Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28098 in VHS
• Released on: 1998-01-01
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Formats: Color, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English, German
• Number of tapes: 1
• Running time: 115 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
Stroszek is one of Werner Herzog's most accessible films, and one of his best. Herzog's clever use of kitschy folk music is just one perfect element in this mesmerizing, seriocomic "ballad" of America, in which a trio of unlikely friends leave their dreary lives in Berlin, certain that wealth and comfort await in America. Their naive American dream turns sour in rural Wisconsin, and the title character (played by Bruno S., the fascinating nonactor from Herzog's The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser) becomes an insanely tragic figure, celebrating a bitterly absurd Thanksgiving in the film's unforgettable closing scenes. By fusing his own intuitive, enigmatic style with factual details from the life of Bruno S., Herzog captures the elusive "ecstatic truth" that motivates his enduring cinematic vision. While deepening one of the most unusual actor-director collaborations in the history of film, Stroszek presents an American nightmare that's funny, bizarre, and deeply, magnificently human. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Thrilling to read these great reviews
It really is exciting to read these great reviews about "Stroszek." About twenty years ago, I met Herzog and was given the opportunity to play the young banker who reposesses the mobile home in this film. It was a wonderful experience...and something I look back on with great joy. I know I am biased, but this truly is a great film.

Herzog's Humanity
Stoszek is a extraordinary patchwork of reality and fiction, German and English, introspection and extroversion. It's many unique images do not go away: a bottle of water that captures a live Breugel-like snow scene, rifle-toting farmers on tractors defending their strip of land, a wizened little man testing fence posts with a voltmeter, and the truly haunting "Dancing Chicken". Herzog, with the eye and ear of a poet, captures these and more, including the unforgettable and weighty performances by the many amateur actors.

Most welcomed of this DVD is the commentary track by Herzog. It's like watching a second film. To see the same images while hearing his stories deepens the impact of Stroszek. We learn the fascinating backgrounds of the curious individuals involved: the dangerous Hamburg Prince, the compassionate doctor in the Preemie Ward, Al the trucker-pimp, Clayton the beer-swilling mechanic, the unnamed "extras" in the fields and truck stops of Wisconsin, and, of course, Bruno S. himself.

Probably Herzog's Best
"Stroszek" is probably German director Werner Herzog's best film. It's a strange, unpredictable, and oddly funny movie. It's about a Berlin ex-con, Bruno Stroszek (played by a real-life disturbed street musician, Bruno S.), his prostitute girlfriend Eva, and his borderline-senile landlord Scheitz. After being repeatedly terrorized by Eva's pimps, they move to Wisconsin to live with some of Scheitz's friends and, hopefully, encounter the American dream. Revealing any more of the plot would be a crime. "Stroszek" not only has a terrific, haunting performance by Bruno S., but it contains the most fascinating depiction of America I have ever seen in a movie, as well as one of filmdom's funniest bank robberies.
The DVD has "Stroszek" in an aspect ratio of about 1.85:1. It's a bit grainy towards the beginning, but overall it looks pretty good, especially in the Wisconsin scenes. Of the extras, the most interesting is Herzog's commentary, basically an extended interview with a film historian named Norman Hill. It's a very fascinating blend of production tidbits, information about Bruno S., and some of Herzog's trademark tall tales. Also included are production notes (with are actually devoted more to film analysis and Herzog's relationship with Bruno S. than they are to production), a worthwhile Herzog biography, and a German trailer.