The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser Blu-ray Movie Review

The Wild Adult.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 20, 2014

Note: This title is currently available as part of Herzog: The Collection.

Has there ever been a more fascinating figure in film than Werner Herzog? This much debated individual, one who elicits both hyperbolic accolades and equally exaggerated derision, has been a seeming force of nature in film for decades, helping to define the New German Cinema (a somewhat later analog to the French New Wave). Herzog’s filmography is rather breathtakingly diverse, traversing both traditional fiction, quasi-biographies, and a large number of documentaries. Through it all, Herzog himself has become the subject of considerable controversy, at times seeming to be as obsessively motivated as some of his film subjects. The auteur’s off kilter blend of nihilism and often black humor has given him and his films a decidedly unique place in contemporary media, to the point that a supposed note Herzog jotted off to his cleaning lady became an internet sensation (it’s actually a brilliantly written parody by Dale Shaw). Shout! Factory, a label which repeatedly stubbed its corporate toe on its last big deluxe boxed set built around the talents of one person (Bruce Lee: The Legacy Collection, the only time in my reviewing career I have had to start over from scratch due to a complete recall and reissue) may seem to be throwing caution to the wind by upping the ante with this release. Here there are no fewer than 16 films by Herzog, housed in a handsome hardback booklike case that also features a wealth of text and information about each of the films. Fifteen of the films are new to Blu-ray (Shout's horror imprint Scream Factory released Herzog's Nosferatu the Vampyre as a standalone a few months ago), and the offerings here cover both iconic films in Herzog's oeuvre as well as some oddities. The extremely handsome packaging offers a 7.5" x 7.5" x 1.5" hardback book exterior casing which houses heavy cardstock pocket holders that contain the discs. Also included are The Werner Herzog Condition by Stephen J. Smith, an appreciation of the director's work with essays about each of the films. The films get even more text in write-ups by Chris Wahl and Brad Prager. Each of the pocket holder pages details the film (or in some cases, films) on each disc, with audio options and special features listed.

Many of Werner Herzog’s films are so bracingly original that they seem virtually sui generis, so that when there’s an actual cinematic antecedent to one of his outings, it can almost seem shocking. Four years before Herzog brought The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser to the screen, another iconic filmmaker, François Truffaut, covered somewhat the same territory in his 1970 sensation The Wild Child. In both films, a so-called feral child with little or no human contact during his formative years is discovered and an attempt is made to integrate the youth into “normal” everyday society. Both the Truffaut film and the Herzog film were based on actual historical events, but as might be expected given the different temperaments of the directors involved, the films are quite different despite exploring similar themes of innocence and cruelty, “noble” savagery and civilization, and nature doing most of the nurturing. There was a real life Kaspar Hauser, and once he learned to write, he evidently left copious documentation behind, and that provided quite a bit of the source material for Herzog’s film. But this is no mere verité style quasi-documentary, as is the case with some other Herzog films, due at least in part to how bizarre the facts behind Kaspar Hauser’s troubled and troubling existence were. Because of the oddities concerning both Hauser’s sequestered childhood and youth, as well as his ultimate demise (which may be intimately linked, as the film depicts), The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser is probably one of the few examples of an Expressionist biographical film (there's little doubt that some of Herzog's other quasi- biographical films would fit into this category).

Kaspar (Bruno S.) is first shown in the little dungeon hovel where he evidently spent the first several years of his life (it’s worth noting that the real life Kaspar was a teenager when he was found, while Bruno S. is a middle aged man). Kaspar spends his time playing with a tiny wooden horse which seems to be his sole chance to really interact with anything. Suddenly, though, we become aware that a mysterious man (Hans Musäus) is in fact looking in on Kaspar, though his interactions with Kaspar are decidedly on the brusque side. The man teaches Kaspar to sign his own name, gets the “boy” up on his feet, and delivers him to the town square in Nuremberg, replete with an “introductory” note in his hand.

Kaspar is quickly deemed not to be a threat, and in fact the character’s sweet if often quite bizarre demeanor soon helps him to ingratiates himself to many in the town. He’s taken in by a kindly man named Herr Daumer (Walter Ladengast), who begins to help Kaspar matriculate into society. The film follows the halting if ultimately rather amazing progress Kaspar makes, while also exploring how a naïf like Kaspar responds to things like a flame (it hurts!) or even music (this “hurts”, too, according to a now verbal Kaspar though in a different way). Kaspar briefly becomes a side show attraction in a circus, but the film actually shows at least as many people reaching out to help the man as there are those wishing to exploit him.

Aside from the purely amazing air that Kaspar’s story emanates, the film is elevated by the completely unique performing style of Bruno S. (standing for Schleinstein), a nonprofessional whose only real performing experience was as a busker. Bruno simply becomes Kaspar in this film (Herzog recounts how the newly christened “actor” kind of took Method approaches completely to heart during the shoot), and his wide eyed, stumbling performance is unforgettable. It’s especially notable how Bruno gives completely odd—yet, considering the character’s history, accurate feeling—line readings, where even a desperate situation like being stabbed is dealt with in a kind of sanguine, matter of fact manner.

While it’s perfectly possible to see Herzog’s always trenchant nihilism bubbling up from beneath the historical foundations of this tale, The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser is really not philosophical in the same sense that some of Herzog’s other films are. The real artifice of this film is summed up perfectly in the final lines delivered by one of the officials conducting Kaspar’s autopsy. The dissection uncovers certain physical abnormalities in the man, and finally the citizens of Nuremberg feel they have an answer to the enigma which has haunted them for several years. Herzog obviously wants us to see that some questions are ultimately unanswerable.

The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser features an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.66:1. The film has a gritty and sometimes diffuse appearance, though colors are often boldly saturated and accurate looking. While the grain field is quite fine in this presentation, it looks natural and organic, if fairly unobtrusive most of the time. Grain is considerably more noticeable in the two "visions" that Hauser has toward the end of the field, and these sequences are also noticeably softer than even the bulk of the presentation. While contrast is generally strong, there are intermittent issues with crush. Fine detail is commendable in close-ups, while some midrange shots are less satisfying. The elements are in generally good condition, and the image remains stable. Even Herzog's traditional mist strewn hills and lakes resolve effortlessly here, though there are some minor compression artifacts that crop up in a couple of darker scenes.

The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Enigma of Kasper Hauser's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track is never less than listenable, but it comes with some issues. The track emanates near constant hiss which overwhelms the quiet scenes and is still quite noticeable even in dialogue scenes and those utilizing the classical music cues. More troublingly, there are quite a few pops and cracks along the way, not necessarily due to some of the vintage recordings Herzog utilizes as source cues. All of this said, dialogue is still always easy to hear, and the track, while evidencing hiss on the high end, has a nicely full midrange.

The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• English Commentary with Director Werner Herzog is hosted by Norman Hill. Herzog is his usual entertaining self here, but he's also incredibly well informed on the ins and outs of the real Kaspar's life and the many books and articles which have been written about him in the intervening years.


• Trailer (1080p; 2:52)

The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The tale of Kaspar Hauser is so amazing that Herzog really didn't need to "tart it up" much, and the good news is, he plays it relatively restrained here, delivering a fascinating and completely unique film, one anchored by the unforgettable performance by Bruno S. as the "feral teen" who manages to make a life for himself in a more cultured environment. The original title of this film was Every Man For Himself, and God Against All, perhaps one of the more potent summations of the Herzogian philosophy available. The technical merits here have a few issues, but nothing that's a deal killer. Highly recommended.