DIRK ANDREA BOGARDE FERREOL “Despair is the Most hopeful Movie i’ve MaDe.” RAINER WERNER FASSBINDER SCREENING AT LOCARNO 2011 Thu, Aug 11 16.00h Rialto 1 PHOTOS CAN BE DOWNLOADED AT WWW.BAVARIA-FILM-INTERNATIONAL.COM BAVARIA FILM INTERNATIONAL presents a production of BAVARIA STUDIOS MUNICH for NF GERIA II FILM a film by RAINER WERNER FASSBINDER ‘DESPAIR’ starring DIRK BOGARDE • ANDREA FERREOL • KLAUS LÖWITSCH VOLKER SPENGLER dramatised for the screen by TOM STOPPARD based on a novel by VLADIMIR NABOKOV with PETER KERN • ALEXANDER ALLERSON • HARK BOHM • GOTTFRIED JOHN and BERNHARD WICKI director of photography MICHAEL BALLHAUS music by PEER RABEN production design ROLF ZEHETBAUER costume design DAGMAR SCHAUBERGER edited by JULIANE LORENZ • FRANZ WALSCH production supervisor DIETER MINX production executive LUTZ HENGST produced by PETER MÄRTHESHEIMER directed by RAINER WERNER FASSBINDER restored by BAVARIA MEDIA in co-operation with CINEPOSTPRODUCTION SYNOPSIS Is Hermann going to spend his whole life in the chocolate business? Hermann, a Russian living in exile, owns a comfortable apartment in Berlin, drives a fast car, and is married to Lydia, who is only moderately intelligent but very attractive. The management of his company – a chocolate factory – takes him only a few hours a day. Business is stagnating, perhaps because of the Great Depression; but Hermann doesn’t mind too much. What fascinates him more and more is the feeling of being able to step out of his body, stand beside it, and watch it. One evening he leaves the bedroom door open, so that he, sitting in the living room, can watch Lydia and himself make love. He starts enjoying this state and would like to refi ne his ability to double himself, to cultivate it like an artistic skill. While relaxing on a business trip he meets a jobless man named Felix Weber. Curiously, Hermann is convinced that Felix is a spitting image of himself, down to every last physical detail. He promises to keep in touch with him. Back in Berlin, the existence of his doppelganger fires up his imagination: What if he were to disappear and start a new life with another man’s name? Hermann then meticulously begins to plan a perfect crime, his rebirth, his journey towards the light ... Featuring international stars in the lead roles with Dirk Bogarde (“Death in Venice”) and Andréa Ferréol (“La Grande Bouffe”) and in the technical departments with cinematographer Michael Ballhaus (“The Departed”, “Goodfellas”, “Gangs of New York”) and Oscar- winning production designer Rolf Zehetbauer (“Luther”, “The Boat”, “Cabaret”), “Despair” is an adapation from a novel by Vladimir Nabokov by Oscar-winning British script writer Tom Stoppard (“Shakespeare in Love”, “Brazil”). “Despair” is a psychedelic drama set in the 1930s against the background of the rising power of the Nazis. This English-language masterpiece by Germany’s most renowned director Rainer Werner Fassbinder originally premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival (1978) and was honored with three German Film Awards in Gold. We now present a fully HD restored version and newly produced bonus features of Fassbinder’s greatest international film. 2 DESPAIR RAINER WERNER FASSBINDER the director Rainer Werner Fassbinder (1946-1982) directed his first feature-length film, “Love is Colder than Death”, n 1969, but he made his definitive breakthrough with his next film, “Katzelmacher” (1969). He achieved his first major commercial success with “The Merchant of Four Seasons” (1971) and caught the attention of international critics and audiences with “Ali – Fear Eats the Soul” (1974), which won the International Critics Prize at Cannes. His biggest success, which brought him the popular acceptance he sought, came with “The Marriage of Maria Braun” (1978). Other acclaimed fi lms of his are “The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant” (1973), “Lili Marleen” (1981) and “Veronika Voss” (1982) The TV series “Berlin Alexanderplatz” (1980) and “Effi Briest” (1974) are two of his best-known adaptations. His last fi lm, “Querelle”, was shot in 1982. Fassbinder made 41 movies in 14 years, and also worked as an actor, producer, theater manager, composer, designer, editor, and cameraman. His oeuvre stands out for its wrenchingly personal themes, intimate portraits of betrayal and despair, and unsparing criticism of Western society. “Despair” is an homage to all who see their existential crises not as weaknesses but as possibilities. 3 DESPAIR DIRK BOGARDE is Hermann Born into a highly artistic family, Dirk Bogarde (1921-1999) was one of the greatest British actors of the 20th century. His strikingly handsome features and often melancholy aloofness predestined him for roles as men with a mystery. He began garnering international attention in the 1960s in fi lms by Joseph Losey, such as “The Servant” (1963). While his role in “The Night Porter” (1974) was criticized even by many of his most ardent fans, his roles in the Luchino Visconti fi lms “The Damned” (1971) and “Death in Venice” (1977) were universally acclaimed and are among his fi nest fi lms. Among his other notable productions are “Victim”, “Losey’s”, “King and Country” and “Accident”, Oscar-winning “Darling”, George Cukor’s “Justine” and Alain Resnais’s „Providence“. ANDREA FERREOL is Lydia Born in Aix-en-Provence, Andréa Ferréol became a noted stage actress before launching her career as a fi lm actor in France and abroad. The fi lm that catapulted her to international fi lm was Marco Ferreri’s “La Grande Bouffe” of 1973, in which she combined eroticism with an infectious love of life. The following year, she dazzled alongside Romy Schneider and Michel Piccoli in “Le trio infernal” and began appearing in Italian fi lms as well, including Francesco Rosi’s “Three Brothers” (1980). Next to Rainer Werner Fassbinder, she cultivated excellent contacts with other German directors as well, such as Werner Schroeter (“Les fl ocons d’or”) and Volker Schlöndorff (“The Tin Drum”). She also appeared in François Truffaut’s “Le dernier métro” alongside Catherine Deneuve. KLAUS LÖWITSCH is Felix, the double Klaus Löwitsch (1936-2002) owes part of his reputation as a serious actor to his work with Fassbinder. In addition to “Despair”, his Fassbinder fi lms include “The Merchant of Four Seasons” and “The Marriage of Maria Braun”. He starred in more than 300 fi lms and TV productions and appeared in international features such as “The Odessa File” (with Jon Voigt) and Sam Peckinpah’s “The Cross of Iron”. 4 DESPAIR CAST hermann hermann DIRK BOGARDE lydia hermann ANDREA FERREOL felix weber KLAUS LÖWITSCH ardalion VOLKER SPENGLER müller PETER KERN mayer ALEXANDER ALLERSON doctor HARK BOHM perebrodov GOTTFRIED JOHN orlovius BERNHARD WICKI CREW directed by RAINER WERNER FASSBINDER director of photography MICHAEL BALLHAUS music by PEER RABEN production design by ROLF ZEHETBAUER costumes by DAGMAR SCHAUBERGER edited by JULIANE LORENZ and FRANZ WALSCH produced by PETER MÄRTESHEIMER production companies BAVARIA STUDIOS MUNICH for NF GERIA II FILM restored by BAVARIA MEDIA in co-operation with CINEPOSTPRODUCTION TECHNICAL DetaILS germany 1978, 115 minutes, color, 1:1.66, dolby digital Restored in 2011 by Bavaria Media in cooperation with Cinepostproduction Bavaria Media GmbH, Bavariafilmplatz 7, 82031 Geiselgasteig | Germany Phone +49 89 6499 2686, Fax +49 89 6499 3720, [email protected], www.bavaria-media.de.