40 films in 13 years: Why Fassbinder is unforgettable

Love, death and coolness: These three elements would characterize Rainer Werner Fassbinder's entire life and work. The young Bavarian director was only 23 when his first feature-length film was released in German theaters. "Love Is Colder Than Death" premiered at the Berlinale, Berlin's international film festival, in 1969.

His 1969 film "Katzelmacher" (a derogatory Bavarian term for foreign workers) features bored couples whose relations are shaken by the arrival of a Greek immigrant. Many of the actors of the cast would associate with Fassbinder over years. He is pictured here with one of his many muses, the actress Hanna Schygulla, celebrating their five German Film Awards for the movie.

Even with his brilliant career debut, not all of his movies would be successful at the box office. Fassbinder would also work as a theater and television director. The exhibition on his career "Fassbinder - NOW," currently running at the Martin Gropius Bau in Berlin, shows rare footage of him working, like here on the set of "The Merchant of Four Seasons" (1971).

Fassbinder's film "Ali: Fear Eats the Soul" shows the complications which arise from a relationship between an elderly German woman (Brigitte Mira) and a Moroccan (El Hedi ben Salem) who is more than 20 years her junior. The film was shot in just two weeks in 1973. Despite its shoestring budget, it is one of his most influential works and is still highly relevant today.

Shortly after "Ali: Fear Eats the Soul," Fassbinder surprised his fans with this movie. Breaking with his signature present-day chronicles of ordinary people, he created this period piece based on Theodor Fontane's 1894 novel "Effie Briest." Starring Hanna Schygulla, the film's stunning images are a feast for the eyes.

A married couple's infidelities are exposed by their crippled daughter in "Chinese Roulette" (1976). In this "typical" Fassbinder film, emotions collide as the characters meet in a confined space and reveal relations of power and passion. This psychological drama overflows with powerful images, such as the haunting reflections of silhouettes in mirrors and windows.

Later on in his career, Fassbinder also tackled topics related to German history. "The Stationmaster's Wife" ("Bolwieser" in German) is based on a novel by Oskar Maria Graf, with a story set in a 1920s Bavarian town. Initially broadcast as a television series, it was also made into a shorter feature film. The director would cleverly adapt his work for different media.

By the mid 1970s, Fassbinder's international fame gave him access to bigger opportunities. With a budget exceeding the total cost of his first 15 films, "Despair" was one of the three movies he made in English. It starred world-renowned actors such as Dirk Bogarde and Andréa Ferréol. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, but failed commercially.

After a few minor socially engaged films, such as "Germany in Autumn," which dealt with RAF terrorism, Fassbinder realized in 1979 an ambitious dream by filming a TV series of 13 episodes adapted from Alfred Döblin's 1929 novel, "Berlin Alexanderplatz." Decades before the current series boom, Fassbinder was a trendsetter.

While his great success "The Marriage of Maria Braun" (1979) dealt with the post-war economic boom, Fassbinder took on Germany's Nazi period with "Lili Marleen" (1981), shot in English. The director used a popular framework to tackle this serious theme. Great actors portray an unfulfilled love story: Fassbinder borrowed Hollywood's most effective dramatic tricks in this international production.

"Lola" (1981) is set in West Germany's post-war period of economic boom. By then, Fassbinder had access to everything he could wish for, and top German stars would drew the masses to his films. Things were gloomy behind the scenes, though: The workaholic was increasingly affected by drug and alcohol abuse.

Fassbinder was not only successful as a film director. He would keep working on projects for the theater and television. His controversial and legendary play "Der Müll, die Stadt und der Tod" (Trash, City and Death) was finally presented for the first time in 2009. And Fassbinder was also an actor who'd work for other filmmakers too - here, in "Kamikaze" by Wolf Gremm.

Just a few months before his death, Fassbinder would win the Golden Bear at the 1982 Berlinale with his film "Veronika Voss." Shot in black-and-white and influenced by Billy Wilder's "Sunset Boulevard," the film depicts a drug-addicted German actress in the 1950s. Fassbinder's penultimate work conquered the critics and the audience.

Fassbinder would not live to see the premiere of his film "Querelle," based on a book by Jean Genet. He died on June 10, 1982 in Munich of a sudden cardiac arrest, presumed to be caused by a cocktail of alcohol, cocaine and barbiturates. In his creative frenzy, Fassbinder directed over 40 films within 13 years. His works are known worldwide.