REVIEW: DVD Release: World On A Wire

Series: World On A Wire
Release date: 17th May 2010
Certificate: U
Running time: 204 mins
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Starring: Klaus Löwitsch, Barbara Valentin
Genre: Sci-Fi/Crime
Studio: Second Sight
Format: DVD
Country: Germany

World on A Wire has rarely been seen outside of its native Germany, yet with recognition of its influence on the likes of David Cronenberg and The Matrix, the two-part feature-length series has being awarded a more general release in the UK, over thirty years after its original television debut.

It is the near-future, and Dr. Stiller is in charge of The Simulacron, a virtual reality machine which contains a fully functioning universe - an entire population of living projections existing within the confines of one supercomputer. The inhabitants of this reality have complete freewill, and are none the wiser to the true nature of their lives.

However, in the real world strange things are happening. Dr. Vollmer, one of the original creators of the machine, is found dead. Not long after this, one of Dr. Stiller’s co-workers Gunther Lause disappears mid-conversation, and is seemingly wiped from collective memory. The problem is Dr. Stiller remembers, and is perceived by all around him to be slowly going insane.

When one of the virtual-reality creations escapes from the computer and into the real world, it begins a chain of events that sees Dr. Stiller arrive at the realisation that the lines between the real and the non real are not as concrete as first assumed...


This plot will seem familiar to any fan of modern science-fiction; however, this is an atmospheric and visually inventive film that delves into the theories of ‘reality as projection’ with a straight-faced seriousness, negating the use of cheap post-modernism and knowing irony. What begins as a noir-ish crime investigation becomes a more interesting investigation into the nature of identity, memory, reality and the strange role that cinema plays in defining the above.

Fassbinder’s World On A Wire is a knowing un-reality, a Bretchian display of construction, which suits the plot perfectly. Long tracking shots are interspersed with strange high and low angles. Bunsen burners are held under the camera so the picture warps and swirls, the lighting subtly morphs during scenes, casting strange shadows and nauseating movement. In this way, the ‘reality’ in which this story exists (the filmic reality) is shown to be a construction, much like the world of The Simulacron.

By way of its self-referential visual flair, we as an audience are never allowed the comfort of ‘cinema as escapism’; we are forced to de-construct the film, and more disturbingly, the world around us. To further this point, the mise-en-scène is populated with falsities, versions of ourselves which, while convincing, are merely the projections of our egos onto the inanimate. This is a world of mirrors, statues, paintings and shop mannequins, wrapped in celluloid and projected onto our television screens.

While this could have so easily descended into the realm of ponderous debate, World On A Wire is in fact an engrossing thriller. Klaus Lowitsch’s performance as Dr. Fred Stiller allows us a believable, and more importantly likeable hero who shares our confusion and dismay as the world around him unfurls, becoming nothing short of a suffocating nightmare. The pacing keeps the element of chase and danger prominent, while allowing for the more cerebral elements to come through, a trick that was sadly lacking from the similar, but lesser-quality, Matrix sequels.

The use of music in the film is another way in which the tension is allowed to build. The soundtrack is one which shifts from beautiful classical to Krautrock sirens and electronic noise - a shifting which happens with alarming regularity and speed. Combining a disorientating use of camera with a disconcerting soundtrack, World on A Wire creates a fully immersive audio/visual experience.



Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s dystopian fantasy explores the link between perception and reality by dismantling the constructive nature of film. Its view of the future will seem dated, and its plot will cause many a viewer to experience strong déjà-vu, but World On A Wire goes deeper then it’s modern re-hashes, and will inspire many an audience member to join in the philosophical debate. AC

REVIEW: DVD Release: The Marriage Of Maria Braun

Film: The Marriage Of Maria Braun
Release date: 7th August 2006
Certificate: 15
Running time: 115 mins
Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Starring: Hanna Schygulla, Klaus Löwitsch, Ivan Desny, Gottfried John
Genre: Drama
Studio: Arrow
Format: DVD
Country: Germany

Set against a post-war landscape after World War II, The Marriage Of Maria Braun is positioned from a fresh perspective: that of a German woman. An integral film by a pioneering director of New German cinema, it is the first in Fassbinder’s Wirtschaftswunder (economic miracle) trilogy, recently released on DVD for the first time since its 1979 theatrical release date.

In a tragic romance, Hermann Braun (Klaus Löwitsch) disappears moments after his wedding leaving his wife, Maria (Hanna Schygulla Hermann), to struggle through poverty and the loss of a husband during post-war Germany.

After his disappearance, Maria spends her days alone roaming the train station; questioning people, and making money from selling her most precious possessions (including her wedding dress). Eventually, she begins to lose hope, and takes a job at a local bar, where she attracts the attention of an American soldier. Maria refuses to fully accept the soldiers advances until one day, Hermann’s comrade, Willi (Gottfried John), arrives home with the news that he is dead. Maria returns to the bar where she works to seek comfort in the arms of the American soldier, with whom she begins an affair and falls pregnant. However, their relationship comes to an abrupt halt when Hermann suddenly arrives home to find the two naked in Maria’s bedroom, resulting in the soldier’s murder.

When Hermann is arrested, Maria loses the baby and uses her feminine allure to secure a job with French business man, Karl Oswald (Ivan Desny). Karl falls hopelessly in love with her, but Maria proceeds to have an affair with him purely using him for money and companionship while Hermann is away…


This results in a complex relationship between Maria and Hermann, who has difficulty in accepting her other lovers. The marriage faces difficulties from the outset of the film, with the two ducking gun fire and explosions, while attempting to sign their marriage certificate. Later, they must survive Hermann’s disappearance, incarceration and eventually his move to Canada upon payment from Maria’s lover; all taking place in between the love affairs, which Hermann has great difficulty in coming to terms with. They never wholly communicate with each other (what is not said often figuring more prominently than what is), and Hermann’s morose expressions depict his inner turmoil, which Maria appears completely oblivious (or uncaring) towards, as she repeatedly claims that she leads this life for their marriage.

Although, at times, the acting from some of the supporting cast is overly melodramatic, overall Hanna Schygulla delivers a performance which is both gripping and subdued, winning her a Silver Berlin Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1979. As the story unfolds, Maria becomes more hardened, pushing away those closest to her while she comes to terms with the hardships she has suffered as a strong female character that must use her sexuality and femininity to survive the difficult climate in which she lives. However, her character also works as a metaphor for Germany as a nation - the rebuilding of her life and rise to wealth representing the rebuilding of Germany into an economic superpower.

The visual style of the film is thoroughly depressing. This war torn landscape figures prominently as the characters clamber through the rubble of destroyed buildings, reflecting the broken dreams and fragmented families that the war has left behind. This is juxtaposed against the elegant costumes and lavish home that Maria has earned by the end of the film, although her wealth and beauty come at the expense of her soul and ability to love.

The music is sparse, silence figuring as a reflection on the emptiness that swallows Maria over the course of the film, while a background of gun fire serves as a constant reminder of the war. There are, however, brief outbursts of music which demonstrate the melodramatic tone of the film; suddenly appearing at randomly inexplicable times. For example, at the moment when Maria walks into the doctor’s office to ask for a health certificate, there is a dramatic orchestral score which suggests that this is an important moment - signalling the beginning of Maria using her sexuality to get what she wants, which will ultimately be her downfall.


The Marriage Of Maria Braun is a refreshing take on how war affects the ordinary person, featuring a captivating performance from an actress who showcases the glamour of a classical Hollywood actress brought down to earth by the street smarts of a war torn widow. HB