The Marriage of Maria Braun (Die Ehe der Maria Braun) (1979)
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93% of critics liked it
(14 reviews) -
89% of users liked it
(4,946 ratings)
The film that elevated German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder from domestic approbation to international acclaim, The Marriage of Maria Braun stars the director's on-and-off favorite actress Hanna Schygulla in the title role. During the allied siege of Germany in the last year of the war,… More The film that elevated German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder from domestic approbation to international acclaim, The Marriage of Maria Braun stars the director's on-and-off favorite actress Hanna Schygulla in the title role. During the allied siege of Germany in the last year of the war, Maria's new husband (Klaus Löwitsch) is shipped off to the Russian front before the marriage is consummated. As she struggles to survive wartime deprivations, Maria haunts the local train station, seeking out information concerning her husband. When it appears that she's a widow, Maria takes a job as a barmaid and befriends a black soldier (George Byrd) from the occupying allied troops, who sees to it that Maria's family receives vital food and supplies. The opportunistic Maria eventually takes a job with a wealthy importer (Ivan Desny), building herself up to a position of power and indispensability. Though she sleeps with her employer, Maria still carries a torch for her husband. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Rainer Werner Fassbinder
- Written By
- Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Peter Marthesheimer, Peter Märthesheimer, Pia Frohlich
- Genres
- Art House & International, Drama
R,
- In Theaters
- Dec 31, 1979 Wide
- Studio
- Criterion Collection
Critic Reviews
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Fassbinder himself was cruel and distant to those around him, particularly those who loved him, and in Maria Braun, he created an indelible monster who is perversely fascinating.
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Vincent Canby, New York Times
The Marriage of Maria Braun is both an epic comedy and a romantic ballad, two not especially friendly forms that become seamlessly one in the sweet, tough, brilliantly complex performance of Hanna Schygulla.
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Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
Though Fassbinder takes a more open attitude toward his characters, letting them exist as fully developed psychological specimens, his deadly irony continues to operate on the level of mise-en-scene.
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, TV Guide's Movie Guide
The stark atmosphere, icy performances, and poignant revelations make it one of the most important films to emerge from Germany in the 1970s, and one of Fassbinder's best.
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Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
The film's epic structure and period detail has always pleased critics, but Fassbinder avoids the usual trappings of the genre and manages a raw intimacy throughout.
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Cast
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Hanna Schygulla
as Maria Braun
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Klaus Lowitsch
as Hermann Braun
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Ivan Desny
as Oswald
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Gottfried John
as Willi
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Gisela Uhlen
as Mother
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Günter Lamprecht
as Hans
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Hark Bohm
as Senkenberg
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George Byrd
as Bill
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Elisabeth Trissenaar
as Betti
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Isolde Barth
as Vevi
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Peter Berling
as Bronski
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Liselotte Eder
as Frau Ehmcke
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Claus Holm
as Doctor
- Günther Kaufmann
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Sonja Neudorfer
as Red Cross Nurse
- Lilo Pempeit
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Volker Spengler
as Conductor
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Karl-Heinz von Hassel
as Lawyer
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Michael Ballhaus
as Anwalt
- Rolf Buhrmann
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Rainer Werner Fassbinder
as Peddler
- Norbert Scherer
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Hannes Kaetner
as Justice of the Peace
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Bruce Low
as American GI
