The Stationmaster's Wife

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The Stationmaster's Wife

Released Jul 31, 1977

1h 51m

Drama

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40%

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10 Reviews

79%

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500+ Ratings

A woman (Elisabeth Trissenaar) destroys her civil-servant husband (Kurt Raab) by adultery during Hitler's rise in Germany.

Lawrence O'Toole

Entertainment Weekly

And, despite the fluidity of the filmmaking, The Stationmaster's Wife is an awful lot of misery in just one sitting.

Rated: C+

Apr 27, 2018

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Michael Blowen

Boston Globe

"The Stationmaster's Wife" lacks the visual vitality, originality and dramatic force of his other films.

Apr 27, 2018

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Fernando F. Croce

Slant Magazine

The film is often compared to Madame Bovary, but the overall effect is closer to that of Von Sternberg's The Devil is a Woman.

Rated: 4/4

Oct 4, 2005

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Michael Bronski

Gay Community News (Boston)

The Stationinasier’s Wife is too cold to be moving or even very interesting after a point.

Sep 10, 2022

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Tim Sheridan

Paste Magazine

Fassbinder crafts a fascinating examination of passion and pettiness, with Elisabeth Trissenaar's powerhouse performance at its potent core.

Feb 9, 2006

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Follows along the Sirkian themes of dissecting the petit bourgeois.

Rated: B+

Dec 18, 2005

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Audience Member

The 111min film version I saw on dvd is the shorter theatrical version of a 201min tv mini-series which would've probably been even more excruciating to sit through. Having now seen 18 of his nearly 40 films, I have to say that this boorish Bovary-esque tale is easily my least favorite film from one of my favorite directors. If you're just being introduced to his works, I'd recommend that you start with something like Ali: Fear Eats the Soul instead. Fassbinder has made a number of films which are definitely worth seeing if you're interested in foreign films, but I'd say that this one is for die-hard Fassbinder fans working their way through his filmography.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

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Audience Member

Dolor absoluto, de principio a fin.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

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Audience Member

This is about how your wife lies to you.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

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Audience Member

RWFassbinders erotic drama of a cuckolded stationmaster & his insatiable wife. Sexy & quite sad.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

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Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Director

Kurt Raab

Xaver Ferdinand Maria Bolwieser - Station Master

Elisabeth Trissenaar

Hanni Bolwieser

Bernhard Helfrich

Franz Merkl

Gustl Bayrhammer

Neidhard - Hanni's Father

Udo Kier

Schafftaler

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Synopsis

A woman (Elisabeth Trissenaar) destroys her civil-servant husband (Kurt Raab) by adultery during Hitler's rise in Germany.

Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Producer: Willi Segler, Herbert Knopp
Screenwriter: Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Oskar Maria Graf
Production Co: Bavaria Atelier GmbH
Genre: Drama
Original Language: German
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 31, 1977, Original
Runtime: 1h 51m