Beware of a Holy Whore (1971)

3 1/2 Stars (out of 4)

Film Stuck

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

One of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's early films, Beware of a Holy Whore gets by with very little plot. It involves a crew of filmmakers stuck in a Spanish villa working on a film that never seems to get going. (The cast and crew are too busy jumping into bed with each other.) As the film goes on, the scenes become more and more disjointed, as if we were watching through an alcoholic haze, blinking out while hours or days whiz by. Fassbinder stacks the cast around the limited space with the mastery of a chess player, creating a strong sense of ennui, sexual frustration and creative stagnation. Fassbinder stars, along with Eddie Constantine (Alphaville), Hanna Schygulla (The Marriage of Maria Braun) and Lou Castel as the director.

DVD Details: Wellspring's new DVD comes with a trailer and cast and crew filmographies.