France / May 19, 1978 / Cannes Film Festival
A hysterical comedy
1h 57min
Overall average
5.0/10
Trailer
Videos
Plot
Berlin, 1930, during the rise of Nazism. Hermann Hermann, a Russian emigrant and chocolate manufacturer, married to the capricious Lydia, loses his temper more and more every day when dealing with his workers and other businessmen; until he meets Felix, a vagrant, who seems to be physically identical to him; a disconcerting fact that leads Hermann Hermann to plot a particular way out of a fake world he actually hates.
Main cast
Full cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Adrian Hoven | Inspector Schelling |
| Alexander Allerson | Mayer |
| Hark Bohm | Doctor |
| Roger Fritz | Inspector Braun |
| Gottfried John | Perebrodov |
| Y Sa Lo | Elsie |
| Lilo Pempeit | Mrs. Schmidt |
| Ingrid Caven | Hotel Manager |
| Voli Geiler | 1st Landlady |
| Isolde Barth | 2nd Landlady |
| Gitty Djamal | Woman in Pension |
| Harry Baer | Innkeeper |
| Osman Ragheb | Post Office Clerck |
| Hans Zander | Müller's Brother [Scenes Deleted] |
Genres
DramaThriller
Technical details
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Original title | Despair |
| Original language | English (EN) |
| Spoken languages | English |
| Production countries | Germany |
| Status | Released |
| Production companies | Bavaria Studios |
| Release date | 15 settembre 1978 |
| Production | Peter Märthesheimer |
| Writer | Tom Stoppard, Vladimir Nabokov |
| Editing | Juliane Lorenz, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Christine Fritz |
| Cinematography | Michael Ballhaus, Karl-Heinz Vogelmann |
| Assistant directors | Harry Baer, Stefan Zürcher, Ronald M. Scheich, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Elke Vogt |
| Camera operators | Michael Ballhaus, Karl-Heinz Vogelmann |
| Additional photography | Michael Ballhaus, Karl-Heinz Vogelmann |
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| Production design | Rolf Zehetbauer, Jochen Schumacher, Herbert Strabel, Lothar Tropp, Klaus Meyenberg, Ulrich Wendt |
| Art direction | Jochen Schumacher, Herbert Strabel, Rolf Zehetbauer, Lothar Tropp, Klaus Meyenberg, Ulrich Wendt |
| Set decoration | Jochen Schumacher, Rolf Zehetbauer, Herbert Strabel, Lothar Tropp, Klaus Meyenberg, Ulrich Wendt |
| Music | Peer Raben, Milan Bor, James Willis, John Stevenson |
| Sound | Peer Raben, Milan Bor, James Willis, John Stevenson |
| Costume design | Dagmar Schauberger, Max Dietl, Karin Geuer, Peter Knöpfle, Any Nöbauer, Georg Kuhn |
| Makeup | Peter Knöpfle, Any Nöbauer, Karin Geuer, Dagmar Schauberger, Georg Kuhn, Max Dietl |
| Hairstyling | Karin Geuer, Peter Knöpfle, Dagmar Schauberger, Any Nöbauer, Georg Kuhn, Max Dietl |
| Budget | 2.600.000 € |
Release dates
Premiere
Germany / May 19, 1978 / 12 / Stuttgart
United States / Oct 05, 1978 / New York Film Festival
Theatrical release
Sweden / Sep 15, 1978 / 15
France / Sep 20, 1978 / 12
Finland / Nov 10, 1978 / K-16
Denmark / Nov 17, 1978 / 11
Show more (7)Show less
Spain / Nov 27, 1978 / 12
United States / Feb 16, 1979 / New York City, New York
Greece / Feb 19, 1979 / K12
Portugal / Apr 11, 1979 / M/12
Italy / Jul 09, 1982 / T
Uruguay / Jan 06, 1983
Netherlands / Jul 17, 2014 / 12 / Re-release
Physical media
Netherlands / Jan 20, 2015 / 12 / DVD
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