The American Soldier (VHS, 1992) Rainer Werner Fassbinder 1970 German Film

***FULLY TESTED AND REWOUND***

Fassbinder's version of the Hollywood gangster film pays homage to movie greats Humphrey Bogart, Sam Fuller, and Orson Welles to name a few.

The story centers on Ricky, a charismatic hit man who always wears a gun bulging from his shoulder holster, sports a soft fedora hat and white double-breasted suit, and drinks Ballantine scotch straight from the bottle.

Recently returned from Vietnamized America, Ricky carries out his assigned murders without knowledge or emotion. The amazing final shoot-out is probably the most startling of Fassbinder's patented off-beat endings.

Written and Directed by RAINER WERNER FASSBINDER
Photography by DIETRICH LOHMANN
Music by PEER RABEN
Edited by Thea Eymesz
Starring KARL SCHEYDT, ELGA SORBAS, JAN GEORGE, MARGARETHE VON TROTTA

(Germany / 1970)

(80 minutes / B&W)

(In German with English subtitles)

~1970 Weitvertrieb im Filmverlag der Autoren

~1992 New Yorker Films Artwork

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