Steppenwolf

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source: Steppenwolf

Trailer—Steppenwolf

Steppenwolf

This is one of those movies that left with a big, opaque question mark on my forehead. For the first half it follows the book's plot but then it pretty much turns into a big fat acid trip, implementing every sort of color filter known to man and even a few cartoon backgrounds. Yes, I said CARTOON backgrounds. And watch how Harry's hallucinatory pal gets rid of the cadaver on the rug near the end. Seriously, watch for it. It's amazing. I hit the rewind button and had to see it about 5 times to make sure I had really seen it. Also, the cartoon near the beginning of the film explaining Harry's plight is amusing. The film itself is very slowly paced, however, and it takes a lot of patience to get through it. Oh yes, and the ending. How did Harry die?! The tall object implies that he was hanged, but I'm not sure... -No Nukes, The Satanic Pikachu

I understand why this stinker has not been released on DVD, obviously because no one concerned themselves with it. This is a boring film and an adaptation that does not work, namely because of the foreign actors who can't converse properly in the first place and the drug induced chaotic second half of the film that leaves the viewer completely in the dark. Could have been an interesting film if done properly, avoid at all costs... ...

Similar to the "Razor's Edge", one of the main points in the book was totally ignored in the film. It's a terribly difficult feat to transcibe a book into film sometimes, and in Steppenwolf's case, the task was beyond the scriptwriters. Probably beyond anyone. I couldn't help but notice that the one point that Hesse was driving at, and that Razor's Edge did as well, reincarnation, was either totally struck out of the dialogue, or was given no more than one or two sentences before the scene was abruptly changed. It reminded me of Moby Dick, except in reverse--how one of the greatest movies of all time came from a horribly written book. Hesse was a great writer, that can't be denied, but his books really just don't translate to film.

The film is a mostly accurate showing of the novel, Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse. The frame of the story is missing, however. The film was well made for the time, but the acting is pretty bad. The accents make the intentionally vague story of the film even harder to follow. I really enjoyed the way the Tractat was created, and I appreciated that it is very distinct from the rest of the movie, as this follows the pattern of the book. If you have read the book, the film is interesting and worth-while. If you have not, it will most likely be incredibly confusing. I would really like to see a remake of this film, even though I'm not usually a fan of remakes. In this instance, however, I would love to see this book filmed with better acting and a less confusing script.