Fear (1954 film)
Fear is a 1954 German-Italian drama film directed by Roberto Rossellini and starring his wife, Ingrid Bergman. It is loosely based on Stefan Zweig 1925 novella 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. The film is noirish with aspects reminiscent of Hitchcock and German Expressionism.
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.Cast
- Ingrid Bergman as Irene Wagner
- Mathias Wieman as Professor Albert Wagner
- Renate Mannhardt as Luisa Vidor, alias Johann Schultze
- Kurt Kreuger as Erich Baumann
- Elise Aulinger as Haushaelterin
- Edith Schultze-Westrum
- Steffi Stroux
- 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 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 the .Fear is one of the ten films being restored. The others are:
Rome, Open City, Paisan, Germany Year Zero, L’amore, Stromboli, The Machine that Kills Bad People, Journey to Italy, India: Matri Bhumi, and Interview with Salvador Allende.