The Merchant of Four Seasons
Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder • 1971 • Germany
Starring Hans Hirschmüller, Irm Hermann, Gusti Kreissl
New German Cinema icon Rainer Werner Fassbinder kicked off a new phase of his young career when he made the startling THE MERCHANT OF FOUR SEASONS. In this anguished yet mordantly funny film, Fassbinder charts the decline of a self-destructive former policeman and war veteran struggling to make ends meet for his family by working as a fruit vendor. Fassbinder had gained acclaim for a series of trenchant, quickly made early films, but for this one he took more time and forged a new style—featuring a more complexly woven script and narrative structure and more sophisticated use of the camera, and influenced by the work of his recently discovered idol, Douglas Sirk. The result is a meticulously made, unforgiving social satire.
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The Merchant of Four Seasons
Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder • 1971 • Germany
Starring Hans Hirschmüller, Irm Hermann, Gusti KreisslNew German Cinema icon Rainer Werner Fassbinder kicked off a new phase of his young career when he made the startling THE MERCHANT OF FOUR SEASONS. In this anguished yet mordantly funny f...
Extras
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THE MERCHANT OF FOUR SEASONS Commentary
This audio commentary, featuring filmmaker Wim Wenders, was recorded in 2002.
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Wim Wenders on THE MERCHANT OF FOUR SEASONS
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Hans Hirschmüller on THE MERCHANT OF FOUR SEASONS
The following interview with actor Hans Hirschmüller was conducted in Berlin in February 2015.
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Eric Rentschler on THE MERCHANT OF FOUR SEASONS
The following interview with Eric Rentschler, a film historian and the Arthur Kingsley Porter Professor of Germanic Languages and Literature at Harvard University, was conducted in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in February 2015.
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Irm Hermann on THE MERCHANT OF FOUR SEASONS
This interview with actor Irm Hermann was conducted in Berlin in February 2015.
