The dizzying adaptation of Brecht by Volker Schlöndorff ("The Drum")

New 2K restoration

The young anarchist poet Baal wanders through forests and highways, claiming his art in the slums and posh apartments of his patrons. His appetite for life, love and alcohol leads him from multiple sexual experiences to dangerous adventures...

Volker Schlöndorff ( The Drum , The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum ) adapts the first play by his fellow playwright Bertolt Brecht, transposing it into the present of 1969, whose atmosphere of revolt and sexual liberation he captures. Surrounded by actresses Margarethe von Trotta and Hanna Schygulla, Rainer Werner Fassbinder ( The Marriage of Maria Braun ) perfectly embodies the character of the self-destructive poet Baal. Long invisible, Baal is available for the first time in its restored 2K version.

BAAL
(1969 – Colors – 89 mins)
new 2K restoration

SUPPLEMENTS *

. THE POET AND THE FILMMAKER: VOLKER SCHLÖNDORFF ON "BAAL" (46 mins)
In this exclusive interview directed by Robert Fischer, Volker Schlöndorff looks back on the genesis of Baal, his meeting with Rainer Werner Fassbinder and his troupe, and talks about the initial rejection of the work by the Brecht heirs.

. FEELING AND REASON: CHRISTIAN BRAAD THOMSEN ON FASSBINDER AND BRECHT (9 mins)
Filmmaker Christian Braad Thomsen, a Danish friend of Fassbinder and an expert on his work, finds more Fassbinder than Brecht in the play Baal and marvels at it. A reflection on the artist in conflict with society.

* in HD on the Blu-ray version

Released May 6, 2015