Berlin Alexanderplatz

Berlin Alexanderplatz is a novel by Alfred Döblin, published in 1929. The story concerns a small-time criminal, Franz Biberkopf, fresh from prison, who is drawn into the underworld. When his criminal mentor murders the prostitute whom Biberkopf has been relying on as an anchor, he realizes that he will be unable to extricate himself from the underworld into which he has sunk.

The novel is set in the working class Alexanderplatz district of 1920s Berlin. Its narrative style is reminiscent of James Joyce - In fact, Döblin had already finished the work when he read Ulysses which inspired him to radically rewrite his own book. It is told from multiple points of view, and uses sound effects, newspaper articles, songs, speeches, and other books to propel the plot forward.

The novel was made into a movie, called Berlin - Alexanderplatz, in 1931. Döblin worked on the adaptation, along with Karl Heinz Martin and Hans Wilhelm. It was directed by Piel Jutzi, and starred Heinrich George, Maria Bard, Margarete Schlegel, Bernhard Minetti, Gerhard Bienert, Albert Florath and Paul Westermeier. It ran 85 minutes.

A television mini-series was broadcast in 1980. It was adapted and directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, and starred Günter Lamprecht; it was 15½ hours long.[1]. The TV series was released as a film in the United States, and has attained cult status. It was mentioned in the cult series The Critic and inspired the TV series Freaks and Geeks, also about misfits and outsiders but set in an early 1980s American high school. It was available on VHS in the 1980's and was broadcast on PBS in the 1980's, but has been rarely seen since. Rumors of a DVD release have been circulating for many years, but it is unclear if these are true or not.