RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
RT's Blu-ray HQ
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Ali: Fear Eats the Soul
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
100 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:14

Fresh:14

Rotten:0

Average Rating:9.3/10

Runtime: 1 hr 34 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Synopsis: A deceivingly simple film about the uncomfortable romantic relationship between a 60-year-old German cleaning woman named Emmi and a 40-year-old Moroccan immigrant named Ali, ALI: FEAR EATS THE... A deceivingly simple film about the uncomfortable romantic relationship between a 60-year-old German cleaning woman named Emmi and a 40-year-old Moroccan immigrant named Ali, ALI: FEAR EATS THE SOUL is one of director R.W. Fassbinder's most powerful pictures. Brought together by a jeering barmaid, Emmi and Ali are surprised to find that, after their initial meeting, they like one another. After a somewhat awkward courtship, the two unlikely lovers marry, angering Emmi's children and revealing the startling prejudices that pervade everyday German life. Winner of the International Critics' Prize at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival. [More]

Starring: Brigitte Mira, El Hedi Ben Salem, Barbara Valentin, Irm Hermann

Starring: Brigitte Mira, El Hedi Ben Salem, Barbara Valentin, Irm Hermann, Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Screenwriter: Rainer Werner Fassbinder

[See More Credits]

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Jun 24, 2003

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Ali: Fear Eats the Soul

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 16 (sorted by comments)
Text View
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out

A mordant satire that's also a touching romance and a powerful indictment of prejudice.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
09/18/06
TV Guide's Movie Guide
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
06/26/08
Variety

One of Fassbinder's crown jewels, Ali: Fear Eats the Soul is as powerful as any film he ever made, despite its pedestrian premise.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
11/28/02
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

A chilling tale about bias.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
11/17/03
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Ali’s terse speaking matter is ripe with aphorisms, but it’s also another way for Fassbinder to evoke the suspended animation of his character’s lives.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
08/31/03
Ed Gonzalez
Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine

No review available.

comment Comment
06/26/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

A simple and powerful film of great and quiet beauty.

Full Review Source: Q Network Film Desk | comment Comment
01/21/04
James Kendrick
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk

One of Fassbinder's loosest and most powerful films.

comment Comment
03/18/03
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
San Francisco Examiner

Fassbinder made this one on the cheap between bigger projects and scored with a beautifully observed, and even oddly gentle tale.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Many of Fassbinder's best films possess a kind of cosmic balance. No one character or belief rises above another without the other shoe dropping.

Full Review Source: ToxicUniverse.com | comment Comment
09/27/03
Keith Uhlich
Keith Uhlich
ToxicUniverse.com

A movie that's simple and honest. It plays universally and feels particularly relevent in 21st century America.

Full Review Source: Reno Gazette-Journal | comment Comment
07/22/03
Mark Robison
Mark Robison
Reno Gazette-Journal

If this were the only film Fassbinder ever made, it would still be one of the great works of cinema. It's only the brilliance and scope of his work both before and after this film that keep me from declaring it his unqualified masterpiece.

Full Review Source: Not Coming to a Theater Near You | comment Comment
07/05/03
Matt Bailey
Matt Bailey
Not Coming to a Theater Near You

No review available.

comment Comment
10/23/02
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Ali: Fear Eats the Soul might sound like improbable, contrived soap opera. It doesn't play that way.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/22/02
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It is, rather, another quite courageous attempt by Mr. Fassbinder to develop a film style free of the kind of realistic conventions that sentimentalize life's mysteries.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/09/05
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby
New York Times
 
 
1 - 16 (sorted by comments)
Text View
See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
36% 36% Angels & Demons
25% 25% Four Christmases
68% 68% Funny People
95% 95% Star Trek
14% 14% The Ugly Truth

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
83% 83% Harry Potter and the H…
67% 67% Public Enemies
75% 75% Julie & Julia
95% 95% The Cove
85% 85% World's Greatest Dad

More New Releases…

See All

RT On Current TV

The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

Learn how you can be part of the show

More...

What’s Hot On RT

Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood

Take a trip through Clint Eastwood's career!

RT's Gift Guide

RT's Gift Guide

Give the best movies, gear, and more!

RT on DVD

RT on DVD

Find the latest releases on DVD and Blu-ray!

D.C. Film Critics

D.C. Film Critics

Up in the Air takes top honors!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Avatar Picks Up Golden Globes Buzz Source: HitFix
14
  • Disney's Upcoming Hand-Drawn Movies Revealed Source: Slashfilm
5
  • Cameron Explains Blue Avatar Aliens Source: MTV
21
  • Matt Damon Expects Greengrass to Return for Fourth Bourne Source: Collider.com
6
  • Burton's Dark Shadows Rising in 2010 Source: Sci Fi Wire
6
  • Exclusive: The World of Where the Wild Things Are
27
  • Peter Jackson Talks Hobbit, LotR Blu-ray Source: Collider.com
20
  • Woman Jailed for Filming New Moon Screening Source: Chicago Sun-Times
18
  • McG Has Plans for Fifth and Sixth Terminator Movies Source: Gizmodo
204
  • Spielberg Hops Away from Harvey Source: Variety
22
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Total Recall: Natalie Portman's Best Movies
83
  • Five Favorite Films with Jason Reitman
57
  • Critics Consensus: Everybody's Fine Is Just OK
50
  • 10 Horrifically Profitable Films
46
  • Sundance 2010: RT's 10 Most Anticipated Movies
41
  • Five Favorite Films with Jesse Ventura
40
  • Weekly Ketchup: Tron Team to Remake The Black Hole
37
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: The Blind Side Takes the Lead
29
  • Awards Tour: National Board of Review Winners List!
28
  • Friday Harvest: Iron Man 2, Harry Potter, and more!
24
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Five Favorite Films With Avatar's Sam Worthington
24
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
2
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
12
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
23
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
15
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
22
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
9
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
28
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Ali: Fear Eats the Soul at Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh Links

Featured
History of Disney Animation
History of Disney Animation External Link

MSN Movies offers a little background on the success of Disney Animation.

90 Years of Screen Vampires
90 Years of Screen Vampires External Link

TIME takes a look back at the history of vampires on film.

Virtuoso Vistas of Lovely Bones
Virtuoso Vistas of Lovely Bones External Link

Techland examines the visual splendor of Peter Jackson's upcoming film.

Recent Headlines as TV Movies
Recent Headlines as TV Movies External Link

AOL put together a list of 10 recent news items that would be perfect as TV Movies.

The Death of Original Thought
The Death of Original Thought External Link

Hollywood.com's C. Robert Cargill explores how remakes and reboots have warped our thinking.

Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Follow RT on Twitter External Link

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.