''Fear'' ( or ) 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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

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

and starring his wife

Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, Bergman is often regarded as one of the most influential screen figures in cin ...

. It is loosely based on the

Stefan Zweig Stefan Zweig ( ; ; 28 November 1881 – 22 February 1942) was an Austrian writer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most widely translated and popular writers in the world. Zweig was raised in V ...

novella ''

Fear Fear is an unpleasant emotion that arises in response to perception, perceived dangers or threats. Fear causes physiological and psychological changes. It may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the ...

''. 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''. The film is noirish with aspects reminiscent of Hitchcock and

German Expressionism Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radi ...

Plot

Irene is the wife of a pharmaceutics manager. When she decides to leave her lover, she finds herself being blackmailed by an extortionist. 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

as Irene Wagner * Mathias Wieman as Professor Albert Wagner * Renate Mannhardt as Luisa Vidor, alias Johann Schultze *

Kurt Kreuger Kurt Kreuger (July 23, 1916 – July 12, 2006) was a Swiss-reared Germany, 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 ...

as Erich Baumann * Elise Aulinger as Haushaelterin * Edith Schultze-Westrum * Steffi Stroux (credited as Steffi Struck) * Annelore Wied *

Klaus Kinski Klaus Kinski (, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski 18 October 1926 – 23 November 1991) was a German actor. Equally renowned for his intense performance style and notorious for his volatile personality, he appeared in over 130 film roles in a ...

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

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

'' (''Roma città aperta''), '' Paisan'' (''Paisà''), '' Germany Year Zero'' (''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 channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...

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 Italian remakes of foreign films Remakes of German films Films about adultery in Germany Films about fear Minerva Film films Films scored by Renzo Rossellini German black-and-white films 1950s Italian films 1950s German films