Well I'm honestly impressed with how well that turned out, grade A work. Katzelmacher doesn't ring a bell to me, so I guess I got some more to see.

As for myself, well I think I've made my favorite Fassbinder film pretty well known. That film is one of the mammoth cinematic works in film history, on par only with Edgar Reitz's Heimat series. Of course I'm speaking of the 15 hour Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980). The series progresses as a super Fassbinder film. A veritable best of for his filmography. Mixing the right amount of powerful emotions, melodrama, social and politcal critique, and a tough examination of personal morals. It is in the epilogue though that the series truly transcends itself.

I realize that it is hard (even for cinephiles) to sit through a 15 hour film (or series). For this reason Berlin Alexanderplatz has been out of print for over 20 years. The good thing is that the film does exist on VHS. It may take some serious searching, but with a good source, it can be had. It is hard to even explain how the film gets so good, but just imagine everything you love about 2001, Luis Bunuel, and David Lynch.

arsaib may have suggested that The Marriage of Maria Braun is Fassbinder's best, and one of the best films from Germany. I would go so far as to name Berlin Alexanderplatz the finest of all German film. It is a shame that for a director so readily available on DVD, his greatest accomplishment (imo) has not yet been released.

As for his features, The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant is my favorite (of the dozen or so I've seen). It is an excercise in simplicity. Shot in 15 days and using one extremely small set for the entire film, it shows what a resourceful director can do. The cast is limited as well, with only three principal leads, one of which doesn't have a line of dialogue. Perhaps to save time, or perhaps to show off, the film is shot in massively lengthy takes. The camera is observant, and Fassbinder lets it capture his actors as they give and receive abuse. If you aren't quite convinced to see the film, remember it has lesbians.

I view Fassbinder as sort of a German Godard, if for nothing else the quantity of his output. Like Godard, Fassbinder was a member of a new wave, although the German New Wave was a far less unified stylistic trend. It was also far less popular domestically. Fassbinder though was neither the initiator (as Godard hadn't been) but he assumed the reigns of leadership better than anyone else. Sure he may have not had the most successful films (Wenders seems to lead things here), but his films say the most. He was the most experimental, the most challenging, the most controversial, and ultimately the best of the bunch.