Product Description

Max Von Sydow (The Exorcist, The Seventh Seal, Pelle the Conqueror) and Dominique Sanda (The Garden of the Finzi-Continis, The Conformist) star in this ambitious adaptation of Nobel Prize-winning Herman Hesse's classic novel about the dual nature (the spiritual vs. the physical) of man and his eternal internal struggle to find peace within himself. This exciting version employs animation, special effects, camera trickery, color synthesizers, superimpositions, and fast and slow motion to convey the complex inner life of the aging tortured writer (Von Sydow) who encounters the beautiful muse and alter-ego (Sanda) on his journey of self.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23524 in DVD
• Brand: VON SYDOW,MAX
• Released on: 2006-08-15
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 108 minutes

Features

• Max Von Sydow (The Exorcist, The Seventh Seal, Pelle the Conqueror) and Dominique Sanda (The Garden of the Finzi-Continis, The Conformist) star in this ambitious adaptation of Nobel Prize-winning Herman Hesse'sic novel about the dual nature (the spiritual vs. the physical) of man and his eternal internal struggle to find peace within himself. This exciting version employs animation, special ef

Customer Reviews

Four stars for this underrated masterpiece (three for the DVD)
The Film

I always thought Steppenwolf to be an unfilmable book. Steeped in Jungian psychology and written in an entirely subjective tone, it is immensely complex and thought provoking and one of Hesse's darker books. Although a generation of flower children identified with it, Hesse claimed that a person had to be approaching 50 to fully understand it, as it really is a novel about midlife crisis. It is about finding salvation in self forgiveness and inner tranquility in a world ever spiraling towards madness. As such, it is as relevant today as its setting in prewar (WWII) Germany. The madmen are still out there, set on destruction, and there are still those brave souls who feel compelled to rage against it.

But this is really a novel about the inner journey, the journey of the soul. It needed a visionary director to bring it to the screen and found one in director Fred Haines, who took up this difficult book and against all odds, delivered a flawed masterpiece-flawed because of the overuse of dated video effects and the preponderance of blaring analog synthesizers during the hallucinatory third act. This has been the most criticized segment of the film and it does present some problems to modern viewers. But as representations of psychedelic trips on the silver screen go, it's at least a cut above some of the other often embarassing attempts of the 70's. Still, it is the weakest part of the film and unfortunately, the climax.

Yet standing back, there are many more things to like than dislike about this unique and ambitious film. Max Von Sydow gives one of the finest performances of his distinguished career as the tortured misanthrope, Harry Haller, who we can't help but admire for his values and dogged ideals, but indeed would've been a difficult man to keep company with. Dominique Sanda is appropriately mysterious and deliciously seductive as the ephemeral Hermine, Harry's 'anima woman', the only problem in her performance being her dense accent, which makes her lines very difficult to parse. The same could be said of Pierre Clementi, whose accent is as thick as goose pate, but otherwise does a fine job as the hedonistic mystic sax player, Pablo.

The dark look of the film and the brooding score (other than the aforementioned synthesizer blips,) by jazz composer George Gruntz are spot on. There is a marvelous sense of place throughout the film. The location settings are very beautiful and perfectly in keeping with the film's solemn atmosphere.

This film ultimately transcends its period and its technical limitations to deliver a timeless message of renewal and hope. Underneath its dark exterior dwells a comedy, the human comedy to be precise. The more times I have viewed this film, the more funny it seems to me. Hesse's Harry is not judged harshly by the gods. Instead, Divine Providence (and his own finer instincts) gently guides his tormented soul back into life and back to his core belief in a benign universe.

Enjoy the Magic Theater. But remember, "For Madmen Only-Not for everybody!"


The DVD -

First the bad news: It is not widescreen (big mistake!)The good news is, It looks better than I thought it would. Actually, it's pretty clean.There is definitely more detail in this version than the VHS release. There are occasional inexplicable shifting color artifacts lurking in the background, but other than that it is pretty sharp looking, especially when compared to my ancient vhs copy.

It appears to have been transferred from a decent print. There are a few small momentary blobs that should have been cleaned up, but nothing critical. The sound is decent but nothing to crow about. There is static here and there, probably artifacts from the old analog print. Digital cleanup should have been applied to the audio as well, but I didn't expect it from these guys.

About the coolest thing about the DVD is the ability to turn on english subtitles. I thought I had deciphered the dialogue over repeated viewings, but I was in for a few interesting surprises. I definitely recommend viewing this film with english subtitles on, at least for the first time. It really helps.

As far as extras go, there is a trailer (unfortunately with the movie's corniest synth piece on it) and nothing else. Hopefully one day the widescreen, digitally remastered version will be released, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Until then I'll just have to be content with this improvement over the VHS tape I have treasured all these years.


NOTE: I believe that Okayuma's "Mystery of Rampo" (1994) was very influenced by the film Steppenwolf. There are just too many parallels in the structures of these two films to be a mere coincidence. Both films are very psychological and deal with the internal world, within which the line between objective and subjective reality is not clearly delineated.

Both films have an animated expository sequence at around 15 minutes into the film. Both films end with a non linear "trip" wherein reality breaks down and the dream takes over. There are specific shots in Rampo that bear an uncanny resemblance to its predecessor:a long closeup pan of old hardcover books in a bookcase transistions to a fountain pen scratching out a line on parchment. A golden music box plays a nostalgic tune...too many things to be merely coincidental. Both are of course, 'anima films'. It makes total sense that Okayuma would reference his own startlingly original film to this minor masterpiece. Together, they would make a great double bill. 'Rampo' is highly recommended to fans of Steppenwolf.

Finally available
Finally this incredible adaptation of Hermann Hesse's nobelprize winning book will become available here too.
I first saw this movie in the 70's on a late night program in Germany and ever since have been hoping it will one day appear on DVD.
Max v. Sydow is very good here,probably one of his best performances.You couldn't think of a better Harry Haller.
Also the locations are fantastic and really get the atmoshere from the book brilliantly across.
This is the kind of movie one can only wish they would still do today.
Definetly one of the best adaptations I have seen.
Congratulations to the director and cinematography for having a superb vision to get this difficult material into such an exciting and inspiring movie.
Maybe not a very commercial project but one that will definetly be enjoyed by the people who have read and liked this book for a long time.
Classic!

For some of us, it's not not metaphorical or allegorical - it's our "actual" trip through space and time
I'm awarding this flawed film 5 stars despite all the things that trendy, critical people trash it for -- it's datedness, the franco-italian-british coproduction problems of dialogue and accents. ANY film gets dated to younger eyes, and there are few, well except for "La Dolce Vita", that manage to always look timeless.

Why 5 stars? Well, I don't think I would have had a sensible map for my strange life had I not seen this film way back when. Harry's encounters with Pablo and Hermine mirror my own journey -- not just inner symbols -- but inner symbols that came to life in my outer world. It perplexes me that people suggest that the third act is a hallucincation. The whole point of the film is that your entire so-called existence is a hallucination, pal: a trick of Maya, a deft Matrix, so to speak, that has been foisted upon us for... ever since a body appeared on consciousness and mouthed "I AM".

Of course, some will say that's a romantic notion, or some existential nonsense. I leave viewers to suffer their own life-concepts and belief systems and make them real as they want to. I found a lovely truth and a great youth and early adulthood in STEPPENWOLF that continues to shape my journey.

Does this film have flaws. Why, yes. Some of the dialog is arch, especially some of Pablo's pronouncements. One wishes Fred Haines had enjoyed access to current technology to reshoot and reimagine the so-called "Magic Theater" sequence. I personally have no problem with Gruntz' score -- other than it has never been pressed for consumption. It's a lovely mix of waltzes, 30s jazz, and mid-70s synth-jazz. I still hum a lot of its memorable tunes. There's a great sax solo in the Black Eagle when Harry Haller and his alter-ego Hermine dance the foxtrot.

There are classic moments: a flip, camp Herr Goethe telling the serious, somber Harry, "It don't matter, honey."

I wish the transfer had been better, with features added. I suppose too much time has passed (33 years).

In time, one hopes, a hunger for such journeys of the spirit in film will return. This one -- along with Nic Roeg's PERFORMANCE -- comes closest to my truth and experience of travelling through time and consciousness, so those of you on that train will enjoy it, despite its dated limitations.

Oh yes... there is always Dominique Sanda to look at.

'So.. your soul has fallen to pieces.. Great! Put it back together again. Any door you like.'