The bitter tears of Petra von Kant [DVD video]

One of the earliest and best-loved films of this period in his career, which balances a realistic depiction of tormented romance with staging that remains true to the director's roots in experimental theater. This unforgettable, unforgiving dissection of the imbalanced relationship between a haughty fashion designer and a beautiful but icy ingenue, based, in a sly gender reversal, on the writer-director's own desperate obsession with a young actor.

General Note:

Originally produced as a motion picture in 1972.

Special features: Disc 2: Outsiders (documentary features actors Margit Carstensen, Eva Mattes, Katrin Schaake, and Hanna Schygulla discussing the production of the film and their experiences working with director Rainer Werner Fassbinder); Michael Ballhaus (new interview with cinematographer Michael Ballhaus); Jan Shattuc (new interview with Jane Shattuc, professor of visual and media arts at Emerson College and author of Television, Tabloids, and Tears: Fassbinder and Popular Culture); Role play: women on Fassbinder (1992 German television documentary by Thomas Honickel featuring interviews with actors Margit Carstensen, Irm Hermann, Hanna Schygulla, and Rosel Zech); New English subtitle translation. Insert features an essay by critic Peter Matthews.

Performers:

Margit Carstensen, Hanna Schygulla, Katrin Schaake, Eva Mattes, Gisela Fackeldey, Irm Hermann.

Contents:

disc 1. Feature film -- disc 2. bonus features.

Technical Details:

DVD, NTSC, region 1; fullscreen (1.37:1) presentation; Dolby digital mono.

Subject Term:

Fashion designers -- Drama.

Actors -- Drama.

Lesbians -- Drama.

Lesbian couples -- Drama.

Dominance (Psychology) -- Drama.