| Runtime: | 478 minutes |
| Creator: | Rainer Werner Fassbinder |
| Producer: | Peter Märthesheimer |
| Starring: | Gottfried John Hanna Schygulla Luise Ullrich Werner Finck Wolfgang Schenck Kurt Raab Renate Roland Irm Hermann Rudolf Waldemar Brem |
| Composer: | Fuzzy |
| Cinematography: | Dietrich Lohmann |
| Editor: | Marie Anne Gerhardt |
| Country: | West Germany |
| Num Seasons: | 1 |
| Num Episodes: | 5 |
Eight Hours Don't Make a Day (de|'''Acht Stunden sind kein Tag''') (also translated as (Eight Hours Are Not a Day) is a West German television miniseries written and directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Commissioned by Westdeutscher Rundfunk, it was broadcast in five episodes between 1972 and 1973.[1] The story follows a group of working-class people in Cologne, West Germany.[2]
| Episode guide | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | First aired | Runtime (mins.) | Synopsis |
| 1 | "Jochen and Marion" "Jochen und Marion" | 29 October 1972 | 107 | A love affair blossoms between middle-class tool factory employee Jochen and office advertiser Marion. |
| 2 | "Grandma and Gregor" "Oma und Gregor" | 27 December 1972 | 105 | Jochen's grandmother searches for an affordable apartment to share with Gregor, a gentleman she picked up in a park. When Grandma comes across an abandoned library space, she and Gregor decide to become do-it-yourself squatters and turn it into a kindergarten. |
| 3 | "Franz and Ernst" "Franz und Ernst" | 21 January 1973 | 97 | After the death of the foreman, the tool factory comrades hope that Franz will get promoted. However, tensions rise when the manager instead brings in an outsider. |
| 4 | "Harald and Monika" "Harald und Monika" | 18 February 1973 | 95 | Following a visit from Marion's strict mother, Jochen is pressured into proposing. Meanwhile, growing strained relations between Monika and the overbearing Harald start Monika on thoughts of divorce. |
| 5 | "Irmgard and Rolf" "Irmgard und Rolf" | 18 March 1973 | 94 | Upon discovering that the tool factory is being relocated, Jochen and Marion seek a new place while the workers list demands for their growing impatience. |
In December 2016, it was announced that the restored version would have its world premiere in the Berlinale Special section of the 67th Berlin International Film Festival.[3] In September 2017, Arrow Films released this version in a limited edition dual-format DVD and Blu-ray box set in the UK.[4] [5] [6] The UK release runs at the original speed of 25 frames per second.[7] In October 2018, The Criterion Collection released it on DVD and Blu-ray in the USA, slowed to 24 frames per second.[8]