Highest-ranked title
Highest-ranked title
Rainer Werner Fassbinder has 9 titles in the CriticCrunch catalog across a career spanning the 1970s through the 2000s. 1 ranks in the Top 10%, led by Ali: Fear Eats the Soul.
Carnal Knowledge
1971
Drama · Romance
Emmi Kurowski, a cleaning lady, is lonely in her old age. Her husband died years ago, and her grown children offer little companionship. One night she goes to a bar frequented by Arab immigrants and strikes up a friendship with middle-aged mechanic Ali. Their relationship soon develops into something more, and Emmi's family and neighbors criticize their spontaneous marriage. Soon Emmi and Ali are forced to confront their own insecurities about their future.
Dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder · With Brigitte Mira, El Hedi ben Salem, Irm Hermann
Maria marries a young soldier in the last days of World War II, only for him to go missing in the war. She must rely on her beauty and ambition to navigate the difficult post-war years alone.
Dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder · With Hanna Schygulla, Klaus Löwitsch, Ivan Desny
Petra von Kant is a successful fashion designer -- arrogant, caustic, and self-satisfied. She mistreats Marlene (her secretary, maid, and co-designer). Enter Karin, a 23-year-old beauty who wants to be a model. Petra falls in love with Karin and invites her to move in.
Dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder · With Margit Carstensen, Hanna Schygulla, Katrin Schaake
Fox, a former circus performer, wins the lottery of DM 500,000 and can now have the life and things that he has always wanted. He enters an abusive relationship with wealthy industrialist Eugen in an attempt to climb the social ladder. His desperation for love and affection soon spirals into tragedy.
Dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder · With Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Peter Chatel, Karlheinz Böhm
In Munich 1955, German film star Veronika Voss becomes a drug addict at the mercy of corrupt Dr. Marianne Katz, who keeps her supplied with morphine. After meeting sports writer Robert Krohn, Veronika begins to dream of a return to stardom. As the couple's relationship escalates in intensity, Veronika begins seriously planning her return to the screen -- only to realize how debilitated she has become through her drug habit.
Dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder · With Rosel Zech, Hilmar Thate, Cornelia Froboess
Ariane and Gerhard Christ, a wealthy Munich couple, plan for the weekend on separate trips, lying to the other about their trysts. However, their itineraries are complicated when they both arrive at the family's country home with their respective lovers.
Dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder · With Anna Karina, Margit Carstensen, Brigitte Mira
Germany in the autumn of 1957: Lola, a seductive cabaret singer-prostitute exults in her power as a temptress of men, but she wants out—she wants money, property, and love. Pitting a corrupt building contractor against the new straight-arrow building commissioner, Lola launches an outrageous plan to elevate herself in a world where everything, and everyone, is for sale. Shot in childlike candy colors, Fassbinder’s homage to Josef von Sternberg’s classic The Blue Angel stands as a satiric tribute to capitalism.
Dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder · With Barbara Sukowa, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Mario Adorf
French sailor Querelle arrives in Brest and starts frequenting a strange whorehouse. He discovers that his brother Robert is the lover of the lady owner, Lysiane. Here, you can play dice with Nono, Lysiane's husband: if you win, you are allowed to make love with Lysiane; if you lose, you have to make love with Nono... Querelle loses on purpose.
Dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder · With Brad Davis, Franco Nero, Jeanne Moreau
In 1970s Germany, Léopold, a 50-year-old businessman, picks up and seduces 20-year-old Franz, who swiftly moves into his apartment. The dynamic between them intensifies with the sudden arrival of their ex-girlfriends.
Dir. François Ozon · With Bernard Giraudeau, Malik Zidi, Ludivine Sagnier
