The Merchant of Four Seasons
List Price:
Our Price: $26.99
You Save: $2.99 (10%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $6.50 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: El Hedi ben Salem, Hark Bohm, Ingrid Caven, Michael Fengler, Peter ChatelDVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); Arabic (Original Language); German (Original Language)
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 88 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-07-09
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Fox Lorber
Movie Reviews of The Merchant of Four Seasons
Movie Review: Fassbinder's poignant Fruit Merchant.
Summary: 5 Stars
Fassbinder made three of his best films in the early 1970s: The Merchant of the Four Seasons (1971) (H?ndler der vier Jahreszeiten), The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972) (Die Bitteren Tr?nen der Petra von Kant), and Ali - Fear Eats the Soul (1974) (Angst essen Seele auf), for which he won the International Critics Prize at Cannes in 1974. In his insightful review of Fassbinder's films, "Straight from the Heart," Tony Pipolo notes that during this time, Fassbinder was discovering that however small his characters may be, and however insignificant their emotions may seem, they could be big on the movie screen. In the pivotal Merchant of the Four Seasons, Fassbinder paints a poignant portrait of a fruit merchant (Hans Hirschm?ller) in 1950s Germany. There is profound sadness in this film. After returning from the French Foreign Legion, Hans Epp is fired from the police force for crossing the line with a beautiful prostitute, before peddling his produce from a pushcart. Hans is not only rejected by his lover (Ingrid Caven), his unfaithful wife (Irm Hermann), and his berating mother (Gusti Kreissl) for selling pears and plums, but by his judgmental, bourgeois family. As a result, he makes a slow downward spiral into depression and alcohol. Hans is an empathetic brute. He beats his wife and ignores his daughter. He is portrayed as a lost soul, and the portrayal is compelling. We watch as his day-to-day existence drains the life out of him. He loses interest in sex. "I go for walks a lot and think," he says. "Maybe I think too much." Much like Fox and His Friends, The Merchant of Four Seasons offers Fassbinder's critique of a cruel German society that crushes the human spirit with its false pretenses. Watch for a brief cameo appearance by Fassbinder playing Hans' dining pal, Zucker. This is one of my favorite Fassbinder films. Highly recommended.
G. Merritt
Summary of The Merchant of Four Seasons
Rainer Werner Fassbinder had 12 features under his belt when he finally found success at home and earned international acclaim for The Merchant of Four Seasons. Hans Hirschm?ller stars as Hans, who returns from a stint in the French Foreign Legion with high hopes and grand plans for the "economic miracle" of 1950s Germany. Fired from the police force for dallying with a hooker, he sets himself up as a street peddler selling fruits and vegetables from a pushcart, much to the horror of his bourgeois family and his socially conscious lover, who leaves him in disgust. Settling for a loveless marriage with a manipulative wife (Irm Hermann), Hans sinks into depression and ill health and finally falls silent as his new partner quietly usurps his place. It's a chilly but compelling portrait of a mercenary, often unfeeling family desperate to grab a piece of the economic boom, and Fassbinder invests it with a mix of street realism, melodrama, black comedy, and theatrical flourish. At the center is Hans, a prisoner of an unhappy life except for the moments he takes his cart to the streets and calls out his wares like a character in some working-class opera---until even that is denied him and he embarks on a special, utterly Fassbinderian escape. It's an unforgettable climax to one of Fassbinder's best films. Hanna Schygulla, Kurt Raab, and Ingrid Caven are among Fassbinder's familiar stock company of costars, and Fassbinder briefly appears in a small role. --Sean AxmakerArt House & International DVD Video
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Movies most talked about in Films of 1971 (alphabetically)
Walkabout - Criterion CollectionImage Entertainment; Release date: 1998-05-06; DVD
Best price: $19.12
Price in other shops:
Two-Lane Blacktop (Limited Edition Tin)Release date: 2000-10-24; DVD
Best price: $107.50
Two English GirlsRelease date: 1999-05-18; DVD
Best price: $17.82
Price in other shops:
10 Rillington PlaceSony Pictures; Release date: 1996-06-25; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $69.99
The Sorrow and the PityRelease date: 2001-04-24; DVD
Best price: $28.05
Price in other shops:
Murmur of the HeartOrion Home Video; Release date: 1994-06-29; Published: 1990-03; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $8.79
Price in other shops:
Mon Oncle AntoineRelease date: 2001-05-08; DVD
Best price: $28.00
Price in other shops:
The Merchant of Four SeasonsRelease date: 2002-07-09; DVD
Best price: $7.28
Price in other shops:
McCabe & Mrs. MillerWarner Brothers; Release date: 2002-06-04; DVD
Best price: $4.52
Price in other shops:
LoveConnoisseur; Release date: 1998-01-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $15.98
Price in other shops:
Similar DVD Movies
Ali - Fear Eats the Soul - Criterion CollectionImage Entertainment; Release date: 2003-06-24; DVD
Best price: $26.79
Price in other shops:
Why Does Herr R. Run Amok?Release date: 2006-05-30; DVD
Best price: $8.97
Price in other shops:
Fear of FearRelease date: 2003-06-10; DVD
Best price: $4.31
Price in other shops:
The Fassbinder Collection II (Martha/ In A Year With 13 Moons)Release date: 2006-07-25; DVD
Best price: $17.57
Price in other shops:
Gods of the PlagueRelease date: 2003-06-10; DVD
Best price: $14.94
Price in other shops:
Fox and His FriendsRelease date: 2002-07-02; DVD
Best price: $6.30
Price in other shops:
Berlin Alexanderplatz - Criterion CollectionImage Entertainment; Release date: 2007-11-13; DVD
Best price: $77.99
Price in other shops:
Mother Kusters Goes to HeavenRelease date: 2003-05-20; DVD
Best price: $13.62
Price in other shops:
The Third GenerationTango Entertainment, Inc; Release date: 2006-07-25; DVD
Best price: $9.16
Price in other shops:
The Bitter Tears of Petra von KantRelease date: 2002-10-29; DVD
Best price: $13.64
Price in other shops: