Faustrecht der Freiheit (1975)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Writers:

Rainer Werner Fassbinder (writer)
Christian Hohoff (writer)

Release Date:

2 February 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Crime | Romance

Plot:

Franz "Fox" Biberkopf is a working-class guy, at loose ends when his lover is arrested and the police shutter their carnival booth...

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Lottery | Working Class | Carnival | Gay

Cast

Peter Chatel	...	Eugen Thiess
Rainer Werner Fassbinder	...	Franz Bieberkopf / 'Fox'
Karlheinz Böhm	...	Max (as Karl-Heinz Böhm)
Adrian Hoven	...	Wolf Thiess, Eugen's father
Christiane Maybach	...	Hedwig
Harry Baer	...	Philip (as Harry Bär)
Hans Zander	...	Barman Springer
Kurt Raab	...	Wodka-Peter
Rudolf Lenz	...	Attorney Dr. Siebenkäss
Karl Scheydt	...	Klaus
Peter Kern	...	Florist 'Fatty' Schmidt
Karl-Heinz Staudenmeyer	...	Krapp
Walter Sedlmayr	...	Car dealer
Bruce Low	...	Doctor
Marquard Bohm	...	American Soldier (as Marquart Bohm)

Also Known As:

Fist-Fight of Freedom (International: English title)
Fist-Right of Freedom (International: English title)
Fox (UK)
Fox and His Friends (USA)

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German | English | French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Marrakech, Morocco

Company:

City Film

Trivia:

The normally overweight Rainer Werner Fassbinder dieted strenuously to lose weight in order to play the role of Fox, which included a full-frontal nude scene.

Movie Connections:

References All That Heaven Allows (1955)

Soundtrack:

One Night

Fassbinder is excellent.

The ironically titled Fox and His Friends, Fassbinder's rather excellent study of a none-too-bright circus worker who wins a small fortune in the lottery, is a touching film that features a great performance from Fassbinder himself in the title role. A reflection on the class system and homosexual relationships of 1970's Germany, Fox and His Friends is unsentimental and guileless most of the time. Fox (Fassbinder) is one of the main attractions of a circus like festival, with his lover being arrested for tax fraud. Fox somehow knows he'll win the lottery, so when he picks up a wealthy man at the local 'pick-up toilets', Fox makes sure he reaches the store in time to lodge his ticket. Cut to Fox celebrating his 500 000 marks win, he's drinking in his usual tavern with the effete bar staff and clientele. Fox then somehow becomes involved with a somewhat arrogant and pretentious man, already in a relationship, who takes the naïve Fox for a ride, spending his money in selfish and extravagant ways. Fassbinder's melodrama is droll and poignant, with a tragically ironic ending. Oh, and you have to give extra marks to a director who inserts lengthy nude scenes of themselves in their films.