Discover
In the early 1970s, Rainer Werner Fassbinder (Berlin Alexanderplatz) discovered the American melodramas of Douglas Sirk and was inspired by them to begin working in a new, more intensely emotional register. One of the earliest and best-loved films of this period in his career is The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, which balances a realistic depiction of tormented romance with staging that remains true to the director’s roots in experimental theater. This unforgettable, unforgiving dissection of the imbalanced relationship between a haughty fashion designer (Margit Carstensen) and a beautiful but icy ingenue (Hanna Schygulla)—based, in a sly gender reversal, on the writer-director’s own desperate obsession with a young actor—is a fully Fassbinder affair, featuring exquisitely claustrophobic cinematography by Michael Ballhaus (The Last Temptation of Christ) and full-throttle performances by an all-female cast.
Original Release
10/05/1972
US Release
06/11/1976
Links
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Hanna Schygulla | Karin Thimm |
Katrin Schaake | Sidonie von Grasenabb |
Eva Mattes | Gabriele von Kant |
Gisela Fackeldey | Valerie von Kant |
Irm Hermann | Marlene |
Carolyn Miller | Petra von Kant |
Directors
Writers
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Hanna Schygulla | Karin Thimm |
Katrin Schaake | Sidonie von Grasenabb |
Eva Mattes | Gabriele von Kant |
Gisela Fackeldey | Valerie von Kant |
Irm Hermann | Marlene |
Carolyn Miller | Petra von Kant |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
Rainer Werner Fassbinder | Producer |
Michael Fengler | Producer |