Effi Briest

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Effi Briest ★★★½ Fontane Effi Briest 1974

A 19th-century tragedy well-played by Schygulla and empowered with Fassbinder's directorial skills. Effi (Schygulla) is a 17 year-old beauty, unhappily married to a much older man. She drifts into a brief affair, which is not discovered for several years. When her husband does discover her past infidelity, the Prussian legal code permits him a chilling revenge. Based on a popular 19th-century novel by Theodor Fontane. In German with English subtitles. 135m/B VHS, DVD . GE Hanna Schygulla, Wolfgang Schenck, Lilo Pempeit, Ulli Lommel; D: Rainer Werner Fassbinder; W: Rainer Werner Fassbinder; C: Jurgen Jurges, Dietrich Lohmann.