Fassbinder on Film: Anarchy of Fantasy Film liberates the mind

Author: Fassbinder
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: "The genius of German New Cinema" Fassbinder (1945-1982) created across three fields—film, television, and theater—with particularly remarkable cinematic talent. From 1965 until his death in 1982, Fassbinder completed 43 works, surpassing his peers with a relentless stream of masterpieces that won numerous awards at domestic and international film festivals. Although his works subverted the fundamental sequence of cinematic language, they retained a deep allure for audiences through the form of melodrama and drew the keen attention of critics. On the other hand, Fassbinder was also a lonely boy: he was moody, impatient, vengeful, and lived a chaotic life, often behaving irrationally. "Only the anger and ruthless ecstasy existing within the corrupted nervous system of an artist can be the true source of creative inspiration. The artist must become inhuman and superhuman; he must maintain a strange and detached relationship with all of humanity." "I want to use my films to build a house. Some will be cellars, some walls, and others windows." The essays collected in Fassbinder on Film serve as a corridor leading to this house and further into its interior. This book includes two highly personal anthologies by Fassbinder: The Anarchy of Fantasy, primarily composed of interviews, and Film as Liberation of the Mind, featuring essays and notes. When the lights in the cinema dim, the dream begins—and this self-proclaimed romantic anarchist constantly provokes the audience, liberating their minds through film.