Poster
Despair  (1978)
A hysterical comedy


6.5|20 Sept, 1978|117 min
Released
IMDb
Berlin, 1930, during the rise of Nazism. Hermann Hermann, a Russian emigrant and chocolate manufacturer, married to the capricious Lydia, loses his temper more and more every day when dealing with his workers and other businessmen; until he meets Felix, a vagrant, who seems to be physically identical to him; a disconcerting fact that leads Hermann Hermann to plot a particular way out of a fake world he actually hates.
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Keywords
berlin, germany
husband wife relationship
based on novel or book
businessman
chocolate
identity
paranoia
identity crisis
attempt to escape
painter
republic of weimar
alienation
antisemitism
mental illness
madness
assumed identity
doppelgänger
insurance policy
double
vagrant
nazism
foreshadowing
russian emigre
murder plot
1930s
perfect murder
self image
film within a film
performative
dissociation
jewish ancestry
jewish wife
rise of fascism
rise of nazism
victimhood

Casts

Dirk Bogarde
Dirk Bogarde
Hermann Hermann
Andréa Ferréol
Andréa Ferréol
Lydia Hermann
Klaus Löwitsch
Klaus Löwitsch
Felix Weber
Volker Spengler
Volker Spengler
Ardalion
Bernhard Wicki
Bernhard Wicki
Orlovius
Armin Meier
Armin Meier
Silverman / Sergeant Brown / Foreman
Peter Kern
Peter Kern
Müller
Adrian Hoven
Adrian Hoven
Inspector Schelling
Alexander Allerson
Mayer
Hark Bohm
Hark Bohm
Doctor
Roger Fritz
Roger Fritz
Inspector Braun
Gottfried John
Gottfried John
Perebrodov
Y Sa Lo
Elsie
Lilo Pempeit
Lilo Pempeit
Mrs. Schmidt
Ingrid Caven
Ingrid Caven
Hotel Manager
Voli Geiler
1st Landlady
Isolde Barth
Isolde Barth
2nd Landlady
Gitty Djamal
Woman in Pension
Harry Baer
Harry Baer
Innkeeper
Osman Ragheb
Post Office Clerck
Hans Zander
Müller's Brother [Scenes Deleted]

Crews

Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Director
Tom Stoppard
Tom Stoppard
Screenplay
Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Nabokov
Novel
Michael Ballhaus
Michael Ballhaus
Director of Photography
Peer Raben
Peer Raben
Original Music Composer
Juliane Lorenz
Editor
Rolf Zehetbauer
Rolf Zehetbauer
Production Design
Dagmar Schauberger
Costume Designer
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Editor
Dieter Minx
Production Supervisor
Lutz Hengst
Production Executive
Antonin Artaud
Antonin Artaud
In Memory Of
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh
In Memory Of
Unica Zürn
In Memory Of
James Willis
Sound Mixer
Milan Bor
Sound Mixer
Herbert Strabel
Art Direction
Jochen Schumacher
Art Direction
Peter Knöpfle
Makeup Artist
Any Nöbauer
Makeup Artist
Elke Vogt
Script Supervisor
Christine Fritz
Assistant Editor
Harry Baer
Harry Baer
Assistant Director
Wulf Ghastaus
Unit Manager
Don French
Unit Manager
Lutz Winter
Unit Manager
Georg Kuhn
Wardrobe Supervisor
Karin Geuer
Wardrobe Supervisor
Karl-Heinz Vogelmann
Still Photographer
John Stevenson
Boom Operator
Klaus Meyenberg
Property Master
Ulrich Wendt
Property Master
Milan Bor
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
Jochen Schumacher
Set Decoration
Stefan Zürcher
Assistant Director
Ronald M. Scheich
Assistant Director
Rudolf Geiger
Unit Manager
Marcel Höhn
Unit Manager
Max Dietl
Costume Designer
Lothar Tropp
Property Master
Peter Märthesheimer
Producer

Backdrops & Posters

Videos & Trailers