Fontane Effi Briest (1974)

In the nineteenth century, seventeen year old Effi Briest is married to the older Baron von Instetten and moves into a house, that she believes has a ghost, in a small isolated Baltic town.... See full summary »

Director:

Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Writers:

Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Theodor Fontane (novel)

Stars:

Hanna Schygulla, Wolfgang Schenck, Ulli Lommel

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hanna Schygulla	...	Effi Briest
Wolfgang Schenck	...	Instetten
Ulli Lommel	...	Major Crampas
Lilo Pempeit	...	Frau Briest
Herbert Steinmetz	...	Herr Briest
Ursula Strätz	...	Roswitha
Irm Hermann	...	Johanna
Karlheinz Böhm	...	Wüllersdorf (as Karl-Heinz Böhm)
Karl Scheydt	...	Kruse
Barbara Lass	...	Polnische Köchin
Rudolf Lenz	...	Geheimrat Rummschüttel
Andrea Schober	...	Annie von Instetten
Eva Mattes	...	Hulda
Theo Tecklenburg	...	Pastor Niemeyer
An Dorthe Braker	...	Frau Pasche (as Anndorthe Braker)

Storyline

In the nineteenth century, seventeen year old Effi Briest is married to the older Baron von Instetten and moves into a house, that she believes has a ghost, in a small isolated Baltic town. She soon bears a daughter, Annie, and hires the lapsed Catholic Roswitha to look after her. Effi is lonely when her husband is away on business, so she spends time riding and walking along the shore with Major Crampas. Instetten is promoted to Ministerial Councillor and the family moves to Berlin, where Effi enjoys the social life. Six years later, the Baron is given letters from Crampas to Effi that convince him that they had an affair. He feels obliged to challenge Crampas to a duel and banish Effi from the house.

---

Plot Keywords:

duel | young wife | career | civil servant | honor | 

---

Genres:

Drama | History

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

16 June 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Effi Briest

Filming Locations:

Neustadt, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

DEM 750,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Tango Film

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ulli Lommel 's, who played Major Campas, voice was dubbed by Wolfgang Hess. Lommel was in Italy during post-production and wasn't able to participate.

---

Quotes

Effi Briest: One's associations are connected not only with one's personal experiences, but also with what one has heard or happens to know.

---

Connections

Referenced in Tillsammans (2000)

User Reviews

Fassbinder!

In the nineteenth century, seventeen year old Effi Briest is married to the older Baron von Instetten and moves into a house, that she believes has a ghost, in a small isolated Baltic town.

Similarities between "Effi Briest" and 20th-century Germany were easily found, helping to explain the popularity of the book and its subsequent film adaptions there. During the 1970s, West Germany was being racked by civil unrest as people sought to effect change, among these movements was the women's civil rights movement, which became a major influence for the film, as it compared the repressive nature in society between 19th century Prussia and 1970s West Germany.

Fassbinder is one of the giants of new German cinema (by "new" I mean post-WWII), and here he demonstrates his prowess. Epic in length, using black and white to its fullest extent... this is one of those films that made him great, even if it may not be the most-remembered of Fassbinder films.