Film Forum

ADDED SCREENING SCHEDULE:
PART 1: Fri, March 30 at 8:00 & Sat, March 31 at 2:30
PART 2: Sat, March 31 at 8:20 & Sun, April 1 at 2:30
PART 3: Fri, March 30 at 4:00 & Sun, April 1 at 8:20

The astonishingly prolific Rainer Werner Fassbinder (1945-1982) directed over 40 movies in 15 years. Yet one of his most sprawling works has remained unreleased in the U.S. until now: the epic 1972 working-class miniseries, EIGHT HOURS DON’T MAKE A DAY. It stars many of his favored actors: Hanna Schygulla (THE MARRIAGE OF MARIA BRAUN), Gottfried John (BERLIN ALEXANDERPLATZ), Irm Hermann (THE MERCHANT OF FOUR SEASONS), Kurt Raab (WHY DOES HERR R. RUN AMOK?). It’s a family drama in which the rights of both workers and wives are up for grabs. The vagaries of postwar German capitalism and the changing relationships among men, women, and children fuel the mix through weddings, birthdays, family dinners, workers’ meetings, and romantic trysts. Fassbinder’s people find themselves strangers in a strange new world -- a prescient insight into 21st century anomie.

Digitally restored from the reversal positive by ARRI, under the direction of Juliane Maria Lorenz.
Funded By: MoMA / FFA / ARRI / RWFF / RWF Werkschau / Verlag der Autoren

GERMANY • 1972/2017
5 episodes screened in 3 parts
IN GERMAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES • JANUS FILMS

Separate admission for PART 1 (Episodes 1 & 2: 101 mins each) and PART 2 (Episode 3: 93 mins; Episode 4: 91 mins). 
Parts 1 & 2 include a 10-minute intermission.
PART 3 (Episode 5: 90 mins) is free of charge for viewers of the other two parts. 

Box office staff will provide a stamp card with initial ticket purchase/pick-up. 
Present a stamped card (Parts 1 & 2) at the box office to receive a free ticket to Part 3 (first come, first served).

Reviews

“Inspires. Has more than enough cinematic pleasures, engaging characters, and narrative surprises for the most discerning of binge viewers.” 
– Amy Taubin, Artforum

“CRITIC’S PICK. A neglected masterpiece. Here is a work that - in the generosity of its scope and the sophistication of its staging - makes Mr. Fassbinder look more inventive than just about any filmmaker working today… A complete surprise - funnier, more humane and more optimistic than anything in the Fassbinder canon… A comedy...a lighthearted polemic… The polish of Mr. Fassbinder’s direction is a marvel...the fluidity of his camera and blocking is miraculous. For sheer joy per minute of film, there’s nothing playing now that comes close.”
– Ben Kenigsberg, The New York Times

“Even from beyond the grave, Fassbinder, who made more than forty films over a fifteen-year span, still seems to be creating them and astounding new audiences.” 
– Melissa Anderson, 4Columns

“The discovery of a major work, on a par with the director’s greatest…  an intricately plotted five-part miniseries. The narrative lucidity is matched to a complex mise en scene... (The) pop-laden soundtrack includes Neil Young’s After the Gold Rush and Janis Joplin’s version of Me and Bobby McGee. Often a very funny series. For once in Fassbinder, love isn’t colder than death. A classic that ranks with the director’s finest work.”
– Nick Pinkerton, Sight & Sound

“A thrilling new peak in Fassbinder’s towering career…  A brilliantly layered chamber drama about an eccentric family and their economic and cultural environment, which functions as both trenchant social critique and populist entertainment. The series depicts a tender family portrait - if always lined with Fassbinder’s characteristic sardonic humor - revealing a rare softer, subtler side to the auteur. Multifaceted, provocative, and meaningful. EIGHT HOURS is revolutionary precisely because it rethinks the very definition of what it means to be revolutionary.”
– Aliza Ma, Film Comment