Product Description

The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser - The true and mysterious story of Kaspar Hauser, a young man who suddenly appeared in Nuremberg in 1828. He had been held captive in a dungeon for his entire life that he could remember, and had only just been released, for reasons unknown. Who is this man, and who would want him dead?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39018 in DVD
• Released on: 2002-01-08
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: German
• Subtitled in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 110 minutes

Amazon.com
In his widely acclaimed attempt to fathom The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser, director Werner Herzog probes a real-life mystery that has puzzled German society for nearly two centuries. In the title role, Herzog ingeniously cast the equally mysterious street musician Bruno S., whose mesmerizing performance is unique in the history of film. Isolated since infancy in a dank cellar, the now-adult Kaspar is abandoned in 1820s Nuremburg by his unknown custodian; townsfolk futilely speculate on his origins, and he's shaped by a bourgeois villager who places rigid, conflicting restraints on his new and peculiar perspective on the world around him. It's telling that Herzog's preferred title is Every Man for Himself and God Against All, for this is an eerily effective cautionary tale about an innocent man of nature who moves from one prison to another in a cruelly fateful universe. The mystery lingers, making The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser a deep, resonant reflection on the nature of humanity. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

A beautiful humanistic masterpiece from Herzog.
In this film, Werner Herzog uses the real life enigmatic character of Kasper Hauser to ask such questions as, "Who are we?", "How do we learn?" and "What is it to be human?" Questions of such singular importance that neither science, logic or religious dogma can offer adequate answers. Great truths are felt rather than analyzed and by fleshing out the very humanness of Kasper through the incredible performance of Bruno S., we gain such a sense of right and wrong that societal convention seems out of balance and perverse. In the end we get the feeling that we can only learn anything from Kasper because he looks at the world without prejudice or preconceived notions of right and wrong. The film begins with the following written introduction: "One Sunday in 1828 a ragged boy was found in the town of N. He could hardly walk and spoke but one sentence. Later he told of being locked in a dark cellar from birth. He had never seen a human being, a tree, a house before. To this day on one knows where he came from - or who set him free." Kasper becomes for "civilized" society an experiment in humanity. The only problem is that he does not respond in expected ways, therefore, there must be something wrong with him - some scientifically explainable flaw! But through beautiful effective images we experience Kaspers humanity; the childlike joy he experiences while feeding a baby bird; tears of confusion pouring down his face after getting stung by a candle flame at the hands of those who know better; the tenderness he exhibits with an infant child. As Kasper is introduced to "high" society, essentially as a freakish novelty that can be molded into conformity through "education", it is not he who is the real freak show, but those who seem to be ashamed of their own attachment to nature. Suddenly Kasper is the only non-freak in the film! Herzog seems to have learned much from the story of Kasper Hauser and has created a beautiful testament to that spirit with this film.

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.

Herzog at his finest
In all his ouvre, Herzog has rarely excelled more in sheer humanity of his vision as in The Mystery of Kaspar Hauser. There is little preoccupation with the gross and strange elements that form many of his later films. One can see a similar approach in Signs Of Life and The Land Of Silence And Darkness, and even later in Strozek (also with Bruno S.) but this is his masterpiece. The story of a foundling misunderstood by most and doomed to a tragic end rings true for all of us who care about others marginalized by society. The filmic style is straightforward with little pretense to flashy or overt techniques, but don't fool yourself - the visual style is quite calculated to reveal the inner truths flowing from the soul of Bruno S. This film is absolutely his finest hour (along with Aguirre) and has set the tone for his career to this day.