Maria Braun "is certainly not a realistic figure; she is really what you would commonly refer to as a cinema character, i.e. someone who embodies the wishes, properties and desires of the viewers in very condensed form. You could say that she is courageous and ambitious, a woman who relies entirely on her feelings but without being a lame duck. Instead, she is a clever and astute person, capable of acting and never losing touch with reality, yet someone who nevertheless never lets go of her feelings, which is something that normally would not be allowed." (Peter Märtesheimer)
"An original work of epic and poetic quality." (François Truffaut)
"This film I've made, which seems to speak in favor of the institution of marriage, in fact deals with how odious, hypocritical and destructive marriage really is. I want the audience to break with these rituals - the terminal point of a bourgeois lifestyle." (Fassbinder)