Fassbinder: Not Gay, Didn't Do Drugs

Wasn't criterion suppose to release this?

jai-l-- Yes, Criterion will be releasing Berlin Alexanderplatz in the fall of this year. At issue is the digital restoration, which has considerably brightened up the original image, damaging the shadowy look that Fassbinder intended. Those involved in the "restoration" insist that the dark image was not an artistic choice but rather the outcome of technical difficulties, which is utter nonsense. The true reason for the blatant disregard for the filmmaker's wishes is the Foundation's desire to make the work more "accessible" to the general public, the answer always given when mediocrities tamper with artists' productions. A handful of people have spoken up about the vandalism, but that is unlikely to have any effect. If Criterion faithfully reproduces the look of Süddeutsche Zeitung's German release, viewers will be watching a markedly different "Berlin Alsexanderplatz" than that seen by the audience when the series initially aired on German television. I asked David Hudson whether adjusting the brightness and contrast on the set could alleviate the problem, but he answered that the digital restoration had also given the image a totally different "texture". I should add that at least one contributor to the Criterion forum who has watched the German DVD box set remarks that the image resembles a Rembrandt painting in its darkness, and that at times is even completely black, though nobody disputes that the picture is lighter than it appeared on televsion. Granted, there is no way to exactly reproduce the way the film looked when it was broadcast in the 80s, but to assert, as one contributor has done, that it is "no big deal", strikes me as complete idiocy.

Thanks for the info Jon. I completely agree with your sentiments. I guess there hasn't been any input from Criterion on this issue? Considering their track record, I should hope that they will try to get as close as possible to what Fassbinder originally intended.

Thanks for the news on this, John. It will be very interesting to see what Criterion does with this.