andrea ferreol dirk bogarde - Festival de Cannes

DIRK
BogarDe
ANDREA
ferreol
“Despair is the Most hopeful Movie i’ve MaDe.”
RAINER WERNER FASSBINDER
SCREENING Fri, May 13 19.30h Salle du 60e WORLD PREMIERE of restored version
PHOTOS CAN BE DOWNLOADED AT
www.Bavaria-filM-international.coM
BAVARIA FILM INTERNATIONAL presents a production of BAVARIA STUDIOS MUNICH for NF GERIA II FILM a film by RAINER WERNER FASSBINDER ‘DESPAIR’ starring DIRK BOGARDE • ANDREA FERREOL • KLAUS LÖWITSCH
VOLKER SPENGLER dramatised for the screen by TOM STOPPARD based on a novel by VLADIMIR NABOKOV with PETER KERN • ALEXANDER ALLERSON • HARK BOHM • GOTTFRIED JOHN and BERNHARD WICKI director of
photography MICHAEL BALLHAUS music by PEER RABEN production design ROLF ZEHETBAUER costume design DAGMAR SCHAUBERGER edited by JULIANE LORENZ • FRANZ WALSCH production supervisor DIETER MINX
production executive LUTZ HENGST produced by PETER MÄRTHESHEIMER directed by RAINER WERNER FASSBINDER restored by BAVARIA MEDIA in co-operation with CINEPOSTPRODUCTION

sYnopsis
Is Hermann going to spend his whole life in the chocolate business? Hermann, a Russian
living in exile, owns a comfortable apartment in Berlin, drives a fast car, and is married
to Lydia, who is only moderately intelligent but very attractive. The management of his
company – a chocolate factory – takes him only a few hours a day. Business is stagnating,
perhaps because of the Great Depression; but Hermann doesn’t mind too much. What
fascinates him more and more is the feeling of being able to step out of his body, stand
beside it, and watch it. One evening he leaves the bedroom door open, so that he, sitting
in the living room, can watch Lydia and himself make love. He starts enjoying this state
and would like to refi ne his ability to double himself, to cultivate it like an artistic skill.
While relaxing on a business trip he meets a jobless man named Felix Weber. Curiously,
Hermann is convinced that Felix is a spitting image of himself, down to every last physical
detail. He promises to keep in touch with him. Back in Berlin, the existence of his
doppelganger fires up his imagination: What if he were to disappear and start a new
life with another man’s name? Hermann then meticulously begins to plan a perfect crime,
his rebirth, his journey towards the light ...
Featuring international stars in the lead roles with Dirk Bogarde (“Death in Venice”) and
Andréa Ferréol (“La Grande Bouffe”) and in the technical departments with cinematographer
Michael Ballhaus (“The Departed”, “Goodfellas”, “Gangs of New York”) and Oscarwinning
production designer Rolf Zehetbauer (“Luther”, “The Boat”, “Cabaret”), “Despair”
is an adapation from a novel by Vladimir Nabokov by Oscar-winning British script writer
Tom Stoppard (“Shakespeare in Love”, “Brazil”). “Despair” is a psychedelic drama set in
the 1930s against the background of the rising power of the Nazis. This English-language
masterpiece by Germany’s most renowned director Rainer Werner Fassbinder originally
premiered in competition at the Cannes Film Festival (1978) and was honored with three
German Film Awards in Gold. We now present a fully HD restored version and newly
produced bonus features of Fassbinder’s greatest international film.
2 Despair

ainer werner fassBinDer the director
Rainer Werner Fassbinder (1946-1982) directed his first feature-length film, “Love is
Colder than Death”, n 1969, but he made his definitive breakthrough with his next
film, “Katzelmacher” (1969). He achieved his first major commercial success with
“The Merchant of Four Seasons” (1971) and caught the attention of international critics
and audiences with “Ali – Fear Eats the Soul” (1974), which won the International Critics
Prize at Cannes. His biggest success, which brought him the popular acceptance he
sought, came with “The Marriage of Maria Braun” (1978). Other acclaimed fi lms of his are
“The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant” (1973), “Lili Marleen” (1981) and “Veronika Voss”
(1982) The TV series “Berlin Alexanderplatz” (1980) and “Effi Briest” (1974) are two of his
best-known adaptations. His last fi lm, “Querelle”, was shot in 1982. Fassbinder made 41
movies in 14 years, and also worked as an actor, producer, theater manager, composer,
designer, editor, and cameraman. His oeuvre stands out for its wrenchingly personal
themes, intimate portraits of betrayal and despair, and unsparing criticism of Western
society. “Despair” is an homage to all who see their existential crises not as weaknesses
but as possibilities.
3 Despair

Dirk BogarDe is Hermann
Born into a highly artistic family, Dirk Bogarde (1921-1999) was one of the greatest British
actors of the 20th century. His strikingly handsome features and often melancholy aloofness
predestined him for roles as men with a mystery. He began garnering international attention
in the 1960s in fi lms by Joseph Losey, such as “The Servant” (1963). While his role in
“The Night Porter” (1974) was criticized even by many of his most ardent fans, his roles
in the Luchino Visconti fi lms “The Damned” (1971) and “Death in Venice” (1977) were
universally acclaimed and are among his fi nest fi lms. Among his other notable productions
are “Victim”, “Losey’s”, “King and Country” and “Accident”, Oscar-winning “Darling”,
George Cukor’s “Justine” and Alain Resnais’s „Providence“.
anDrea ferreol is Lydia
Born in Aix-en-Provence, Andréa Ferréol became a noted stage actress before launching
her career as a fi lm actor in France and abroad. The fi lm that catapulted her to international
fi lm was Marco Ferreri’s “La Grande Bouffe” of 1973, in which she combined eroticism
with an infectious love of life. The following year, she dazzled alongside Romy Schneider
and Michel Piccoli in “Le trio infernal” and began appearing in Italian fi lms as well, including
Francesco Rosi’s “Three Brothers” (1980). Next to Rainer Werner Fassbinder, she cultivated
excellent contacts with other German directors as well, such as Werner Schroeter (“Les
fl ocons d’or”) and Volker Schlöndorff (“The Tin Drum”). She also appeared in François
Truffaut’s “Le dernier métro” alongside Catherine Deneuve.
klaus löwitsch is Felix, the double
Klaus Löwitsch (1936-2002) owes part of his reputation as a serious actor to his work
with Fassbinder. In addition to “Despair”, his Fassbinder fi lms include “The Merchant of
Four Seasons” and “The Marriage of Maria Braun”. He starred in more than 300 fi lms and
TV productions and appeared in international features such as “The Odessa File” (with
Jon Voigt) and Sam Peckinpah’s “The Cross of Iron”.
4 Despair

CAST
hermann hermann Dirk BogarDe
lydia hermann anDrea ferreol
felix weber klaus löwitsch
ardalion volker spengler
müller peter kern
mayer aleXanDer allerson
doctor hark BohM
perebrodov gottfrieD John
orlovius BernharD wicki
CREW
directed by rainer werner fassBinDer
director of photography Michael Ballhaus
music by peer raBen
production design by rolf ZehetBauer
costumes by DagMar schauBerger
edited by Juliane lorenZ and franZ walsch
produced by peter MÄrtesheiMer
production companies Bavaria stuDios Munich
for nf geria ii filM
restored by Bavaria MeDia
in co-operation with cinepostproDuction
TEChniCAl dETAilS
germany 1978, 115 minutes, color, 1:1.66, dolby digital
Restored in 2011 by Bavaria Media in cooperation with Cinepostproduction
Bavaria Media GmbH, Bavariafilmplatz 7, 82031 Geiselgasteig | Germany
Phone +49 89 6499 2686, Fax +49 89 6499 3720, international@bavaria-film.de, www.bavaria-media.de