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The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser | |
|---|---|
 English Language DVD cover for The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser |
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| Directed by | Werner Herzog |
| Produced by | Werner Herzog |
| Written by | Werner Herzog |
| Starring | Bruno S. Walter Ladengast |
| Music by | Florian Fricke |
| Cinematography | Jörg Schmidt-Reitwein |
| Editing by | Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus |
| Release date(s) | 1974 |
| Running time | 110 min. |
| Country | West Germany |
| Language | German |
| IMDb profile | |
The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (West German title: Jeder für sich und Gott gegen alle; English translation: Every man for himself and God against all) is a 1974 German film written and directed by Werner Herzog revisiting the legend of Kaspar Hauser.
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Kaspar Hauser (Bruno S.) lived for the first 17 years of his life in a cellar devoid of all human contact, fed by a stranger, in 19th century Germany. One day in 1828 this same stranger teaches him how to walk and leaves him in the town of Nuremberg. He is the subject of the curiosity of all and is even exhibited in a circus before being rescued by Herr Daumer (Walter Ladengast) who patiently attempts to transform him. Kaspar soon learns to read and write and develops unorthodox approaches to religion and logic. Music is what pleases him most in this civilized world he would soon leave when he is one day mysteriously stabbed, perhaps by the same man who brought him to Nuremberg. Kaspar rests in bed describing visions he had of the desert, and dies shortly thereafter.
Herzog discovered the lead actor, Bruno S. in a documentary about street musicians. Herzog was facinated with Bruno and, despite the fact that he had no training as an actor, cast him as the lead in two of his films, The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser and Stroszek.
Bruno's own life bears some similarities to Kaspar Hauser's, and his own unbalanced personality was often expressed on set. In Herzog's commentary to the English language DVD release, Herzog tells that Bruno remained in costume for the entire duration of the production, even after shooting was done for the day. Herzog once visited him in his apartment, to find him sleeping on the floor by the door, in his costume.
The film follows the real story of Kaspar Hauser quite closely, using the text of actual letters found with Hauser, and following many details in the opening sequence of Hauser's confinement and release. One departure is Hauser's age: the historical Hauser was 17 when he was discovered in Nuremberg. The film does not specify Kaspar's age, but he appears to be in his late 20s or early 30s. Actually, Bruno was 41 years old at the time of filming.
The outdoor scenes were filmed in the town of Dinkelsbühl.
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Herakles (1962) Game in The Sand (1964) • Last Words (1967) • The Unprecedented Defence of the Fortress Deutschkreuz (1967) • Signs of Life (1968) • The Flying Doctors of East Africa (1969) • Precautions Against Fanatics (1969) • Even Dwarfs Started Small (1970) • Handicapped Future (1971) • Land of Silence and Darkness (1971) • Fata Morgana (1971) • Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972) • The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner (1974) • The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974) • Heart of Glass (1976) • No One Will Play with Me (1976) • How much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck (1976) • Stroszek (1977) • La Soufrière (1977) • Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) • Woyzeck (1979) • Huie's Sermon (1980) • God's Angry Man (1980) • Glaube und Währung (1980) • Fitzcarraldo (1982) • Ballad of the Little Soldier (1984) • The Dark Glow of the Mountains (1984) • Where the Green Ants Dream (1984) • Cobra Verde (1987) • The French as seen by... (1988) • Wodaabe - Herdsmen of the Sun (1989) • Film Lesson 1-4 (1990) • Echoes From a Somber Empire (1990) • Jag Mandir (1991) • Scream of Stone (1991) • Lessons of Darkness (1992) • Bells from the Deep (1993) • The Transformation of the World Into Music (1994) • Gesualdo: Death for Five Voices (1995) • Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997) • The Lord and the Laden (1999) • My Best Fiend (1999) • Wings of Hope (2000) • Invincible (2001) • Pilgrimage (2001) • Ten Minutes Older (2002) • Wheel of Time (2003) • The White Diamond (2004) • Grizzly Man (2005) • The Wild Blue Yonder (2005) • Rescue Dawn (2006)
