The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser

Jeder für sich und Gott gegen alle (1974)

Timing: 1:49 (109 min)

7.4/10
303

All about film

Video 2

Photo 5

Actors and characters

Release date

1974-11-01

Country

Germany

Production

ZDF, Werner Herzog Filmproduktion

Genre

Drama, History

Budget

$0

Revenue

$0

Website

Director

Werner Herzog

Actors

Bruno S., Walter Ladengast, Brigitte Mira, Willy Semmelrogge, Kidlat Tahimik, Hans Musäus, Michael Kroecher, Henry van Lyck, Enno Patalas, Volker Elis Pilgrim
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Werner Herzog

Operator

Jörg Schmidt-Reitwein

Composer

Artist

Audition

Editing

Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus
All team (20)

• The film was released on American screens under the title "The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser" (English: The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser).
• The film was shot in the small Bavarian town of Dinkelsbühl.
• Herzog intended to dedicate the film to Lotte Eisner, a prominent researcher of German Expressionism, who was living in Paris at the time. Upon learning of her serious illness, the director, after completing filming, walked 400 miles from Munich to Paris, with a map and compass in hand, "sleeping under bridges," in order to "redeem" her life with his sacrifice.
• Herzog offered the lead role in the film to Bruno S. – a non-professional actor who had spent ten years in an institution for the mentally disabled, although he was not actually disabled: "He looks like a schizophrenic and behaves like a schizophrenic because he was treated so terribly. He simply doesn’t know how to behave," the director believed. He was not deterred by the fact that Bruno was more than twice the age of the historical Kaspar: "What difference does Bruno’s age make? Even if he were 65, I would cast him in this role." Herzog paid Bruno for three months of work on the film, forcing him to open a bank account. After the film’s release, he stated that the actor deserved an "Oscar" and that it was a disgrace that awards went to "someone like John Wayne."
• German critics reproached the director for casting a person who did not fully perceive the world, accusing him of "exploiting" his physical disability.
• According to the director, Bruno S. "was perfectly aware that the film was not only about how society killed Kaspar Hauser, but also about how society destroyed him, Bruno." He even considered naming the film "The Story of Bruno Hauser."