March 22, 2012
An incredible character study.
Hanna Schygulla,
Klaus Lowitsch,
Ivan Desny,
Gottfried John,
Gisela Uhlen
... see more 
The film that elevated German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder from domestic approbation to international acclaim, The Marriage of Maria Braun stars the director's on-and-off favorite actress Hanna S... read more
DVD Release Date: September 30, 2003
Stats: 218 reviews
Your Rating
Flixster Reviews (218)
-
-
September 12, 2011with a bravura performance from hanna schygulla and shot by michael ballhaus, who became scorsese's cinematographer, this is an absolutely stunning film for 1979, and the one that made fassbinder an international star, a mere 3 years before his death. on the surface it's the sto... read more
-
October 10, 2010Another brilliant post WWII response, this film reviews West Germany's Wirtschaftswunder. A compellingly wrought marriage of contradictions: survival and adaptation; idealism and cynicism; compassion and coldness. The final, ironic commentary "Germany has won" raises chilling i... read more
-
July 31, 2010A doomed marriage,hence a classic leading lady.Oh you Fassbinder,executive persona.
-
June 22, 2011This movie reminded me of Red-Headed Woman (Check it out on TCM's Forbidden Hollywood Collection vol. 1). Except for the fact that it was a drama. And there were a bunch of former Nazis. And it was far more R-Rated. And she was blonde.
The blonde thing may have put... read more -
July 31, 2010It's a testimony to the brilliance of Rainer Werner Fassbinder that this movie is as emotionally moving as it is intellectually fascinating, and that it's funny the whole way through. Take it as a symbolic portrayal of the adaptation of the German national soul following the defe... read more
Critic Reviews
October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
May 20, 2003
Vincent Canby, New York Times
The Marriage of Maria Braun is both an epic comedy and a romantic ballad, two not especially friendly forms that become seamlessly one in the sweet, tough, brilliantly complex performance of Hanna Sch... Full Review
January 1, 2000
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
Though Fassbinder takes a more open attitude toward his characters, letting them exist as fully developed psychological specimens, his deadly irony continues to operate on the level of mise-en-scene. Full Review
September 18, 2006
TV Guide's Movie Guide
The stark atmosphere, icy performances, and poignant revelations make it one of the most important films to emerge from Germany in the 1970s, and one of Fassbinder's best. Full Review
June 24, 2006
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
The film's epic structure and period detail has always pleased critics, but Fassbinder avoids the usual trappings of the genre and manages a raw intimacy throughout. Full Review
July 5, 2004
Donald J. Levit, ReelTalk Movie Reviews
Enormous if sobering fun -- and one of the notable accomplishments of modern German cinema. Full Review
February 17, 2004
Carlo Cavagna, AboutFilm.com
This is what happens when theme is emphasized over story--a series of inorganic plot developments constructed to suit Fassbinder's indictment of postwar Germany.
January 27, 2004
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
The Marriage of Maria Braun can be seen as the story of a shrewd and ambitious woman or as a parable on the decadence of postwar Germany. Full Review
November 18, 2002
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
No matter how Maria Braun is interpreted, Fassbinder's film is always poignant and striking and alarmingly frightening. Full Review
Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
