Even Dwarfs Started Small (1970)

A group of dwarfs at a correctional facility erupt in anarchy.

Director:

Werner Herzog

Writer:

Werner Herzog

Stars:

Helmut Döring, Paul Glauer, Gisela Hertwig

Cast

Cast overview:
Helmut Döring	...	Hombré
Paul Glauer	...	Erzieher
Gisela Hertwig	...	Pobrecita
Hertel Minkner	...	Chicklets
Gertrud Piccini	...	Piccini
Marianne Saar	...	Theresa
Brigitte Saar	...	Cochina
Gerd Gickel	...	Pepe
Erna Gschwendtner	...	Azucar
Gerhard Maerz	...	Territory
Alfredo Piccini	...	Anselmo
Erna Smollarz	...	Schweppes
Lajos Zsarnoczay	...	Chapparo
Pepi Hermine	...	The President

Storyline

A group of inhabitants of a correctional colony for people of small stature raises a riot against the local order. Tired of adhering to the many rules that require good behavior from them, they decide to become bad. Their immediate leader (also a dwarf) is forced to take refuge in one of the premises while waiting for the police to arrive. Meanwhile, the rioters are having fun: they beat dishes and glasses, start a car and eventually break it, kill a big pig, scoff at blind dwarfs living next door, arrange cockfights, set fire to flowerpots with their favorite colors, and so on.

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Plot Keywords:

actor injured | rebellion | chaos | dwarf | actual animal killed | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

2 February 1971 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

A törpék is kicsin kezdték

Filming Locations:

Canary Islands, Spain

Box Office

Budget:

$200,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Werner Herzog Filmproduktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When filming the car sequence with the cast, the man who climbed on the roof of the car actually fell and was run over by the car. Amazingly, he wasn't injured, and continued filming the scene.

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Quotes

Hombré: When we behave nobody cares. But when we are bad nobody forgets.

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Alternate Versions

UK versions are cut by 2 minutes 17 secs by the BBFC to remove a cockfight and shots of a live crucified monkey.

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Connections

Featured in I Am My Films - A Portrait of Werner Herzog (1978)

User Reviews

This is one of my favorite films ever

This film isn't just depraved and misanthropic, it's depraved and misanthropic with heart.

Despite it's grotesqueness, it depicts a fantasy of rebellion and transgression that I've loved for years. The urge to break free and destroy the confining objects and circumstances of our lives is within all of us. The potential joy of trashing and rendering inoperable our cars, the implements of our work, even our foodstuffs and houses lurks somewhere on a subconcious level, wether we are able to admit it to ourselves or not. Herzog has made an archetypal statement, very simply and unambiguously. The exhilaration of watching these laughing little people dismantle, bludgeon and set fire to their surroundings is immense

I find I have a weird empathy with the character Hombre, the small guy who happily follows the group and laughs while he watches all the destruction. He has a kind of humble nobility which is revealed at the beginning of the film when he refuses to talk to police.