The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974)

Herzog's film is based upon the true and mysterious story of Kaspar Hauser, a young man who suddenly appeared in Nuremberg in 1828, barely able to talk or walk, and bearing a strange note.

Director:

Werner Herzog

Writer:

Werner Herzog (book)

Stars:

Bruno S., Walter Ladengast, Brigitte Mira

5 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruno S.	...	Kaspar Hauser
Walter Ladengast	...	Professor Daumer
Brigitte Mira	...	Kathe, Servant
Willy Semmelrogge	...	Circus director
Michael Kroecher	...	Lord Stanhope
Hans Musäus	...	Unknown Man
Henry van Lyck	...	Cavalry Captain
Gloria Doer	...	Frau Hiltel
Volker Prechtel	...	Hiltel the prison guard
Herbert Achternbusch	...	Bavarian Chicken Hypnotizer
Wolfgang Bauer
Wilhelm Bayer	...	Taunting Farmboy
Franz Brumbach
Johannes Buzalski
Helmut Döring	...	Little King

Storyline

Herzog's film is based upon the true and mysterious story of Kaspar Hauser, a young man who suddenly appeared in Nuremberg in 1828, barely able to talk or walk, and bearing a strange note; he later explained that he had been held captive in a dungeon of some sort for his entire life that he could remember, and only recently was he released, for reasons unknown. His benefactor attempts to integrate him into society, with intriguing results.

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Plot Keywords:

nuremberg | captive | unknown | new german cinema | playing piano | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

1 November 1974 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser

Filming Locations:

Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Werner Herzog Filmproduktion,Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF),Filmverlag der Autoren

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor) (uncredited)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Werner Herzog's said at his Rogue Film School, that the following scenes were shot with a Super-8mm camera: a) The opening scene on the river. b) The montage of landscape shots early in the film. c) Right after the man in black teaches Kaspar how to walk. d) The Caucasus pyramid sequence. e) The caravan in the desert with the old man tasting the sand. Herzog talked about how, for some of the landscape shots early in the film, he mounted a telephoto lens on the end of wide angle lens onto his Super 8 camera. This distorted the edges of the images and created a white/halo effect around the frame. On the DVD audio commentary of this film, he mentions how for the Caucasus pyramid sequence he projected the image onto a screen and then re-photographed the image with a 35mm camera at a different frame rate from the projected speed. He also used this technique with the caravan in the desert sequence.

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Goofs

After Kaspar is left in the town square, there is one shot of him where the way he holds the note, and the way the bandanna is tied, that is different from before or after.

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Quotes

Professor Daumer: Kaspar, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?
Kaspar Hauser: It feels strong in my heart... The music feels strong in my heart... I feel so unexpectedly old...
Professor Daumer: You've been such a short time in the world, Kaspar...
Kaspar Hauser: Why is everything so hard for me? Why can't I play the piano like I can breathe?
Professor Daumer: In the two short years you have been here with me, you have learned so much! The people here want to help you make up for lost time.
Kaspar Hauser: The people are like wolves to me.
Professor Daumer: No. You mustn't say that...

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: One Sunday in 1828 a ragged boy was found abandoned 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 another human being, a tree, a house before.

To this day no one knows where he came from - or who set him free.

Don't you hear that horrible screaming all around you? That screaming men call silence?

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Connections

Referenced in Omnibus: Signs of Vigorous Life: The New German Cinema (1976)

User Reviews

The story of a soul

"This is the story of a soul", someone said and I agree because loneliness is here described through a slow moving plot and endless silences which make us see Kaspar Hauser not as a man but as something more sulfuric, almost a being from outer space. The performance of Bruno S. is simply moving and caused me a lot of tears and the use of time through the narration is perfect for a film of this kind. The poetic vision of Werner Herzog is very peculiar and unique and you can love it or hate it but you cannot ignore it. Herzog doesn't care about the audience, he tells what it wants in the way he likes and that's the praise and the defect of European cinema and it's what makes the difference between European authors and American ones.