Publisher's Synopsis
Widely considered to be Fassbinder's masterpiece, this adaptation of Nabokov's novel charts the descent into madness of wealthy chocolate factory owner Hermann Herman (Dirk Bogarde). In 1930s Berlin, Russian-born émigré Herman lives a luxurious but vapid life with his wife, Lydia (Andrea Ferreol), who is having an affair with Herman's painter brother, Ardalion (Volker Spengler). Racked with existential doubt and crippled by cynicism, Herman hatches an elaborate plot involving homeless man Felix Weber (Klaus Löwitsch) in an attempt to free himself of his mental tortures - but only ends up driving himself to the brink of full-blown insanity.
