Reviews (10)

A MASTERPIECE, ONE OF THE GREATEST FILMS EVER MADE!
Werner Herzog's Stroszek (1977) is one of the ten greatest films ever made. It's almost equally as good as Herzog's The Enigma of Kasper Hauser (1974) and Aguirre the Wrath of God (1973).

Bruno S., the unknown soldier of cinema once again gives one of the finest performances I've ever seen. Eva Mattes is also wonderful as the prostitute Eva who along with Bruno and Herr Scheitz decide to emigrate from Berlin to Wisconsin to fulfill the elusive American dream. This tragicomedy is one of the bleakest films I've ever seen and also one of the funniest.

Herzog's brilliant film making style gives the entire film the look and feel of a documentary, yet like all of his films Stroszek is highly stylized. An absolute masterpiece! Rating: A 10 out of 10.

A Rare Gem
I find it frustrating that American filmmakers cannot make a film as good as this one is. The whole story of misplaced hopes and lost dreams on the dreary American landscape is more powerful in it's telling than many films have been. The action of this film moves us from birth to death in a philosophical journey of the soul. The arrival of these obviously hopeful and distraught people on American shores is like the rebirth many immigrants went through when they escaped their own countries and arrived here. Dreams of streets paved with gold and the easy credit of American commerce is the undoing of many yet, here we see the disaster of it all. One doesn't have to be a recent immigrant to experience the foibles of modern credit like our characters do. They exemplify it though and it is to their peril that they do not understand it. The closing scene where we hear the solitary gunshot is most powerful. That it is done near a roadside zoo with it's caged animals is perfect because it portrays the cage our man has put himself into. There is only one way out, he takes it. Like many powerful financiers of the twenties who lost everything he does the only thing which will solve his problems.
The gunshot is his goodbye to his problems and the beginning of his new life. A shame that American studios cannot produce movies such as this. They are in need of lessons from directors who understand cinema and should study films of this type. Maybe they will be able to improve the fare they offer to us.

1st favorite farting film
The 2nd favorite, if you are interested, is Good Morning, by Ozu, of course, of course.
I am not interested in contracting AIDS! Sorry!

"Is This Really Me?"
Absolutely brilliant. Stroszek is THE quintessential film on the American experience. A dark fable revolving around the hopes and dreams of three postwar Germans and the disintegration of a relationship. But also incredibly funny and cynical. Herzog's best film to date, in my opinion.

GREAT MOVIE
Superb direction.

Once again, Herzog takes relative unknown and fairly untested talent, mixes in a few real actors and come away with a movie that's much,much more than following the typical storyline to the end.

As funny as you want, as dramatic as possible. Herzog is a genius. He's done it again!!! ... Read more

Reviews (17)

Excellent and Moving Film
Werner Herzog makes great and fascinating movies - there's no doubt about it. His films are just "neat" (for lack of a better word). I love Herzong's films, and the "Enigma of Kaspar Hauser" is one of his best. This movie represents well, the Romantic era in general. It's very well done, historically.
I don't know much about the true story behind Kaspar Hauser's life: who he was, where he came from, etc., but this movie held my interest deeply. It was a perplexing and stimulating story that truly made me think about a lot of things.
Bruno S. always wanted his identity to be kept somewhat secret, so that is why we call him "Bruno S.". You gotta' respect that kind of "anti-Hollywood" mentality - that's so antifamous and noble. The lead character is brilliant in this film and Bruno S. should have received an Oscar. This is a true and genuine performance; so real. This is one of those roles that no one else could have ever played. It was made for Bruno and he for it. Bruno S. is Kaspar Hauser and Kaspar Hauser is Bruno S.!
This movie is wonderful - I loved every minute of it. Werner Herzong is a genius and Bruno S. is a natural!

This DVD comes with a nice picture (slightly grainy) and with a commentary soundtrack by a film critic interviewing director Werner Herzog himself.

There are really good movies...
...there are great movies, and then there is "Kaspar Hauser". Those unfamiliar with it, or unfamiliar with the films of Werner Herzog in general, should remedy the situation at their earliest convenience.

If you have ever been stirred to the marrow by a film performance, grab plenty of Kleenex -maybe don a raincoat- before sitting down to meet Bruno S.

God bless Werner Herzog.

The Most Powerful Film Ever Made
Not only is The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser Werner Herzog's best film but it is without question one of the 5 greatest films of all time. This movie has some of the most astonishing and powerful images ever committed to film. One of the opening shot's is that of a wheat field blowing in the wind while Pachelbel's Cannon plays and the following words appear on the screen; "Don't you hear that horrible screaming all around you? That screaming men call silence." This sequence perfectly captures the essence of this film. The beauty of suffering seen through the eyes of a man that is completing untainted and untouched by society. This movie will change your life. This movie has amazing cinematography, a genius use of music, astonishing performances and Werner Herzog's direction is unbelievable.

Kaspar Hauser by any other name . . .
First, the original title of this film is *not* The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser. It's Every Man For Himself And God Against All. The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser - also The Mystery of Kaspar Hauser - are America-only titles. That really doesn't detract from anything, but if you're ever looking for information on the film, you might want to know.

This is a great dvd, with a mildly informative biography of Herzog and (yay!) commentary from him.

The commentary is very worth listening to - more informative, I think, than the Criterion version's film essay would have been in this case. Herzog is a very interesting man with a very storied past, and this commentary explores that. Norman Hill - who shares the English track - seems to have been put there for the sole purpose of prompting Herzog into speech and gets grating after a while.

The movie itself is also wonderful - even if it feels at times to be missing Klaus Kinski, Herzog's lifelong friend and actor. This is due mainly to the way that Kaspar Hauser shares the feel of Herzog's more famous work, Aguirre - The Wrath of God. Many of the shots are the same: foggy landscapes shot through multiple lenses to disassociate the viewer from them, images of isolation on the water, and, of course, the controlled manner of speech which Bruno S. adopts for the film. There's even a moment where Bruno steps out in front of the camera in the very same fashion that Kinski invented for Aguirre.

A very worthwhile DVD, my only problem comes with the subtitles. While they seem (mostly - Herzog comments on one or two moments) to be adequate translations, they are at times unreadable. I'm not sure how escapable that is given that this is a colour film, but it seems Criterion have done an ample job on similar works. Cries and Whispers comes to mind. That one flaw, however, is minor and should in no way detract you from purchasing.

Excellent transfer of superb, unique film
This has been a favorite since I first saw it in a college film series soon after it came out. Among the 80 or so DVDs I have bought, I rank it at the very top for fidelity to the color and texture of the original film. The sound is also crystal clear. If you look hard enough you'll find the occasional artifact, but they are drowned out for me by the natural look.
I hope the DVD version brings this treasure to a whole new audience.
(An added bonus for students of German is the ability to turn off the subtitles.)
Now all I want to know is when the hell I'll be able to get La Dolce Vita on DVD! ... Read more

Description

Bruno Stroszek is released from prison and ekes out a living as a street musician. He befriends Eva, a prostitute down on her luck. After they are harried and beaten by Eva's pimps, they join Bruno's neighbor, Scheitz, an elderly eccentric, when he leaves Germany to live in Wisconsin in search of the American dream. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

A MASTERPIECE, ONE OF THE GREATEST FILMS EVER MADE!
Werner Herzog's Stroszek (1977) is one of the ten greatest films ever made. It's almost equally as good as Herzog's The Enigma of Kasper Hauser (1974) and Aguirre the Wrath of God (1973).

Bruno S., the unknown soldier of cinema once again gives one of the finest performances I've ever seen. Eva Mattes is also wonderful as the prostitute Eva who along with Bruno and Herr Scheitz decide to emigrate from Berlin to Wisconsin to fulfill the elusive American dream. This tragicomedy is one of the bleakest films I've ever seen and also one of the funniest.

Herzog's brilliant film making style gives the entire film the look and feel of a documentary, yet like all of his films Stroszek is highly stylized. An absolute masterpiece! Rating: A 10 out of 10.

A Rare Gem
I find it frustrating that American filmmakers cannot make a film as good as this one is. The whole story of misplaced hopes and lost dreams on the dreary American landscape is more powerful in it's telling than many films have been. The action of this film moves us from birth to death in a philosophical journey of the soul. The arrival of these obviously hopeful and distraught people on American shores is like the rebirth many immigrants went through when they escaped their own countries and arrived here. Dreams of streets paved with gold and the easy credit of American commerce is the undoing of many yet, here we see the disaster of it all. One doesn't have to be a recent immigrant to experience the foibles of modern credit like our characters do. They exemplify it though and it is to their peril that they do not understand it. The closing scene where we hear the solitary gunshot is most powerful. That it is done near a roadside zoo with it's caged animals is perfect because it portrays the cage our man has put himself into. There is only one way out, he takes it. Like many powerful financiers of the twenties who lost everything he does the only thing which will solve his problems.
The gunshot is his goodbye to his problems and the beginning of his new life. A shame that American studios cannot produce movies such as this. They are in need of lessons from directors who understand cinema and should study films of this type. Maybe they will be able to improve the fare they offer to us.

1st favorite farting film
The 2nd favorite, if you are interested, is Good Morning, by Ozu, of course, of course.
I am not interested in contracting AIDS! Sorry!

"Is This Really Me?"
Absolutely brilliant. Stroszek is THE quintessential film on the American experience. A dark fable revolving around the hopes and dreams of three postwar Germans and the disintegration of a relationship. But also incredibly funny and cynical. Herzog's best film to date, in my opinion.

GREAT MOVIE
Superb direction.

Once again, Herzog takes relative unknown and fairly untested talent, mixes in a few real actors and come away with a movie that's much,much more than following the typical storyline to the end.

As funny as you want, as dramatic as possible. Herzog is a genius. He's done it again!!! ... Read more