Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980) TV Mini-Series

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In late-1920s Berlin, Franz Biberkopf is released from prison and vows to go straight; however he soon finds himself embroiled in the city's criminal underworld.

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Directed By: Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Written By: Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Alfred Döblin

Starring: Hanna Schygulla, Barbara Sukowa, Gottfried John, Brigitte Mira, Karin Baal, Claus Holm, Elisabeth Trissenaar, Franz Buchrieser, Günter Lamprecht, Roger Fritz, Karlheinz Braun, Peter Kollek

Genres: Drama, Crime

Country: Italy, West Germany

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Berlin Alexanderplatz belongs to 46 collections

1. Criterion Collection (collaborative: moderated by caffe - 165 stars)

2. boobs (collaborative: moderated by Pickpocket - 51 stars)

3. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2008 revision) (collaborative: moderated by Scottathon - 39 stars)

4. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2010 revision) (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 32 stars)

5. New York Times' The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made (collaborative: moderated by theficionado - 31 stars)

6. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2014 revision) (collaborative: moderated by Jehan - 27 stars)

7. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2012 revision) (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 25 stars)

8. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2017 revision) (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 22 stars)

9. They Shoot Pictures' Recommended Viewing (collaborative: moderated by Cinephile - 19 stars)

10. Miniseries (collaborative - 18 stars)

11. Great color cinematography (collaborative: moderated by Alex Watkins - 16 stars)

12. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2013 revision) (collaborative: moderated by rant1229 - 16 stars)

13. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2011 revision) (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 14 stars)

14. Sight and Sound 2012 (collaborative: moderated by DavidB - 13 stars)

15. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2020 revision) (public: djross - 13 stars)

16. TimeOut's 1000 films to change your life (collaborative: moderated by ppinocchio - 11 stars)

17. TV - 1001 TV Series You Must Watch (collaborative: moderated by KasperL - 11 stars)

18. New German Cinema (collaborative: moderated by lucbapt - 10 stars)

19. IMDb Top Miniseries (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 10 stars)

20. Sight and Sound 2002 (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 9 stars)

21. Epic (collaborative - 8 stars)

22. Prostitution (collaborative: moderated by Moribunny - 7 stars)

23. David Thomson's 1000 Films (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 7 stars)

24. Best of criticker: TV (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr - 6 stars)

25. Cinemag's Best 200 films Ever Created! (collaborative: moderated by hristos - 4 stars)

26. They Shoot Pictures 1,000 Greatest Films (2007 revision) (collaborative: moderated by Scottathon - 4 stars)

27. Really Really Long: 5+ Hours (collaborative: moderated by Dorkovsky - 4 stars)

28. Capsules, guest reviews, list candidates... (366weirdmovies) (collaborative: moderated by sesito71 - 4 stars)

29. Djross overrated movies (public: djross - 4 stars)

30. TIME All-Time 100 (collaborative: moderated by iceblox - 3 stars)

31. Berlin (collaborative: moderated by slug - 3 stars)

32. Criterion Collection (Blu-ray and 4K) (public: PepeCamello - 3 stars)

33. Top 100 German films (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 2 stars)

34. The Criterion Channel (public: caffe - 2 stars)

35. Animal killing (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 1 star)

36. Village Voice Critics Poll: 100 Best Films of the 20th Century (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 1 star)

37. City! (public: jormungand - 1 star)

38. toucé (public: rnest - 1 star)

39. films with the film title in the script (collaborative: moderated by Jellysauce)

40. Rainer Werner Fassbinder/Hanna Schygulla collaboration (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed)

41. Films to get (public: Scelsi)

42. to watch [TG] (public: teckgecko)

43. My DVD Collection (public: balseiros)

44. TV Series - 4: TV History (public: KasperL)

45. Sight and Sound 2012 - Combined list - Part II (public: Ariaz)

46. nextup (public: valkyrian)

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All Ratings | With Reviews

Order by:

TCI | Percentile | Date Rated | # Stars (Reviews)

Stars	User	Rating
5	JooJoo	6 _95th
We have here a man - Biberkopf - haunted by his past and confronted from all sides by people trying to break him. He has made an oath, he will maintain this oath, he cannot maintain this oath; zum Rhein, zum Rhein, zum deutschen Rhein [whatever happens, this cannot end well]. In the league of literary adaptations there have been few that have blended creativity & devotion to its source so well; the rich symbolism, metropolitan tones, and rhythm of Döblin are brilliantly composed by Fassbinder
4	Stain	80 _68th
Well worth seeing. Yes, all 15 1/2 hours of it. Some parts move faster than others, but it's never dull. Imparts unto you serious bragging rights just for having seen it, since it's kind of like the Mount Everest of art films. It's also NOT what you might expect
3	snallygaster	70 _78th
The look is quite unusual: a mix of soft-focus shots where everything seems to glow & sparkle, some coarse, super-grainy telephoto-looking shots, and some flat, neutral-coloured, painting-looking shots. It really creates a dreamlike effect. The sheer length of the work is put to good use, making it one of the few films I can think of with the scope of a good novel, but the narrative keeps a pretty clear focus and the pacing isn't particularly slow -- it's just really long.
3	Svengali	92 _99th
Schnürsenkel!
3	loc42	100 _99th
There is something very very German in this movie, like all other movies of Fassbinder, Biberkopf is the perfect protype of the lower-middle class German citizen who sways between prosperity and misery, virtue and vice, vividness and boredom. In that sense the plot shares the general theme of the antagonism of the good and evil in the German tragic drama and Fassbinder tries to emphasize the everyday dullness of the German life despite the everchanging modernist background.
2	DuaneNeitzel	95 _93rd
German miniseries following the life of Franz Biberkopf during the period between World Wars. Franz, easily lead by others and given temptation, is a political analogy for 1930s Germany. Even at 15 1/2 hours it's worth the time if you can find a copy to watch.
2	fortsigma	76 _75th
a bit of a slog at times but worth it for the epilogue
2	PeaceAnarchy	90 _94th
Really fascinating and accessible story that feels like reading a wonderful novel. With the runtime Fassbinder has time to explore a multitude of themes, from individual ones like love and liberty, to social ones like poverty and politics. There are times when it's a bit of a drag but most of the time the human and social drama keeps you hooked. Then there's the epilogue which has a totally different style but works pretty well in its own way.
2	Suture Self	10 _96th
Fassbinder's mammoth, dreamlike portrait of a derelict man-baby and the whores, criminals, and drunks he associates with. Franz's inability to keep things straight and narrow seems to be both a personal failure and symptomatic of a greater systemic problem, in which the German people have been rendered broken and infantile, their eyes barely half open; easy targets for abuse and manipulation. It's no surprise, then, to see why the average German might have embraced his/her National Socialism...
2	JakeAesthete	37 _33rd
Well, this more or less lives up to its reputation as the Ultimate Feel-Bad Experience, i'll give it that much. Yet despite the not undeserved acclaim, i can't really bring myself to consider it one of my favorites of Fassbinder's, less because of any single substantial flaw than because 16 hours is just a hell of a lot of Fassbinder to take, and is almost inevitably a bit uneven despite the talent involved, and i'd be lying if it didn't seriously drag at times (on top of being a huge drag).
2	elmakebabi	90 _97th
Who needs Dekalog when there's Berlin Alexanderplatz?
1	MartinTeller	82 _73rd
Bottom line is this... I pretty much enjoyed watching it, it was generally very well-done and interesting (especially in what it says about Germany), and Lamprecht was terrific. But I didn't think it was unassailably brilliant, and I wouldn't watch it again.
1	djross	35 _19th
When it comes to cinematic or televisual genealogies of the rise of Hitler, I'll take Syberberg over Fassbinder. While there are some complexities on display here, and a few effective moments, this is mostly so poorly put together that it is by turns tedious and exasperating. The acclaim for this filmmaker continues to bewilder this viewer. Even contains one scene of synchronised chair spinarounds à la WORLD ON A WIRE. Keep an eye out for a brief and wasted use of Udo Kier. Maybe it's me...
1	cruelclown	100 _99th
absolute masterpiece
1	Shellish	100 _99th
An effective summary of this masterpiece would be nearly impossible to do - it is intensive. We witness the dynamics of sadomasochistic relationships and the bleak way of life taken on in Berlin in the Weimar era. There are countless parallels you can pull from this intricately woven tale, and it demands analyzation. This is not something to be taken lightly. Beautifully shot, incredible mise en scene and every actor involved delivers a deeply engrossing performance. An entire world is here.

Average Percentile 81.11% from 341 Ratings