Together with "Satansbraten/Satan's Brew" (1976), "Frauen In New York/Women in New York", based on the novel by Calire Boothe Luce (1903-1987), is R.W. Fassbinder's only comedy. To his work belong all genres, including documentaries, but no horror movies ("Tenderness of the Wolves" (1973) was allegedly directed by Ulli Lommel, although it bears all signs of a true Fassbinder movie and not only his production). More precise, the TV broadcasting of "Frauen In New York" is a filmed performance of Fassbinder's theater group at the Hamburger Staatstheater. Very similar to Fassbinder's "women movies", it shows the woman in the center and her development from ethics to opportunism, one could say according to the (only later established) motto "Good girls come into heaven, bad girls everywhere". Mary Haines, who stands in the center of this movie, is first characterized as an outsider amidst all the other women who scoop out their time by complaining about their husbands, but at the same time also profiting form there. Even then, when she is also betrayed by her husband, she fights for him in order to preserve her marriage. But all the men are absent! There is not one single male role in the movie. Obviously, the discursively mediated presence of the male is sufficient. (Consistently, a man had not even to marry a women: It would have been enough the meet her, to disappear and to send her money every month.) From the 45 movies that the Fassbinder Foundation counts, 10 have never been put either on VHS or DVD, 1 amongst them is banned, approx. 3-6 (depending if you are looking for a PAL or NTSC version) more movies are not available anymore, and 1 is lost. Amongst the 10 mentioned movies there are all theater pieces that Fassbinder filmed. Since Fassbinder was both a film and a stage director, making them available would enlighten the interesting relationship between his theater and movie production.
