''The Stationmaster's Wife'' (german: Bolwieser) is a 1977

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

television serial In television and radio programming, a serial is a show that has a continuing plot that unfolds in a sequential episode-by-episode fashion. Serials typically follow main story arcs that span entire television seasons or even the complete run of ...

directed and edited by

Rainer Werner Fassbinder Rainer Werner Fassbinder (; 31 May 1945 – 10 June 1982), sometimes credited as R. W. Fassbinder, was a German filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema movement. Fassbinder's main ...

. It was made for German television and originally aired in 1973 as a two-part miniseries. It was based on the 1931 novel ''Bolwieser: The Novel of a Husband'' by

Oskar Maria Graf Oskar Maria Graf (July 22, 1894 – June 28, 1967) was a German-American writer who wrote several narratives about life in Bavaria, mostly autobiographical. In the beginning, Graf wrote under his real name Oskar Graf. After 1918, his works for ...

. The film is about a railroad system manager, Xaver Ferdinand Maria Bolwieser (the eponymous Station Master), who is unwittingly cuckolded by the town butcher and a hairdresser. Critic

Vincent Canby Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...

, in his 1982 '' New York Times'' review, said the story, which is set in the fictional Bavarian town of ''Werburg'' in the 1920s, was reminiscent of '' Madame Bovary''. The 1983 theatrical release was 90 minutes shorter than the 201 minute TV version. The theatrical cut had been finalized and approved in 1977, but the release was postponed due to legal and commercial reasons.

Notes

In the credits, Fassbinder, who edited the film with Juliane Lorenz and Ila von Hasperg, was billed as a cutter under the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

"Franz Walsch".

References

External links

* * *
''Bolwieser'' (TV)
page a
Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation

''Bolweiser''
a review by

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

1977 films 1977 television films Films directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder Films shot in Bavaria German-language television shows German drama television films West German films 1970s German-language films 1970s German films ZDF original programming Films scored by Peer Raben {{Germany-tv-film-stub