Home / Authors / Rainer Werner Fassbinder Books

Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Rainer Werner Fassbinder Books

Film director

German film director known for his distinctive style and profound exploration of social issues. Fassbinder's films often focus on post-war German society, particularly on gender, class, and power relations. His works include classics such as 'Fear Eats the Soul' and 'Lili Marleen'.

The Marriage of Maria Braun

A source page for quotes linked to Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

0 quotes

Related Quotes

“Women think in [Douglas] Sirk’s films. Something which has never struck me with other directors. None of them. Usually women are always reacting, doing what women are supposed to do, but in Sirk they think. It’s something that has to be seen. It’s great to see women think. It gives one hope. Honestly.”

Film Hope Women

Author:Rainer Werner Fassbinder

“I'd like to be for cinema what Shakespeare was for theatre, Marx for politics and Freud for psychology: someone after whom nothing is as it used to be.”

Used Psychology Theatre Used To Be Cinema

Author:Rainer Werner Fassbinder

“So certainly, if we can tell evil stories to make people sick, we can also tell good myths that make them well.”

People Ifs Wells Stories Evil Sick Myth

Author:Rainer Werner Fassbinder

“The Jews have never been ashamed of being Jews, whereas homosexuals have been stupid enough to be ashamed of their homosexuality.”

Has Beens Enough Stupid Jew Ashamed Homosexuality Homosexual

Author:Rainer Werner Fassbinder

“Yes, actually ever since I saw his films and tried to write about them, Sirk's been in everything I've done. Not Sirk himself, but what I've learned from his work.”

Writing Done Film Saws I've Learned

Author:Rainer Werner Fassbinder

“As long as movies are depressing, life isn't.”

Long Depressing

Author:Rainer Werner Fassbinder

“Better a street-sweeper in Mexico than a filmmaker in Germany!”

Streets Filmmaker Germany Mexico Sweepers

Author:Rainer Werner Fassbinder

“I detest the idea that love between two persons can lead to salvation. All my life I have fought against this oppressive type of relationship. Instead, I believe in searching for a kind of love that somehow involves all of humanity.”

Believe Kind Persons Two Ideas Humanity I Believe Type Salvation I Believe In Kinds Of Love Detest

Author:Rainer Werner Fassbinder

“People are terrible. They can bear anything. Anything! People are hard and brutal. And everyone is disposable. Everyone! That's the lesson.”

People Hard Bears Terrible Lessons Brutal Disposable

Author:Rainer Werner Fassbinder

“Women think in Sirk's films. Something which has never struck me with other directors. None of them. Usually women are always reacting, doing what women are supposed to do, but in Sirk they think. It's something that has to be seen.”

Thinking Giving Film Directors Honestly Reacting

Author:Rainer Werner Fassbinder

“For all of us it’s the things that won’t work that keep our interest.”

Author:Rainer Werner Fassbinder

“Since I'm not a second Marx or Freud who can offer people alternatives, I have to let them keep their own wrong feelings. And I don't believe that melodramatic feelings are laughable-they should be taken absolutely seriously.”

People Should Believe Feelings Taken Offers Don't Believe Alternatives Laughable

Author:Rainer Werner Fassbinder

“The best thing I can think of would be to create a union between something as beautiful and powerful and wonderful as Hollywood films and a criticism of the status quo. That's my dream, to make such a German film.”

Thinking I Can Dream Would Be Beautiful Film Powerful Wonderful Criticism Hollywood Unions Best Things Status Quo Hollywood Films

Author:Rainer Werner Fassbinder

“Love is the best, most insidious, most effective instrument of social repression.”

Social Love Is Instruments Repression Insidious

Book:The Marriage of Maria Braun

Source: The Marriage of Maria Braun

“The more real things get, the more like myths they become. There have always been myths, but the myths of earlier times were, Im convinced, bad ones, because they made people sick. So certainly, if we can tell evil stories to make people sick, we can also tell good myths that make them well.”

People Ifs Wells Made Real Stories Evil Sick Myth Convinced Real Things

Author:Rainer Werner Fassbinder

“People often criticize my films for being pessimistic; there are certainly many reasons for being pessimistic but I don’t see my films that way. They’re founded in the belief that revolution doesn’t belong on the cinema screen but outside in the world. Never mind if a film ends pessimistically but exposes certain mechanisms clearly enough to show people how they work and the ultimate effect is not pessimistic. My goal is to reveal such mechanisms in a way that makes people realize the necessity of changing their own reality.”

People Ifs World Way Mind Ends Reason Enough Shows Reality Film Certain Belief Goal Realizing Effects Revolution Ultimate Screens Cinema Criticize Mechanism Pessimistic

Author:Rainer Werner Fassbinder

“Every decent director has only one subject, and finally only makes the same film over and over again. My subject is the exploitability of feelings, whoever might be the one exploiting them. It never ends. It's a permanent theme. Whether the state exploits patriotism, or whether in a couple relationship, one partner destroys the other.”

Ends States Feelings Might Film Subjects Couple Directors Partners Permanent Theme Decent Exploits

Author:Rainer Werner Fassbinder

“Everyone must decide for himself whether it is better to have a brief but more intensely felt existence or to live a long and ordinary life.”

Long Felt Existence Ordinary Ordinary Life

Author:Rainer Werner Fassbinder

“I hope to build a house with my films. Some of them are the cellar, some are the walls, and some are the windows. But I hope in time there will be a house.”

Film House Wall Window Cellars

Author:Rainer Werner Fassbinder

“In the last analysis, terrorism is an idea generated by capitalism to justify better defense measures to safeguard capitalism.”

Ideas Lasts Capitalism Terrorism Defense Analysis Justify

Author:Rainer Werner Fassbinder

“The more real things get, the more like myths they become.”

Real Myth Real Things

Author:Rainer Werner Fassbinder

“It isn't easy to accept that suffering can also be beautiful... it's difficult. It's something you can only understand if you dig deeply into yourself.”

Ifs Beautiful Suffering Easy Difficult Accepting

Author:Rainer Werner Fassbinder

About the Author

Born: May 31, 1945
Died: June 10, 1982
Known for: Film director
Quotes: 22

Related Topics

Film People Ifs Myth Beautiful Believe Cinema Directors Ends Enough

Popular Topics

People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

The Marriage of Maria BraunRelated source material

Similar Authors

Francois TruffautBrowse related quotes
Alexander PayneBrowse related quotes
Michael HanekeBrowse related quotes
Sergio LeoneBrowse related quotes
Abbas KiarostamiBrowse related quotes
Anurag KashyapBrowse related quotes
William FriedkinBrowse related quotes
Dario ArgentoBrowse related quotes
Patrice LeconteBrowse related quotes
Roger EbertBrowse related quotes