Steppenwolf
by Fred Haines
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Carla Romanelli, Dominique Sanda, Max von Sydow, Pierre Clémenti, Roy BosierDirector: Fred Haines
Brand: Image Entertainment
Cinematographer: Tomislav Pinter
Writer: Fred Haines
Editor: Irving Lerner
Producer: Melvin Fishman
Producer: Richard Herland
Producer: Thilo Theilen
Writer: Hermann Hesse
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 107 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-08-15
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Homevision
Movie Reviews of Steppenwolf
Movie Review: For madmen only
Summary: 5 Stars
The works of Herman Hesse have come in and out of fashion over the last century. I first saw Steppenwolf on a wet Sydney night in the Glebe Valhalla - an encore cinema double with Siddhartha at the tail-end of his last great resurgence, in the mid-1970's.
As an eighteen year old, it was Steppenwolf in particular that spoke to me that night - the whirl of 20's jazz set against the great German masters; the prematurely aging protagonist Harry (Max von Sydow) full of wolfish disdain and thoughts of death swept up into the mysteries of beauty, raw vitality and alternative realities, guided by the stunning Hermine (Dominique Sanda); the decadent Pablo (Pierre Clémenti) and the sensuous Maria (Carla Romanelli).
If you have read any of Hesse's novels then I expect you will recognise the fond filmic echoes of 19th century German village streets from 'Demian' or 'Peter Kamenzind', the curious psychological sub-texts which rise and fade throughout, the innocent love, the fury at the bourgeoisie.
But it was Steppenwolf that was adopted by the hippie generation as a touchstone for their psychedelic experimentations and this film, released in 1974, also references this modern interpretation of Hesse's work. Hesse was in fact exploring his own reality with the Jungian psychoanalyst J.B. Lang during periods of writing this book, between 1924 and 1928.
I really can't claim to understand the Jungian references between the four major characters in the novel/film and the psychological archetypes and personas of Jung. Nevertheless, the strength of the journey Harry undertakes, and the realisations he makes about the spiritual and the physical have stayed deeply rooted within me since that first viewing.
To watch it again, 30 years later, at the same age as Harry is in the film, was an eery experience - but extremely life-affirming.
This won't be a film for every-one: the special effects are dated, and the necessary contraction of the novel into a screenplay can always be criticised. Yet to me the director and writer Fred Haines has captured the essence of Hesse and his youthful appeal in this film, and combined with brilliant performances from the small cast has created a true masterpiece.
[A final technical comment on the DVD for those purchasing outside the USA - this Home Vision Entertainment release is strictly Region 1 encoded - it would not play on my new DVD player in Australia, but my laptop was able to switch to Region 1 mode and play it satisfactorily. This may not be a real problem for those with multi-region players.]
Summary of Steppenwolf
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