Criterion Reflections – Episode 11 – Volker Schlöndorff’s BAAL

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:45:09 — 148.9MB)

Criterion Reflections is David Blakeslee’s ongoing project to watch all of the films included in the Criterion Collection in chronological order of their original release. Each episode of this second season of the podcast features conversations with a variety of guests offering insights on movies that originally premiered in 1970 and were destined to eventually bear the Criterion imprint. In this episode, David is joined by William Remmers to discuss Volker Schlöndorff’s Baal, starring Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Margarethe von Trotta, based on a 1919 stage play written by Bertolt Brecht.

Episode Links:

Volker Schlöndorff

• VolkerSchloendorff.com (official)
• Criterion
• Deutsche Welle
• European Graduate School
• Society of Audiovisual Authors
• Wikipedia

Bertolt Brecht

• Criterion
• Encyclopedia Brittanica
• Holocaust Encyclopedia
• Poetry Foundation
• Spartacus Educational
• Theatre Database
• Wikipedia

Reviews

• Film Blerg
• Film Gazette (German)
• Hard Sensations (German)
• MUBI
• Splatting Image (German)
• Sydney Morning Herald

Opening scene of Baal, featuring the vocal styling of Rainer Werner Fassbinder:

David Bowie’s performance as Baal, as directed by Alan Clarke:

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ZATOICHI MEETS YOJIMBO

MORE!

• Criterion Reflections blog (1922 – 1967)
• Criterion Reflections columns on CriterionCast (1968)
• The Eclipse Viewer
• A Journey Through the Eclipse Series

CONTACT US:

• David Blakeslee [ Twitter / Website  / Facebook ]
• William Remmers [ Twitter / Instagram / Letterboxd ]

Up Next:

Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo