The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant

"Sex is the ultimate weapon."

1972 2h 4m DE

👍

7.4

SOLID

🍅

85%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.5

IMDB

★7.4TMDB · 244🍅85%Rotten Tomatoes●73Metacritic★7.5IMDB · 12,304

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Petra von Kant is a successful fashion designer -- arrogant, caustic, and self-satisfied. She mistreats Marlene (her secretary, maid, and co-designer). Enter Karin, a 23-year-old beauty who wants to be a model. Petra falls in love with Karin and invites her to move in.

“Sex is the ultimate weapon.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Margit Carstensen
Petra von Kant
Hanna Schygulla
Karin Thimm
Katrin Schaake
Sidonie von Grasenabb
Eva Mattes
Gabriele von Kant
Gisela Fackeldey
Valerie von Kant
Irm Hermann
Marlene

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Writers: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Languages: German
Countries: Germany

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

54 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

CRAFT

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, shot by Michael Ballhaus. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Thea Eymèsz shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Margit Carstensen and Hanna Schygulla and Katrin Schaake carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Sex is the ultimate weapon.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0068278 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Rainer Werner Fassbinder directs. Michael Ballhaus behind the camera. Thea Eymèsz cuts. Produced in Germany. Dialogue in German.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

154 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
3Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, shot by Michael Ballhaus. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Editor Thea Eymèsz shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Margit Carstensen and Hanna Schygulla and Katrin Schaake carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "Sex is the ultimate weapon.".
7IMDB entry: tt0068278 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 10 themes, including "australia", "success", "bremen", "based on play or musical".
9Released under 21 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Michael Ballhaus
Editing: Thea Eymèsz
Production design: Kurt Raab
Costume design: Maja Lemcke
Makeup / hair: Peter Müller
Sound: Gunther Kortwich
Runtime: 124 min · 2h 4m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: DE
IMDB: The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972)
Rotten Tomatoes: 85% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 73/100
IMDB rating: 7.5/10 · 12,304 votes
MPAA: Not Rated
US box office: $8,144

Awards

3 wins & 3 nominations total

German Film Award for Best Supporting Actress
German Film Award for Best Actress
German Film Award for Best Cinematography

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Rainer Werner Fassbinder

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-02-18
★ 6/10
Nope, this is another film about which I didn't get the memo. Though Margit Carstensen performs addictively in the title role, the rest of this quickly descends into a rather tedious introspection of a sexually fluid woman who treats her secretary "Marlene" (Irm Hermann) appallingly at the best of times and even worse when attractive, aspiring and ambitious model "Karin" (Hanna Schygulla) arrives seeking a career - and maybe more. "Petra" falls for her: hook line and sinker, but her new paramour doesn't quite reciprocate. The torrid nature of their frequently gin-soaked on/off relationship and conversation now unfold in the static environment of her apartment with a great deal of verbiage and very little actual procress. It's not that it's slow burn - I can handle them. It's that she is dull. She exudes a sense of entitlement and arrogance that I just couldn't engage with. Of course that's testament to the acting to an extent, but I also think there's something of the emperor's new clothes to it all. Who cares about her or her life? Everything around her is disposable - except "Karin", whose repeated attempts to shock and hurt her lover might have worked in their bed, but they didn't work on me as I gradually wanted to brick them all in with a lifelong supply of Bombay Sapphire and let them grind each other to a powder. The film looks great, the costumier and set designer have conjured up a thing of beauty and style, but that can't really help this rather empty and depressing appraisal of people who, "Marlene" and possibly daughter "Gabriele" (Eva Mattes) notwithstanding, entirely deserved each other. I suspect this might have worked better with the intimacy of a stage - indeed much of Fassbinder's direction appears much better suited for that perfectly framed medium, but as a film it left me cold.

Production companies