Berlin Alexanderplatz

Berlin Alexanderplatz is a fourteen-part West German television miniseries that Rainer Werner Fassbinder adapted from Alfred Döblin's 1929 novel of the same name. Set in Berlin during the late 1920s, it opens as Franz Biberkopf walks free after serving a prison sentence for causing the death of his girlfriend. Determined to lead an honest life, he discovers the city he returns to has sunk deep into moral decay, and despite every effort he is pulled once more into its criminal underworld. Günter Lamprecht leads the ensemble as Biberkopf, alongside Hanna Schygulla, Barbara Sukowa, Elisabeth Trissenaar and Gottfried John. Produced by Westdeutscher Rundfunk and Bavaria Film together with the Italian broadcaster RAI, the series aired from 12 October to 29 December 1980 and runs about fifteen hours in total. A theatrical release in the United States in 1983 earned it a devoted cult audience, and a restored edition was presented at the Berlin Film Festival in 2007. It is widely counted among Fassbinder's finest achievements.