Chinese Roulette
by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Alexander Allerson, Anna Karina, Brigitte Mira, Margit Carstensen, Ulli LommelDirector: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: German (Original Language), Unknown; English (Subtitled)
Format: Anamorphic, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 82 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-06-10
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Fox Lorber
Movie Reviews of Chinese Roulette
Movie Review: equally frustrating and interesting - 4.5 stars
Summary: 4 Stars
The great and one of a kind director Rainer Werner Fassbinder made several films.. many of which rank among the best films of the last century (I say this in full expectation of dissagreement).. And one of the peculiarities of his work is that it went through so many changes (almost like looking at the works of a painter like Picasso) and yet is marked by a certain stamp a certain integrity that will surely place him in a line of directors like Lang, Hitchcock, Sirk, and Godard - a line of directors who were uncompromising in their own way and who changed and challenged cinema in a way we can only admire in this day and age as we wait for the next predocessor.. (we have a few who approach this greatness today.. Lynch and Almodovar certainly come to mind)
With this introduction I think I am now prepared to tackle the rather problomatic yet highly relevant film Chinese Roulette...
Like a few other Fassbinder films it proves to be difficult and enigmatic in its form.. it also is one of Fassbinder's films that one wishes he could have spent a little more time on.. Fassbinder was a workaholic and was known for his fast pace direction.. he was known for making films in a mater of weeks and under the budget which was set for him... And while most of the film seems so well thought out and arranged and indeed ingenious - the final scenes betray the motion of the first 2/3 of the film.. The open ending was probably the quick solution to a difficult decision on how to close such a monster of an intelligent idea..
So I cannot dismiss the film because of its great moments - especially the enchanting camera work... and indeed it is one of his films which i often think about.. one which is unforgettable - and if that is the standard then yes it is a masterpiece.. and maybe my frustration at the ending is simply my own expectation and should be ignored.. puzzling and unrelenting...
A must see movie..
Summary of Chinese Roulette
An elegantly baroque exercise from the middle of his brief and brilliant career, Chinese Roulette finds Rainer Werner Fassbinder exploring the sinister side of a weekend in the country. At an isolated mansion, a husband and wife bump into each other--with their lovers in tow. Their lame daughter shows up with her mute nanny, adding to the tension, and the festivities culminate in a spiteful truth-telling game. Fassbinder choreographs the claustrophobic action as though it were Last Year at Marienbad filmed as soap opera parody, with glittering contributions from cinematographer Michael Ballhaus and RWF's longtime composer, Peer Raben. It's fun to watch, although the decadent sense of a snake chasing its tail ultimately makes this one feel like minor-league Fassbinder. Along with stock-company regulars Margit Carstensen and Brigitte Mira, the cast includes a pair of former Godard heroines (still looking stunning), Anna Karina and Macha Meril. --Robert HortonArt House & International DVD Video
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