Release While also preparing for the production of
Berlin Alexanderplatz, Fassbinder worked with film editor
Juliane Lorenz on the editing and post-production of
The Marriage of Maria Braun. The failure of
Despair at the
1978 Cannes Film Festival spurred him to prepare an
answer print overnight and to present the film on 22 May to German film producers in a private screening. The screening, attended by
Horst Wendlandt, Sam Waynberg,
Karl Spiehs, Günter Rohrbach, and
Filmverlag der Autoren's majority shareholder
Rudolf Augstein, among others, was a success. Eckelkamp invested a further 473,000 DM to pay the film production's debts and became the sole owner of the rights to the film. He negotiated a distribution deal with
United Artists, outmaneuvering the Filmverlag der Autoren, which usually distributed Fassbinder's films. Hoping that
The Marriage of Maria Braun might be successful at the 1979
Berlin International Film Festival, Eckelkamp started a marketing campaign and decided to release the film theatrically in March. Commissioned by Eckelkamp, the author
Gerhard Zwerenz novelized the film. It was published in several weekly installments in the magazine
Der Stern over three months beginning in March, increasing public interest in the film. The film's official premiere was on 20 February at the
29th Berlin International Film Festival. The West German theatrical release was on 23 March. At the Berlin festival, Hanna Schygulla won the
Silver Bear for Best Actress, which did not satisfy Fassbinder, who expected to win the
Golden Bear.
Contemporary reception German film critics responded very favorably to the film, praising its combination of artistic value with mass appeal. In the weekly newspaper
Die Zeit Hans-Christoph Blumenberg called it "the most accessible (and thus most commercial) and mature work of the director". Karena Niehoff wrote in the
Süddeutsche Zeitung that
The Marriage of Maria Braun "is a charming and even amusing film, at the same time extraordinarily artful, artificial and full of twists and turns". Many critics praised Schygulla. In the
Süddeutsche Zeitung Gottfried Knapp wrote that Fassbinder gave her a magnificent opportunity to display her talent, and that her character, emotions, charm, and energy had an enormous effect. Foreign critics also praised Schygulla. In
The New Yorker,
David Denby called her "an improbable cross between
Dietrich and
Harlow". She was the runner-up for the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress that year, losing to
Sally Field.
François Truffaut wrote in 1980 in
Cahiers du cinéma that with this film Fassbinder "has broken out of the ivory tower of the cinephiles", that the film is "an original work of epic and poetic qualities" influenced by
Godard's Contempt,
Brecht,
Wedekind, and
Douglas Sirk, and that its idea of a man who looks on men and women with equal fondness is particularly touching.
The New York Times placed the film on its
Best 1000 Movies Ever list.
Commercial success and aftermath The Marriage of Maria Braun was also a commercial success. From its release until October 1979 more than 900,000 tickets were sold in West Germany, and it ran for up to 20 weeks in some theaters. In West Germany alone the film grossed more than $3 million. The film was not the
official German submission to the
51st Academy Awards for
Best Foreign Language Film. Instead
Hans W. Geißendörfer's
The Glass Cell was chosen. Almost a year later the film was nominated for a
Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the
37th Golden Globe Awards, but this was overshadowed by the success of
Volker Schlöndorff's
The Tin Drum at the
52nd Academy Awards. The commercial success of
The Marriage of Maria Braun strengthened Fassbinder's negotiation position in his subsequent projects. He received a financing agreement for one of his favorite projects, based on
Pitigrilli's novel
Cocaine, and was able to increase the budget for
Berlin Alexanderplatz. Several German commercial film producers expressed interest in making films with him.
Luggi Waldleitner produced Fassbinder's
Lili Marleen with Schygulla in the main role.
Horst Wendlandt produced the two other films in the BRD Trilogy,
Lola and
Veronika Voss. Fassbinder's success also allowed him to realize his last project,
Querelle, which was co-financed by
Gaumont. As Fengler had oversold the rights to the film, Fassbinder's profit share was an open question. Eckelkamp saw himself as the sole owner of all rights, but sent Fassbinder 70,000 DM in 1982 to appease him. After Fassbinder's death, his mother and heiress Liselotte Eder revived his claims, but Eckelkamp was unsympathetic. In the course of legal proceedings Eckelkamp was ordered in 1986 to disclose the film's finances to the newly founded Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation. Eckelkamp's Trio Film disclosed a budget of almost 2 million DM, additional marketing costs of 1 million and a net profit of 1 million. When Trio-Film was ordered to pay Fassbinder's heirs 290,000 DM, Eckelkamp refused. At the Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation's request, Trio Film had to declare bankruptcy in 1988. In the course of the continuing legal proceedings, the
Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf certified in 1990 that Fassbinder was not a co-producer of the film. The
Federal Court of Justice upheld that ruling, but also ruled that Fassbinder's heirs were entitled to a share of the film's profits. Today the Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation owns all rights to the film. == Notes ==