The Anarchy of the Imagination: Interviews, Essays, Notes (PAJ Books) - Hardcover

Fassbinder, Professor Rainer Werner

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0801843685 ISBN 13: 9780801843686

Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992

Synopsis

The Anarchy of the Imagination colects the most important interviews, essays, and working notes of Rainer Werner Fassbinder, one of the most influential cultural figures to emerge from postwar Germany. Whether reflecting on his won work oir writing about other directors, whether describing his discovery of actress Hanna Schygulla or speaking out in favor of political film making, Fassbinder's perspective is radical, subjective, and challenging. The writing in this volume-nearly all presented here for the first time in English-are an essential part of Fassbinder's legacy, the remarkable body of work in which present-day German reality finds brilliant expression.

About this title

About the Author

Michael Töteberg is the editor of two volumes of Fassbinder's screenplays. Leo A. Lensing is professor of German and film studies, and Krishna Winston is professor of German, at Wesleyan University.

Reviews

This volume might be retitled The Portable Fassbinder. Its contents range from major interviews to bits of ephemera such as Fassbinder's list of ten best soccer players. Mostly, Fassbinder talks about films, his own and those of others. Fassbinder, who killed himself in 1982 at age 36, was renowned for his workaholic habits, and some items here suggest more energy than deep thinking. For instance, in the course of an essay on director Michael Curtiz, he admits to having seen only a couple of Curtiz's films. Yet the book's "thrown-together" quality reflects Fassbinder's mad rush from idea to idea, and the colloquial translation lets the voice of a tortured artist come through. The editors might have included a more thorough introductory essay, especially since Fassbinder has been dead for a full decade and his place among directors can now be examined more clearly. Recommended for public libraries and film studies collections.
- Mary C. Kalfatovic, Telesec Lib. Svcs., Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press
• Publication date: 1992
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0801843685
• ISBN 13: 9780801843686
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 280
• Editor: Töteberg Professor Michael, Lensing Professor Leo