''Fear'' ( it, La Paura or german: Angst) is a 1954 German-Italian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such ...

and starring his wife Ingrid Bergman. It is loosely based on the Stefan Zweig novella ''

Fear Fear is an intensely unpleasant emotion in response to perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes physiological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat. Fear ...

''. Rossellini created it because he wanted to explore the reconstruction of Germany from both a material and moral standpoint ten years after making his previous German film ''

Germany, Year Zero ''Germany, Year Zero'' ( it, Germania anno zero) is a 1948 film directed by Roberto Rossellini, and is the final film in Rossellini's unofficial war film trilogy, following ''Rome, Open City'' and ''Paisà''. ''Germany Year Zero'' takes place in ...

''. The film is noirish with aspects reminiscent of

Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

and

German Expressionism German Expressionism () consisted of several related creative movements in Germany before the First World War that reached a peak in Berlin during the 1920s. These developments were part of a larger Expressionist movement in north and central ...

Plot

Irene is the wife of a pharmaceutics manager. When she decides to leave her lover, she is blackmailed by a harpy. She does everything in her power to conceal the truth, without knowing that her husband already knows everything and is sadistically enjoying the situation behind her back.

Cast

* Ingrid Bergman as Irene Wagner *

Mathias Wieman Mathias Wieman (Carl Heinrich Franz Mathias Wieman; 23 June 1902 – 3 December 1969) was a German stage-performer, silent-and-sound motion picture actor. Life and career Early life Wieman was born in Osnabrück, the only son of Carl Philipp A ...

as Professor Albert Wagner *

Renate Mannhardt Renate Mannhardt (1920–2013) was a German actress. She starred in Peter Lorre Peter Lorre (; born László Löwenstein, ; June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964) was a Hungarian and American actor, first in Europe and later in the United States ...

as Luisa Vidor, alias Johann Schultze *

Kurt Kreuger Kurt Kreuger (July 23, 1916 – July 12, 2006) was a Swiss-reared German actor. Kreuger once was the third-most-requested male actor at 20th Century Fox. He starred with, among others, Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart. Life and career Kreuger w ...

as Erich Baumann *

Elise Aulinger Elise Aulinger (11 December 1881 – 12 February 1965) was a German stage, radio and film actress. Selected filmography * ''The Favourite of the Queen'' (1922) * ''Martin Luther'' (1923) * ''What the Stones Tell'' (1925) * '' The Seventh Son'' ( ...

as Haushaelterin *

Edith Schultze-Westrum Edith Käthe Elisabeth Schultze-Westrum (30 December 1904 – 20 March 1981) was a German film actress. She appeared in more than 60 films between 1932 and 1979. These included the role of Mrs. Hudson in the 1962 film '' Sherlock Holmes an ...

* Steffi Stroux (credited as Steffi Struck) * Annelore Wied * Klaus Kinski as Cabaret Performer

Production

''Fear'' was shot simultaneously in English and German language and released as ''Fear'' in the international, English-language version and as ''Angst'' in Germany.

Reception

The film did not do well when it was released in Italy and Germany. Consequently, the Italian distributor edited the film (originally titled ''La Paura'' in the Italian-dubbed version) and re-released it as ''Non credo più all'amore''. In this edited version, a fishing scene is shortened and an explanatory narration is added to two silent scenes. In addition, the ending was changed from a scene showing Bergman attempting suicide to a scene showing her family in the countryside, after Bergman had left her husband, living on for the sake of her children.

The Rossellini Project

This initiative involves 10 films by Roberto Rossellini that are being digitally restored and will then be promoted internationally. Carrying out the restoration work are Cinecittà Luce-Filmitalia, the

Cineteca di Bologna The Cineteca di Bologna is a film archive in Bologna, Italy. It was founded on 18 May 1962. Since 1989, it has been a member of the Fédération internationale des archives du film (FIAF). It has been a member of the Association des cinémath ...

, the

Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia The Centro sperimentale di cinematografia (Experimental Film Centre or Italian National film school) was established in 1935 in Italy and aims to promote the art and technique of cinematography and film. The centre is the oldest film school in ...

, and th
Coproduction Office
''Fear'' is one of the ten films being restored. The others are: ''

Rome, Open City ''Rome, Open City'' ( it, Roma città aperta, also released as ''Open City'') is a 1945 Italian neorealist war drama film directed by Roberto Rossellini and co-written by Sergio Amidei, Celeste Negarville and Federico Fellini. Set in Rome in ...

'' (''Roma città aperta''), ''

Paisan ''Paisan'' ( it, Paisà ) is a 1946 Italian neorealist war drama film directed by Roberto Rossellini. In six independent episodes, it tells of the Liberation of Italy by the Allied forces during the late stage of World War II. The film premier ...

'' (''Paisà''), ''

Germany Year Zero ''Germany, Year Zero'' ( it, Germania anno zero) is a 1948 film directed by Roberto Rossellini, and is the final film in Rossellini's unofficial war film trilogy, following '' Rome, Open City'' and '' Paisà''. ''Germany Year Zero'' takes place ...

'' (''Germania anno zero''), ''L’amore'', '' Stromboli'' (''Stromboli terra di Dio''), ''The Machine that Kills Bad People'' (''La Macchina ammazzacattivi''), '' Journey to Italy'' (''Viaggio in Italia''), '' India: Matri Bhumi'', and ''Interview with Salvador Allende'' (''Intervista a Salvador Allende: La forza e la ragione'').

North American TV release

On 15 March 2013,

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of At ...

broadcast ''Fear'' for the first time on TV in North America.

References

External links

* *
1979 New York Times film review by Vincent Canby

The Rossellini Project

Harvard University Film Archive
screened ''Fear'' on July 21 and 23, 2005 as part of its summer exhibition of films.
Cinema of the World
- Review of ''Fear'' that also includes movie stills.
Dennis Grunes Review of ''Fear.''
{{Roberto Rossellini 1954 films 1954 drama films Italian drama films German drama films West German films 1950s German-language films Films directed by Roberto Rossellini Films based on works by Stefan Zweig Films based on Austrian novels Italian black-and-white films Films set in West Germany Adultery in films Italian remakes of foreign films Remakes of German films Films about fear Minerva Film films Films scored by Renzo Rossellini German black-and-white films 1950s Italian films 1950s German films