Rosa von Praunheim Movies

A compilation of interviews with gay and lesbian subjects conducted by filmmaker Rosa Von Prauheim, Dead Gay Men and Living Lesbians presents a variety of perspectives and experiences from a number of people who all, between the time of the interviews and the time of movie production, lived up to the title: the men featured had all passed away, while the women were still alive. A collage of interview moments dealing with all areas of the gay and lesbian experience, stories shared include everything from positive, intimate stories to explorations of hardship and abuse under the Nazi regime. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide

A made-on-HD video documentary about fascinating European filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder, directed by the equally notable Rosa von Prauheim, this feature attempts to shed light on his rocky life in a tell-all fashion. The film interviews several artists who worked with Fassbinder, dating back to the mid-'60s, when the director was invited to participate in the experimental Action Theatre group, which he quickly seized control of. He was known to have uncontrollable mood swings that could alienate others without warning, to take out aggressions on his cast and crew, and to demand sexual favors and money whenever required. The movie also focuses on the women in his life, especially actress Hanna Schygulla, who made quite a career out of her work for the tumultuous director. Known widely as a gay man, Fassbinder still required the attention of females, whom he often proposed to and turned to for comfort. Among the figures that the documentary interviews are actress Jeanne Moreau, whom Fassbinder cast in his final film Querelle, famous cinematographer Michael Ballhaus, and producer Peter Berling, the latter of whom doesn't recount the happier times with the troubled but brilliant director, who he died of an overdose in 1982.
~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide

Utilizing computer-generated effects and creative splicing to place Germany's most famous living directors in a fantasy movie house, filmmaker Edgar Reitz takes an innovative approach toward exploring the history of German cinema. In this magical theater, directors such as Leni Riefenstahl, Detlev Buck, Volker Schloendorff, Margarethe von Trotta, Wim Wenders, Werner Herzog "discuss" the state of German cinema with a focus on New German Cinema. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Before World War II, Lothar Berfelde was the highly effeminate son of an unusually macho Nazi father. Somehow he escaped from his home and survived throughout the Nazi years, usually passing as a woman, and then he survived the communist years in East Germany. In this combined documentary and docudrama, the outspoken gay filmmaker Rosa von Praunheim tells the story of this quintessential survivor who has become a hero among those with minority sexual inclinations. Lothar, who has gone by the name Charlotte von Mahlsdorf for many decades now, responds to the director's questions before, during, and after re-enactments of key scenes from her life. This story is based in part on her autobiography. Despite brickbats from some reviewers, many (particularly in urban areas) found the film and the story of the "woman" it is about quite absorbing. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In this documentary, the usually controversial director Rosa von Praunheim focuses instead on three rather ordinary expatriate German girls who are struggling to get by in New York city and who each hope to get one of the coveted green cards, the immigrant visas which permit their holders to legally work in the U.S. One woman has a day job at a Catholic school, and by night dances at a midtown bar. Reviewers were impressed by the willingness of the women to be completely open about their lives. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Positive introduces viewers to some of New York City's most vocal gay advocates who are demanding increased funding for AIDS research, and society's acceptance of their homosexual lifestyle. The groundbreaking contributions of playwright Larry Kramer, journalist and filmmaker Phil Zwickler, and activist Michael Callen are referenced at various times throughout the program. Callen is best known as the musician who helped found the People With AIDS Coalition (PWA). The important work being done by groups like Queer Nation and ACT-UP is also covered. ~ Elizabeth Smith, All Movie Guide

The German Anita, Dances of Vice (Anita-Tanze des Lasters) is the deliberately nonlinear story of notorious nude dancer Anita Berber. In the 1920s, Berber was thrown into a mental hospital after exposing herself on the streets of Berlin; she died of tuberculosis at age 29, immediately assuming martyr status in the eyes of many. Instead of adhering to this narrative, however, director Rose von Praunheim concentrates upon 75-year-old Mrs. Kutowski (Lotti Huber), a fat, foul-mouthed mental case who thinks she's Anita Berber (the "real" Berber is played in flashback by Ina Blum) To describe the excesses of bad taste that attend this premise would be robbing the viewer of revelling (or, rather, wallowing) in those excesses. Strange as it may seem, some of the imagery in Anita, Dances of Vice are heartbreakingly beautiful -- but not, please be advised, in the mental-institution sequences. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This Berlin Underground spoof of a vampire movie begins with a few original ideas that are difficult to sustain through to the ending. Sylvana (Marianne Enzenberger, also the director) has arrived for a stay in New York City but after becoming exhausted wandering around somewhat lost, she is taken to a mysterious brownstone walk-up and is bitten by a vampire before she knows what is going on. Now with a slightly different perspective on life, she flies back to Berlin, anxious to sink her teeth into just about anyone she can find. But as she tries to entrap people -- ranging from commune dwellers to the staid middle classes -- no one is interested in being bitten, and they get a little irritated with Sylvana. This hardly bodes well for her future as a bat woman.
~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

With stars like Angie Stardust (also music credits), Judith Flex, and Joaquin La Habana, director Rosa von Praunheim has fashioned a film about the teeming flip side of life in Berlin centered on eccentric characters of almost every imaginable sexual orientation, or disorientation -- most are American performers drawn to the city of "lost souls" as a place where they can give full rein to their creative natures. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide