Rainer Werner Fassbinder (31 May 1945 — 10 June 1982) was a German film director, screenwriter, and actor. Considered one of the most important figures in the New German Cinema, Fassbinder was prolific; in a professional career less than fifteen years, he completed forty feature-length films, two television film series, three short films, four video productions, twenty-four stage plays, and four radio plays. He had tortured, personal relationships with the actors and technicians around him who formed a surrogate family. However, his pictures demonstrate his deep sensitivity to social outsiders and his hatred of institutionalized violence. He ruthlessly attacked both German bourgeois society and the larger limitations of humanity. Fassbinder died in June 1982 at the age of 37 from a lethal cocktail of cocaine and barbiturates. His death has often been cited as the event that ended the New German Cinema movement.
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Biography from TMDB.
- May 31, 1945
- June 10, 1982 (aged 37)
- Bad Wörishofen, Germany
- Writer, director, actor, editor and producer, also cinematographer
- 25 on MovieCove · 73 credits in all
What are Rainer Werner Fassbinder's films like?
Across their 26 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Power and Self.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 2 · Wry 4 · Earnest 20
Light 2 · Serious 3 · Dark 21
A split, not a type: Grounded 6 · Stylized 8 · Heightened 12
Gentle 2 · Charged 13 · Intense 11
A split, not a type: Steady 13 · Shifting 7 · Whiplash 6
Straight-faced 21 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 1
Slow burn 22 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 1
Casual 4 · Engaged 16 · Full focus 6
Easy watch 3 · Affecting 7 · Heavy 16
Resolved 5 · Open-ended 12 · Ambiguous 9
Roles they play
Usually the Hero: 3 of 4 analyzed roles.
- Heroas Jorgos in Katzelmacher (1969)
- Shadowas Sascha, Herstellungsleiter in Beware of a Holy Whore (1971)
- Heroas Franz Biberkopf in Fox and His Friends (1975)
- Heroas Polizeileutnant Jansen in Kamikaze 89 (1982)
Moods and endings
- Bittersweet6
- Tragic9
- Ambiguous11
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Rainer Werner Fassbinder's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 19 of their 25 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on The Criterion Channel (16).
- Fear Eats the Soul (1974) · actor, director, writer, producer, composer
- The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979) · actor, director, writer, editor
- Veronika Voss (1982) · actor, director, writer, producer
- Mother Kusters Goes to Heaven (1975) · director, writer
- Fox and His Friends (1975) · actor, director, writer, producer
- The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972) · director, writer, producer
- Lola (1981) · director, writer, producer, editor
- In a Year with 13 Moons (1978) · actor, director, writer, producer, cinematographer, editor
- The Merchant of Four Seasons (1972) · actor, director, writer, producer, composer
- Chinese Roulette (1976) · director, writer
- Effi Briest (1974) · actor, director, writer, producer
- Katzelmacher (1969) · actor, director, writer, editor
- +4 more
- Fear Eats the Soul (1974) · actor, director, writer, producer, composer
- The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979) · actor, director, writer, editor
- Fox and His Friends (1975) · actor, director, writer, producer
- The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972) · director, writer, producer
- Querelle (1982) · director, writer, editor
Subscription and free streaming for Rainer Werner Fassbinder's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
73 credits, 25 with a MovieCove page; 42 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Sukowa - Playful Like A Child (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Peter von Kant(2022)
Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films
Zabar Katzelmacher(2013)
Garbage, the City and Death (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
The Marriage of Maria Braun (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
The Last Trip to Harrisburg (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)
Querelle(1982)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
Kamikaze 89(1982)
Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films
Veronika Voss(1982)
Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films
Lola(1981)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
Theater in Trance (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)
Polnischer Sommer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)
Lili Marleen(1981)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
Berlin Alexanderplatz (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1980)
The Third Generation (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
Bourbon Street Blues (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)
In a Year with 13 Moons(1978)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all filmsSpiel der Verlierer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)
Despair(1978)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all filmsLittle Godard (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)
Germany in Autumn(1978)
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films
The Stationmaster’s Wife (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)
Women in New York (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)
Adolf and Marlene (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)
Chinese Roulette(1976)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
Fear of Fear (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)
The American Soldier (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)
Satan's Brew(1976)
Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
Shadow of Angels (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)
I Only Want You to Love Me (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
Fox and His Friends(1975)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all filmsDie Wohngenossin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
Like a Bird on a Wire (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
La Paloma (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)
Effi Briest(1974)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films
Martha (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)
Fear Eats the Soul(1974)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films
Nora Helmer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)
World on a Wire (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)
Tenderness of the Wolves(1973)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films
Jail Bait (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)
Bremen Freedom (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)
Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1972)
Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
The Ancestress (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)
Beware of a Holy Whore(1971)
Midcredits score: 70th percentile of all films
Whity (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)
Mathias Kneißl (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)
Pioneers in Ingolstadt (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)
Supergirl (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)
The Sudden Wealth of the Poor People of Kombach (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)
Rio das Mortes (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)
Haytabo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)
The Niklashausen Journey (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)
Gods of the Plague (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
The Coffee House (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films
Baal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1970)
Katzelmacher(1969)
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all filmsAl Capone im deutschen Wald (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)
Frei bis zum nächsten Mal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)
Tonys Freunde (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1969)
The Bridegroom, the Actress, and the Pimp (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)
Mit Eichenlaub und Feigenblatt (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1968)
The Little Chaos (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)
This Night (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)
Ein Platz für Günter (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)
The City Tramp (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)
Career shape
A full career of 73 titles from 1966 to 2024.
Biggest box office
Peter von Kant (2022)
Highest rated
Fear Eats the Soul (1974)
Most popular right now
Lili Marleen (1981)
Film career
Top draw in 3 MovieCove titles.
- 1966Screen debut· The City Tramp
- 1975First top-billed film· Fox and His Friends
- 1975Career best· Fox and His Friends
By role
Billing
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.
How do Rainer Werner Fassbinder's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 80th percentile, the median of the 24 of 25 with a score; across their 25 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 75th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up15
- 50th to 74th7
- 25th to 49th2
Shape of the crowd
None of their 24 titles divides audiences: 16 are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved6
- Crowd Pleaser16
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the dialogue 53/100 and the plot and story 46/100 in their films, across 25 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Rainer Werner Fassbinder's work okay for kids?
Across up to 8 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity runs heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Rainer Werner Fassbinder work with?
People who share at least 2 of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Hanna Schygulla shares the most, 10.
Directors
- François OzonShared titles: Peter von Kant (2022), Water Drops on Burning Rocks (2000)See all 2 shared titles with François Ozon
Writers
- Kurt RaabShared titles: The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979), Satan's Brew (1976), Fox and His Friends (1975), Mother Kusters Goes to Heaven (1975), Tenderness of the Wolves (1973), Beware of a Holy Whore (1971), Why Does Herr R. Run Amok? (1970), Love Is Colder Than Death (1969)See all 8 shared titles with Kurt Raab
- Peter MärthesheimerShared titles: Veronika Voss (1982), Lola (1981), The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979), Despair (1978)See all 4 shared titles with Peter Märthesheimer
- Pea FröhlichShared titles: Veronika Voss (1982), Lola (1981), The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979)See all 3 shared titles with Pea Fröhlich
Actors
- Hanna SchygullaShared titles: Peter von Kant (2022), Lili Marleen (1981), The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979), Effi Briest (1974), The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972), The Merchant of Four Seasons (1972), Beware of a Holy Whore (1971), Why Does Herr R. Run Amok? (1970), Katzelmacher (1969), Love Is Colder Than Death (1969)See all 10 shared titles with Hanna Schygulla
- Irm HermannShared titles: Mother Kusters Goes to Heaven (1975), Effi Briest (1974), Fear Eats the Soul (1974), Tenderness of the Wolves (1973), The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972), The Merchant of Four Seasons (1972), Why Does Herr R. Run Amok? (1970), Katzelmacher (1969), Love Is Colder Than Death (1969)See all 9 shared titles with Irm Hermann
- Ingrid CavenShared titles: In a Year with 13 Moons (1978), Satan's Brew (1976), Mother Kusters Goes to Heaven (1975), Tenderness of the Wolves (1973), The Merchant of Four Seasons (1972), Why Does Herr R. Run Amok? (1970), Love Is Colder Than Death (1969)See all 7 shared titles with Ingrid Caven
- Margit CarstensenShared titles: Peter von Kant (2022), Chinese Roulette (1976), Satan's Brew (1976), Mother Kusters Goes to Heaven (1975), Tenderness of the Wolves (1973), The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972)See all 6 shared titles with Margit Carstensen
Cinematographers and editors
- Michael BallhausShared titles: Lili Marleen (1981), The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979), Despair (1978), Germany in Autumn (1978), Chinese Roulette (1976), Satan's Brew (1976), Fox and His Friends (1975), Mother Kusters Goes to Heaven (1975), The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972), Beware of a Holy Whore (1971)See all 10 shared titles with Michael Ballhaus
- Thea EymèszShared titles: Satan's Brew (1976), Fox and His Friends (1975), Mother Kusters Goes to Heaven (1975), Effi Briest (1974), Fear Eats the Soul (1974), Tenderness of the Wolves (1973), The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972), The Merchant of Four Seasons (1972), Beware of a Holy Whore (1971)See all 9 shared titles with Thea Eymèsz
- Juliane LorenzShared titles: Querelle (1982), Veronika Voss (1982), Lili Marleen (1981), Lola (1981), The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979), Despair (1978), Germany in Autumn (1978), In a Year with 13 Moons (1978)See all 8 shared titles with Juliane Lorenz
- Dietrich LohmannShared titles: Germany in Autumn (1978), Effi Briest (1974), The Merchant of Four Seasons (1972), Why Does Herr R. Run Amok? (1970), Katzelmacher (1969), Love Is Colder Than Death (1969)See all 6 shared titles with Dietrich Lohmann
Producers
- Michael FenglerShared titles: The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979), Chinese Roulette (1976), Satan's Brew (1976), Tenderness of the Wolves (1973), The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972), Why Does Herr R. Run Amok? (1970)See all 6 shared titles with Michael Fengler
- Hanns EckelkampShared titles: Lola (1981), The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979), Satan's Brew (1976)See all 3 shared titles with Hanns Eckelkamp
- Horst WendlandtShared titles: Veronika Voss (1982), Lola (1981)See all 2 shared titles with Horst Wendlandt
- Thomas SchühlyShared titles: Veronika Voss (1982), Lola (1981)See all 2 shared titles with Thomas Schühly
