Berlin Alexanderplatz

An astonishing, momumental work. Over the short span of 17 years--from 1965, when he directed his first 10-minute film, up to his death on June 10, 1982--Rainer Werner Fassbinder directed some 90 hours of film and television. BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ, an adaptation of Alfred Doblin's massive novel made for German television, runs approximately 15 hours, and makes up one-seventh of Fassbinder's total output. Comprised of 13 episodes and an epilogue, the film stars Gunter Lamprecht as the pimp Franz Biberkopf, released from prison after serving time for murdering a prostitute. Now that he has a certain freedom, he takes to the streets of Berlin in the late 1920s in sear...