Der AMERIKANISCHE SOLDAT (1970)

Fassbinder’s glorious re-working of Hollywood noir, about a man who becomes a contract killer.
This film opens with the return of Ricky (Karl Scheydt), a German-American Vietnam veteran and soon-to-be contract killer, to the Munich of his youth. Here cops and gangsters are indistinguishable and betrayal lurks around every corner. The film’s theme song, ‘So Much Loneliness, So Much Tenderness’ (co-written by Fassbinder), provides the background to an unforgettable climax.
1970 Federal Republic of Germany
Directed by
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Produced by
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Written by
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Featuring
Elga Sorbas, Jan George, Hark Bohm