The Marriage of Maria Braun (German Films 70)

The 1970s were Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s decade. As gifted as he was capricious, the wunderkind director from Munich initially attracted attention with his Action-Theater and later the antitheater at the end of the 1960s. He soon also started making films – often three or four a year – with his ensemble of actors, musicians, and set designers whom he made seemingly literally dependent on him for life. Fassbinder learnt filmmaking by watching films – he was particularly impressed by the great melodramas of the German-Danish Hollywood director Douglas Sirk – and just by making them. “Make many films so that my life can become a film,“ is written on the memorial stone in his hometown of Bad Wörishofen. And there were over 40 of them when he died in 1982 at the age of just 37.

Fassbinder, who was able to portray German history of the 20th century so vividly, flamboyantly, bitingly, colourfully, painfully, lovingly, gaudily and critically like no other, enjoyed his biggest success in 1978: THE MARRIAGE OF MARIA BRAUN with his favourite actress Hanna Schygulla took a very special and unprecedented look at the life of a German woman in West Germany after the Second World War. Maria‘s husband, who has been reported missing, suddenly turns up and finds his wife in the arms of a black American soldier. Maria kills the soldier but her husband takes the blame by going to prison. During this time, Maria isn’t going out collecting rubble – she’s making a career for herself. Using the resources of the system that will later be celebrated as the motor of the economic miracle.

More information about the series GENERATIONS – GERMAN FILMS 70 >>

Regular ticket price: 2500 HUF
Discounted ticket price: 1900 HUF

The discount is available
- for pensioners/students/teachers (at the cash desk only)
- for people whobuy tickets for at least 4 titles from the series at once (available also online)

Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder

screenwriter: Peter Märthersheimer, Pea Fröhlich, Rainer Werner Fassbinder
cinematographer: Michael Ballhaus
editing: Juliane Lorenz, Rainer Werner Fassbinder
cast: Hanna Schygulla, Klaus Löwitsch, Ivan Desny