"Berlin Alexanderplatz 1931" is available in a fairly clear version with optional English subtitles on youtube. The story, described in other reviews, is basically the sad experiences of one of Weimar Germany's "kleine menschen". Everything about this film is interesting - the acting, the scenes of Berlin in those days, even the musical score. Of course, the story is somewhat depressing, and it is hard to imagine sitting through the Fassbinder film - over fifteen hours of it - despite the rave reviews. I have not, and probably will not. Anyway, a film made closer to the time and place, just two years after the novel, will necessarily have certain qualities that would escape the most elegant remake possible.