Steppenwolf
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Movie Reviews of Steppenwolf
Movie Review: Good, but missing something . . .
Summary: 4 Stars
This film captures a lot of the spirit of the book, for example, some of the best scenes are of the bizarre "Goethe" character. Despite these particular amusements though, the film fails to capture the essence of the book by its ending.
I have read the book countless times and written various papers and articles on it, therefore, I basically know all of the symbolism and meanings and so forth; however, for someone not familiar with Hesse's work, this might prove to be a very confusing roller-coaster ride. It is strongly suggested that one read the book before attempting to view the film. The book is actually easier to understand than the film, at least for "first timers."
Movie Review: Lost your number? Take mine!
Summary: 5 Stars
Aw, Mama, can this really be the end? Birthday boy Harry reaches
in the pocket of his mystery robe, and whips out a shaving kit.
Now who's thinking bourgeois, honey? Last seen enroute to Pablo's
place, he takes a moment for a joke, an hypothetical threesome (it
would have been so beautiful, so very beautiful) and to sample the
psychoactive chartreuse. As many doors as you like, and none of them
will tell you that you're all a bunch of slaves. Cigarette? No?
You'll be sorry!
Movie Review: Hmmmm...
Summary: 2 Stars
I'm not sure what to make of this movie. I'm all for avante-garde cinema and this had a bit of that. But something just wasn't right. The film had a look of one of those cheap BBC crime films. I think the movie had the right idea but it just wasn't executed well. I'm gonna stick with the book.Movie Review: For Madmen Only
Summary: 4 Stars
Adapting a Hesse novel to film is no easy task. In his introduction to Steppenwolf, Hesse said that almost no one under the age of 50 would understand the book; but cest la vie. I first read the book in my teens. I would come back to it several times through the next three decades. It impressed me very differently each time.
Max Von Sidow is perfect as Harry Haller. An outwardly respectable man who is fighting a war within himself between his "human" and "animal" nature. He meets Hermine, the woman who helps him find some enjoyment in his life. A jazz musician named Pablo completes the picture, with his "refreshments" that permit Harry to enter the Magic Theater. Therein he comes face to face with all the repressed elements of his psyche; and after a series of crisis, comes to accept the whole of his being; and "Laugh with the Immortals".
There are some parts of the movie that are a bit dated. Some that are very very "European" for an American palete. Some that could have been done a bit differently (and it would be interesting to see how a talented director of today, with an appropriate CGI budget, could handle this). but all in all, it is a very good movie.
Movie Review: Ambitious attempt to film a major work
Summary: 4 Stars
I was one of the "flower children" mentioned in another review who was heavily influenced by the work of Hermann Hesse in the '60's. I didn't do drugs, though, but did attempt to look at the fundamental problems of life that Hesse displayed. He may have been right in saying that we wouldn't understand these problems until mid-life crisis hits. I'm not sure. I'm wanting, now to re-read the book.
However, as to the film. Well, there are a lot of reasons to look at a movie and since our purpose here, as readers, is to give others a useful index, I'll give my opinion....as a thoughtful viewer. I found plenty of food for thought and I actually took a few notes. This would probably be a good film for a class or workshop where people had weeks to explore the meanings and, hopefully to apply them to their own lives. The themes are certainly worthy of attention and exploration and for that I'm tempted to give the film five stars.
And yet, as a movie....there is something lacking for me. It's one thing to bring up important questions and another to put them into a form that works for the viewer. As important as the questions were, and these are things that I do take seriously in my own life, I was left sort of cold at the end. Maybe it was the technique of the Magic Theater in the last scene that lost me. Actually I turned the DVD off at this point and only resumed it the next night to see what happened. I think that the technique just didn't live up to the concepts. No problem. It's still worth a watch and some serious consideration. In the end, though, I don't think that the problem that the HH character suffered---that of being overly heady to the exclusion of his heart--was resolved. It still seems a very heady, philosophical work and I think that a person who is sincerely interested in these questions would be better off to read the book.