Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The Third Generation

Original title: Die dritte Generation
  • 19791979
  • 1h 51m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
2.5K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
40,642
11,625
Hanna Schygulla in The Third Generation (1979)
CrimeDrama
A wildly anarchic satire of urban guerrilla warfare in which a band of leftist radicals inadvertently become puppets of the West German government, which uses them to justify its authoritari... Read allA wildly anarchic satire of urban guerrilla warfare in which a band of leftist radicals inadvertently become puppets of the West German government, which uses them to justify its authoritarian policies.A wildly anarchic satire of urban guerrilla warfare in which a band of leftist radicals inadvertently become puppets of the West German government, which uses them to justify its authoritarian policies.
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
2.5K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
40,642
11,625
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Rainer Werner Fassbinder
    • Writer
      • Rainer Werner Fassbinder
    • Stars
      • Eddie Constantine
      • Hanna Schygulla
      • Volker Spengler
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Rainer Werner Fassbinder
    • Writer
      • Rainer Werner Fassbinder
    • Stars
      • Eddie Constantine
      • Hanna Schygulla
      • Volker Spengler
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 13User reviews
    • 16Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Photos75

    Hanna Schygulla in The Third Generation (1979)
    Margit Carstensen and Günther Kaufmann in The Third Generation (1979)
    Margit Carstensen and Jürgen Draeger in The Third Generation (1979)
    Harry Baer, Günther Kaufmann, Bulle Ogier, Hanna Schygulla, Volker Spengler, and Vitus Zeplichal in The Third Generation (1979)
    Udo Kier, Harry Baer, and Y Sa Lo in The Third Generation (1979)
    The Third Generation (1979)
    Vitus Zeplichal in The Third Generation (1979)
    Hark Bohm and Vitus Zeplichal in The Third Generation (1979)
    Raúl Gimenez and Bulle Ogier in The Third Generation (1979)
    Harry Baer and Volker Spengler in The Third Generation (1979)
    Claus Holm in The Third Generation (1979)
    Hanna Schygulla in The Third Generation (1979)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Eddie Constantine
    Eddie Constantine
    • P. J. Lurz
    Hanna Schygulla
    Hanna Schygulla
    • Susanne Gast
    Volker Spengler
    Volker Spengler
    • August
    Margit Carstensen
    Margit Carstensen
    • Petra
    Harry Baer
    Harry Baer
    • Rudolf
    Hark Bohm
    Hark Bohm
    • Gerhard Gast
    Jürgen Draeger
    Jürgen Draeger
    • Hans
    Raúl Gimenez
    • Paul
    Claus Holm
    Claus Holm
    • Opa Gast
    Günther Kaufmann
    Günther Kaufmann
    • Franz Walsch
    Udo Kier
    Udo Kier
    • Edgar Gast
    Bulle Ogier
    Bulle Ogier
    • Hilde Krieger
    Lilo Pempeit
    • Mutter Gast
    Y Sa Lo
    • Ilse Hoffmann
    Vitus Zeplichal
    • Bernhard von Stein
    Daniel Cohn-Bendit
    Daniel Cohn-Bendit
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    • (uncredited)
    Rudi Dutschke
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    • (uncredited)
    Juliane Lorenz
    • Job Placement Counselor
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Rainer Werner Fassbinder
    • Writer
      • Rainer Werner Fassbinder
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    In a Year with 13 Moons
    7.4
    In a Year with 13 Moons
    Martha
    7.5
    Martha
    Lola
    7.4
    Lola
    Chinese Roulette
    7.2
    Chinese Roulette
    Veronika Voss
    7.7
    Veronika Voss
    Effi Briest
    6.9
    Effi Briest
    Despair
    6.9
    Despair
    Fear of Fear
    7.5
    Fear of Fear
    The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant
    7.6
    The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant
    The Marriage of Maria Braun
    7.7
    The Marriage of Maria Braun
    The Merchant of Four Seasons
    7.3
    The Merchant of Four Seasons
    Satan's Brew
    6.7
    Satan's Brew

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      A film projectionist in Hamburg was beaten unconscious while screening this film and a theater in Frankfurt was besieged by youths attempting to use acid to destroy the print.
    • Quotes

      P. J. Lurz: You don't have much of a sense of humor, do you?

      Gerhard Gast: On the contrary. The other day I had a dream where capitalists created terrorism in order to force the state to better protect the business community. That's funny, isn't it?

    • Crazy credits
      Eine Komödie in 6 Teilen / um Gesellschaftsspiele / voll Spannung, Erregung und Logik / Grausamkeit und Wahnsinn / ähnlich den Märchen / die man Kindern erzählt / ihr Leben zum Tod ertragen zu helfen.
    • Connections
      Features The Devil, Probably (1977)

    User reviews13

    Review
    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    Fascinating from the first to the last
    One of Fassbinder's most underrated and misunderstood films with the spirited cast-including Udo Kier, Eddie Constantine, Hanna Schygulla, Margin Carstensen-make all this touching as well as troubling. This was made during a time when West Germany was dealing with many homegrown terrorist groups. Mind it, this is not an action film but an absurd comedy to be precise which explores the German Terrorism (Baader-Meinhoff crew) of the 70s. Fassbinder takes a neutral stand here and skewers both the left and the right, he takes a dig at the corruption and hypocrisy of both the capitalists and the communists. He pokes fun at radical bourgeois nihilist leftists who wants to make a statement against capitalism, but the result is that their efforts turn out to be a big flop as it helped the wealthy capitalist. Still kinda oddly compelling almost like adding another weird one to the opus of the old anti-burgeous Godard (La Chinoise) film which is relevant as shown in the on-screen title card and the aural tricks. Beyond Godard, Robert Bresson is a major influence in the film, scenes from controversial The Devil Probably is shown playing on the TV at the beginning of this film), and Tarkovsky's Solaris. But it is so stylized and deliberately non realist that it could be something else. But what matters is its visual aspect, made of unusual frames and geometric images that makes of it one of Faasbinder's best film I know followed by Lili Marleen, fascinating from the first to the last.
    helpful•0
    0
    • samxxxul
    • Jul 15, 2020

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 9, 1980 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • West Germany
    • Official site
      • Criterion (United States)
    • Languages
      • German
      • English
      • French
    • Also known as
      • Die dritte Generation
    • Filming locations
      • Berlin, Germany
    • Production companies
      • Filmverlag der Autoren
      • Pro-ject Filmproduktion
      • Tango Film
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • DEM 800,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 51 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.66 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Hanna Schygulla in The Third Generation (1979)
    Top Gap
    By what name was The Third Generation (1979) officially released in Canada in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    New & Upcoming Superhero Movies and Series
    See the full list
    View list
    List
    Fall TV Guide: The Best Shows Coming This Year
    See the full list
    View image
    Photos
    Double Take: Celebrity Twins
    See the full list
    Back to top

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more access
    Sign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.