Close Up

22 December 2019: Eight Hours Don't Make a Day

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Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day
Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1972, 495 min
German with English subtitles

“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.” – Aliza Ma

"The recent restoration of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s long-unseen television miniseries Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day is a gift for cinephiles and for anyone who appreciates a beautifully articulated family drama. Meet the Krugers, headed by a spirited sixty-year-old widow (Luise Ullrich), who is best understood by her twentysomething grandson (Gottfried John) and his new girlfriend Marion (Hanna Schygulla). Through the story of this working-class family, Fassbinder, who worked on the script for a year, addresses many sociopolitical issues facing postwar West Germany, including the high cost of housing, labor conditions, and prejudice against minorities. However, it is the narrative’s elliptical style, nuanced use of foreshadowing, elements of surprise, and first-rate performances by the marvelous troupe of actors (Kurt Raab, Irm Hermann, Margit Carstensen, Hans Hirschmüller, Karl Scheydt, Rudolf-Waldemar Brem, and others) that distinguish this compelling work. Fassbinder’s deep appreciation of the melodramas of Douglas Sirk informs the style and emotional character of Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day.

Filmed on location at a factory in Cologne, Eight Hours… was originally planned as an eight-part series; however, because of criticism from German trade unions, who felt misrepresented by Fassbinder’s depiction, the final three episodes were never filmed. The five-episode miniseries aired on West German television in 1973 to an audience of six million viewers and represented a major achievement for Fassbinder. This restoration by the Fassbinder Foundation and the Museum of Modern Art fills in a pivotal period of Fassbinder’s remarkable career, which spanned film, television, and theater." – Susan Oxtoby

Schedule:

12pm-1.45pm: Eight Hours Don't Make a Day,  Part 1
2.15pm-4pm: Eight Hours Don't Make a Day, Part 2
16.30pm-6.05pm: Eight Hours Don't Make a Day, Part 3
6.35pm-20.05pm: Eight Hours Don't Make a Day, Part 4
8.35pm-10.05pm: Eight Hours Don't Make a Day, Part 5


Part of our season on Rainer Werner Fassbinder