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Why Does Herr R. Run Amok?

Play trailer Poster for Why Does Herr R. Run Amok? 1970 1h 36m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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92% Tomatometer 12 Reviews 76% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Herr R. (Kurt Raab), a quietly diligent technical draftsman, has been working at the same architectural firm for a year and a half. At home, Herr R. and his wife, Frau R. (Lilith Ungerer), are good parents to their son (Amadeus Fengler), carefully monitoring his progress at school. Herr R. throws a dinner party for his boss (Franz Maron) and colleagues, but is humiliated when a toast he proposes falls flat. As his days repeat the same boring routine, Herr R.'s unhappiness grows.

Critics Reviews

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Calum Marsh Village Voice 05/13/2014
Fassbinder and Fengler opt to impress upon us a sense of almost unbearable tedium, a strategy so effective that, when drama arrives in the film's closing minutes, the eruption of violence feels like a kind of relief. Go to Full Review Richard Brody The New Yorker 05/12/2014
With a sardonic, scalpel-like technique, Rainer Werner Fassbinder and his co-director, Michael Fengler, calmly and gleefully flay the West German version of the American dream. Go to Full Review Vincent Canby New York Times 05/09/2005
4/5
A revealing demonstration of how the style of a Fassbinder film becomes its subject. Go to Full Review David Dugas United Press International 08/05/2021
The movie is almost devoid of action and the characters are so long-winded and boring, one wonders if the cast knew the camera was running. Go to Full Review Lee Jutton Film Inquiry 06/04/2020
Despite not being as well known as some of his later masterpieces, Why Does Herr R Run Amok? makes for an ideal introduction to the expansive oeuvre of Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Go to Full Review John A. Nesbit Old School Reviews 05/23/2007
B
provocative film that certainly isn't easy to forget%u2014as long as you patiently sit through its entirety Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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12/22/2012 Don't read the Flixter synopsis--it's a spoiler! See more 09/14/2012 early fassbinder, very disturbing and dare i say influential. maybe where haneke and von trier got started. great performance by kurt raabe as herr r. See more 08/17/2012 This is one of those movies where I can appreciate what the movie is doing, but I just have no desire to be subjected to it. See more 08/02/2012 A precursor to a good deal of Haneke's early work, what with its measured take-down of an ordinary schlub's life. Here, though, Fassbinder seems interested not in lecturing so much as considering the man himself, in all his faults and moments of small heartbreak. The scene in which the main character gives a long-winded toast to his colleagues is key to showing how Fassbinder can shift tones and understanding. See more 02/06/2012 A revelatory feat of how the technique of a Fassbinder film becomes its premise, nearly impossible for some viewers and captivating for others, its hatred of complacence and society's expectations is so forcibly felt that the jolting finale is as rousing as it is shocking. See more 07/19/2010 “Warum Läuft Herr R. Amok?” feels like a completely current movie even decades after its original release. Maybe even more so now than back in the 70's. It's quite low key and undramatic, but still a fascinating and observant view into a quiet but ultimately disastrous process. There is a true and honest feel to the dialog and the apparently normal quality of the scenes feel like they've been extracted from everyday life. This ultimately makes the already surprisingly riveting story an even more shocking one. See more Read all reviews
Why Does Herr R. Run Amok?

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Cast & Crew

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Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Director

Michael Fengler

Director

Kurt Raab

Herr R.

Lilith Ungerer

Frau R.

Amadeus Fengler

Actor

Franz Maron

Chef
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Why Does Herr R. Run Amok?

Why Does Herr R. Run Amok? (1970) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Herr R. (Kurt Raab), a quietly diligent technical draftsman, has been working at the same architectural firm for a year and a half. At home, Herr R. and his wife, Frau R. (Lilith Ungerer), are good parents to their son (Amadeus Fengler), carefully monitoring his progress at school. Herr R. throws a dinner party for his boss (Franz Maron) and colleagues, but is humiliated when a toast he proposes falls flat. As his days repeat the same boring routine, Herr R.'s unhappiness grows.
Director
Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Michael Fengler
Screenwriter
Michael Fengler, Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Genre
Drama
Original Language
German
Release Date (DVD)
May 30, 2006
Runtime
1h 36m