 |
| |
 |
05/18/10
Forty Years Ago: RWF’s THE COFFEEHOUSE
A Scenario Reduced to its Essentials
On May 18, 1970 the German national TV station WDR premiered a recording of THE COFFEEHOUSE. Fassbinder’s adaptation of Carlo Goldoni’s comedy had been filmed in Cologne for ten days. In contrast to the elaborate stage sets of the 1969 Bremen production – with a colossal cake stand in the center – in this instance, set designer Wilfried Minks limited himself to the distinctive Thonet chairs for décor. Revolving around games of money, love and intrigues between the visitors to Ridolfo’s coffeehouse, the plot assumes speed nonetheless. In his monograph RWF – Leben und Werk, film critic Herbert Spaich states: “After their entrance, the actors remain in a decorative arrangement. The intelligent editorial intrusion into the Goldoni text resulted in a play about the impossibility to help somebody else if he does not want it.” (1992, p. 368)
The 105 minute long movie was shot in black-and-white on a 2-inch videotape. Further broadcasts occurred on September 26, 1970, on Hessischer Rundfunk and on January 21, 1971, on Bayerischer Rundfunk.
RWFF Filmography about THE COFFEEHOUSE
Bildnisscene
Spielhausscene
Photograph on left: Harry Baer (Eugenio), Peer Raben (Ridolfo), Kurt Raab (Don Marzio) and Margit Carstensen (Vittoria), 1970 © RWFF
Photograph in the middle: Ingrid Caven (Placida), Margit Carstensen (Vittoria), Rudolf Waldemar Brem (Pandolfo), Peer Raben (Ridolfo), Harry Baer (Eugenio) and Hans Hirschmüller (Trappolo), 1970 © RWFF
Photograph on right: Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1970 © RWFF
|
|
|
 |
|
