Veronika Voss (1982)

Partially based on the life of Sybille Schmitz, who found fame under the Nazi regime, but whose career was destroyed afterward. Veronika Voss is a once prominent UFA actress, kept by her doctor, who raises suspicion in a sports journalist.

Director:

Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Writers:

Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Pea Fröhlich

Stars:

Rosel Zech, Hilmar Thate, Cornelia Froboess

4 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rosel Zech	...	Veronika Voss
Hilmar Thate	...	Robert Krohn
Cornelia Froboess	...	Henriette
Annemarie Düringer	...	Dr. Marianne Katz
Doris Schade	...	Josefa
Erik Schumann	...	Dr. Edel
Peter Berling	...	Filmproduzent / Dicker Mann
Günther Kaufmann	...	G.I. / Dealer (as Günter Kaufmann)
Sonja Neudorfer	...	Verkäuferin
Lilo Pempeit	...	Chehm
Volker Spengler	...	1. Regisseur
Herbert Steinmetz	...	Gärtner
Elisabeth Volkmann	...	Grete
Hans Wyprächtiger	...	Chefredakteur
Peter Zadek	...	2. Regisseur

Storyline

Munich, 1955: A sports journalist meets Veronika Voss, an UFA actress who supposedly had an affair with Goebbels. Now declining, Voss is kept by her "kind" doctor, Dr. Katz, supplying her house, food, clean clothes and her favourite: morphine. Voss, trying to come back towards the cinema, cannot perform an absurdly simple scene, but it attracts the attention of the journalist, who suspects that something's very wrong regarding her doctor.

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Plot Keywords:

washed up star | actress | morphine | drugs | new german cinema | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Part of the BRD Trilogy along with The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979) and Lola (1981). "BRD" stands for Bundesrepublik Deutschland, the official name of West Germany and of the united contemporary Germany, period in which those three stories takes place.

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Goofs

The film is set in 1955 but the song "The Battle of New Orleans" by Johnny Horton, released in 1959, is heard on the radio a number of times.

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Quotes

Veronika Voss: Light and shadow; the two secrets of motion pictures.

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Connections

Featured in La trilogie allemande (2005)

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Soundtracks

Run, boy run
Written by Lee Hazlewood
Performed by Sanford Clark

User Reviews

Dances with Death

A famous German actress, Veronika Voss (Rozel Zech) in her forties tries to revive her career while struggling with alcohol and drugs in the final chapter to Fassbinder's trilogy about collapse of the West German postwar dream. The film was inspired by the tragic life of famous UFA actress, Sybille Schmitz (1909-1955). She began her career in the films by the giants such Georg Wilhelm Pabst and Carl Theodor Dreyer and soon became one of Germany's beloved actress. Everything changed during the WWII and especially after its end.

Fassbinder's film which was shot in black and white visually is very impressive. "Light and shadows are two cinema's best secrets" says Veronika in the movie and light and shadows make the film a joy to behold. I like it but I think it is the weakest part of the trilogy perhaps because "Lola" and "Maria Braun" are so strong. I found the documentary about Sybille Schmitz, "Dances with Death" which is included on Criterion DVD much more compelling.

Veronika - 7/10 Dances with Death 8.5/10

Details

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German English

Release Date:

13 May 1982 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Veronika Voss

Filming Locations:

Bavaria Studios, Bavariafilmplatz 7, Geiselgasteig, Grünwald, Bavaria, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

DEM2,600,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,623, 16 February 2003

Gross USA:

$8,144

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$8,144

Company Credits

Production Co:

Laura Film, Tango Film, Rialto Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1