# Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980)

> A newly released ex-convict tries to go straight in late 1920s Berlin but is pulled back into the criminal underworld.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/39403

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 14
- Episode runtime: 60 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: drama, crime
- Created by: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
- Network: Das Erste
- Cast: Günter Lamprecht, Hanna Schygulla, Gottfried John, Barbara Sukowa, Franz Buchrieser, Barbara Valentin, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Günther Kaufmann
- TMDB rating: 8.4/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080196/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: moderate
- Complexity: dense
- Violence: moderate
- Tone: melancholic, gritty, fatalistic, bleak, intimate

## What critics say

Acclaimed as a bold, sprawling adaptation of Alfred Doblin's novel, admired for its ambition, formal daring and rich portrayal of Weimar-era Berlin.

## Synopsis

Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980) is a West German national-television period crime series created by Rainer Werner Fassbinder for Das Erste. Günter Lamprecht plays Franz Biberkopf, a former convict who vows to go straight after his release, only to find himself dragged back into the criminal underworld of late 1920s Berlin. Hanna Schygulla as Eva, Gottfried John as Reinhold Hoffmann and Barbara Sukowa as Emilie Karsunke orbit his struggle, while a narrator voice addresses the viewer directly. Shot as a single sprawling film in thirteen parts with an epilogue, the series follows Franz through the back rooms, street corners and tenements of the Alexanderplatz district, where honest work is scarce and temptation constant. The tone is melancholic, gritty and fatalistic, with stark interiors and a sense of a city tipping toward collapse. Fans of Babylon Berlin, Heimat and The Wire will find resonance in its blend of crime, social despair and an unflinching portrait of a working class man caught in a system he cannot escape. Its fragmented, literary style rewards patient, attentive viewing.

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