Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Lola Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 24, 2017

Rainer Werner Fassbinder's "Lola" (1981) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The supplemental features on the disc include restored German trailer for the film; new video interview with actress Barbara Sukowa; and new video interview with film editor Juliane Lorenz. In German, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

At the brothel

The initial plan for Lola was to be a remake of Josef von Sternberg's classic drama The Blue Angel, but by the time production started Rainer Werner Fassbinder had already transformed it into a completely new project that in some ways was far easier to compare to Jean Renoir’s take on Emile Zola’s Nana. Lola eventually became the central piece in the famous BRD (Bundesrepublik Deutschland) Trilogy, which also includes The Marriage of Maria Braun and Veronika Voss.

The events that are chronicled in the film take place in a provincial town a little over a decade after the end of WWII, as signs begin to emerge that the economic engine of the Federal Republic of Germany is starting to rev up. People from all social groups are already visibly optimistic that even while their leaders are being overseen and effectively controlled by foreign governments their country is on the right track and economic prosperity is just around the corner. In the town’s most prestigious brothel the young and beautiful Lola (Barbara Sukowa) is equally optimistic about the future and dreams big, but she is well aware that time is working against her and that she has to be smart if she is to make the most of her best years. For this very reason she has invested heavily in a difficult relationship with the wealthy developer Schuckert (a brilliant Mario Adorf), who much like the rest of the brothel’s regular clients is under the impression that treating a woman as a whore and a goddess over the course of a few hours is perfectly normal. A surprising encounter with the town’s new building commissioner Von Bohm (Armin Mueller-Stahl), however, presents Lola with a new opportunity to invest in her future and she decides to go all in while keeping Schuckert under the impression that the move is nothing more than a casual fling. Initially Lola’s double game works precisely as intended, but then Von Bohm falls madly in love with her without realizing that she works in the brothel and rearranges his entire life so that he can win her heart. Soon after, Schuckert and Von Bohm are set on a collision course, while Lola is forced to reevaluate her entire retirement strategy.

Lola is a typical Fassibinder film, full of unexpected contrasts and just as interested in its characters and their flaws as it is in the social environment in which they are placed. In fact, here Fassibinder seems even more focused on the emerging social dynamics that will drive and eventually define the great Economic Miracle. This particular social awareness as well as the very bold and at times borderline expressionist cinematography make Lola virtually impossible not to compare to the various masterpieces that Douglas Sirk directed in the 1950s.

Of course Fassbinder was never the delicate and reserved psychologist that Sirk was, and this is precisely why his films are typically completely unpredictable emotional roller-coasters. In Lola there is also a solid dose of unfiltered cynicism that widens the gap that exists between him and Sirk even more. So while at a certain point in their careers the two directors might have been driven by similar desire to explore the evolving foundation of the societies that they belonged to, they were essentially looking at different types of social and cultural prejudices and flaws.

The end comes abruptly and leaves the viewer in a very awkward place because the resolution makes it simply impossible to side with any of the main characters. At first it seems like it might have been poorly edited, but after a while the message begins to make perfect sense. It’s got something to do with the price of success.

Lola Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Lola arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal.

I have seen quite a few of the various films that the Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation has restored and I have liked virtually all of them. There have been a few instances here and there where I felt that the color gradings were not as precise as they could have been, but generally speaking the end product has also been vastly superior to previous home video presentations. Lola, which was also restored in 4K, is the first film where I feel that the end product is both gorgeous to look at and technically very convincing. Indeed, the entire film has the type of lush appearance that Douglas Sirk's famous films had, which I think was what Fassbinder was attempting to emulate, though with a slightly difference ambience. The footage from the night club, in particular, looks flat-out stunning, boasting a wide range of fantastically saturated primaries and nuances that DVD never would have been able to reproduce. (A quick comparison with my North American DVD release very instantly confirms that this is indeed the case). Furthermore, fluidity is dramatically improved, and there is proper depth during the darker footage that was previously lost (screencaptures #3 and 12 are great examples). I mention this because the entire film is very carefully lit and these are perhaps the two key improvements that provide it with a convincing organic appearance. Obviously, it also helps that there are no traces of digital corrections that would have destabilized the film's grain structure, and with it a whole range of other organic qualities, but the fluidity and depth are crucial for the darker footage. Image stability is excellent. Debris, damage marks, cuts, stains, and other age-related imperfections have been eliminated as best as possible. Finally, I should say that there is room for some encoding optimizations, but as is the film still looks stunning in high-definition. My score is 4.25/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Lola Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: German DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

Despite the fact that there are quite a few music acts in the film, the original sound design is far from impressive. It quite fluid and actually utilizes plenty of organic sounds and noises. However, clarity and depth are very good, and the dialog is always easy to follow. There are no pops, audio dropouts, or distortions to report.

Lola Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original restored trailer for Lola. In German, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Interview with Barbara Sukowa - in this brand new video interview, actress Barbara Sukowa recalls how she was cast to play Lola and discusses Rainer Werner Fassbinder's working methods, the reception of his film, and some of the main themes that define it and remain relevant today. In English, not subtitled. (11 min).

• Interview with Juliane Lorenz - in this brand new video interview, editor Juliane Lorenz discusses the German film industry before and after Rainer Werner Fassbinder, the shooting of Lola, and the accuracy of the social and political themes that permeate the film. In English, not subtitled. (10 min).

Lola Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The more time passes by, the clearer it becomes that the films of Rainer Werner Fassbinder offer some of the most accurate dissections of post-war Germany, which in all fairness is more than a bit odd because many of them were conceived with the same sense of freedom that in America John Cassavetes utilized to create a drastically different range of films. This points to the fact that the social environment was crucial for their identity. Lola, one of the three films in the famous BRD Trilogy, has been recently restored in 4K and is now available on Blu-ray via StudioCanal. The restoration is outstanding, though the technical presentation could have been even more convincing. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.