Martha
1974 · Movie · 116 min · ★ 7.0
One of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s first forays into the classic melodrama style of his hero Douglas Sirk is a brilliantly perverse, operatically stylized portrait of a woman (Margit Carstensen) caught in a strange, sadomasochistic relationship with a monstrous husband (Karlheinz Böhm), whom she begins to suspect may be trying to murder her. Loosely based on a story by pulp-fiction master Cornell Woolrich, MARTHA finds Fassbinder tearing the institution of marriage to shreds with savage, subversive glee.
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Streaming on The Criterion Channel.
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Details
- Years
- 1974
- Release date
- 1974-05-28
- Language
- German
- Runtime
- 116 min
- TMDB rating
- 7.0/10 (69 votes)
Themes
- husband wife relationship
- neglect of one's spouse
- marriage
- sexism
- sadomasochism
- wheelchair user
- spanish steps
Cast & crew
Margit Carstensen
as Martha
Karlheinz Böhm
as Helmut
Barbara Valentin
as Marianne
Peter Chatel
as Kaiser
Gisela Fackeldey
as Mother Heyer
Adrian Hoven
as Father Heyer
Ortrud Beginnen
as Erna
Wolfgang Schenck
as Meister
Günter Lamprecht
as Dr. Salomon
El Hedi ben Salem
as Hotel Guest
Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder