FILM · 1977 · GERMANY
Stroszek
- Directed by
- Werner Herzog
- Runtime
- 108 min
- Studio
- Werner Herzog Filmproduktion, ZDF
27 archived facts 3 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
Bruno Stroszek is released from prison and warned to stop drinking. He has few skills and fewer expectations: with a glockenspiel and an accordion, he ekes out a living as a street musician. He befriends Eva, a prostitute down on her luck and they join his neighbor, Scheitz, an elderly eccentric, when he leaves Germany to live in Wisconsin.
27 Interesting Facts About Stroszek
Interesting Facts (12)
- #001
The entire crew disliked the final scene so much that director Werner Herzog had to shoot it alone. He nonetheless considers it the best scene he has ever shot.
- #002
The film is said to have been watched by late post-punk vocalist Ian Curtis (of Joy Division) shortly before his suicide. It can be seen before the suicide scenes of Curtis in the films 24 Hour Party People (2002) and Control (2007). Musician Elliott Smith (1969-2003) also described himself as a fan of Bruno S. and Stroszek (1977). Like Ian Curtis, he later committed suicide.
- #003
David Lynch is a fan of the film and has called it Herzog's favorite work. Meanwhile, he first saw the film in 1980 in the same BBC broadcast in which Ian Curtis watched it shortly before his suicide (in England, during the shooting of The Elephant Man (1980)). Lynch would later become friends with Herzog and even produce My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done (2009).
- #004
While Bruno and Eva were heading to the Railway Apartments, Herzog and the cameraman tied themselves with their belts to the car's hood while driving on the highway. They were stopped by the police and avoided a fine by telling the officer they were just "Kraut film students," and the officer let them go. The same police officer stopped them again the same day for the same offense.
- #005
Werner Herzog invited editor Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus to the set to supervise continuity. Known to dislike all of Herzog's films (except Even Dwarfs Started Small (1970)), she was so disgusted by the scenes that she began signaling the camera operator to stop filming. Angered by this, Herzog threatened to hit her with a shovel.
- #006
The scenes of Stroszek's apartment were shot in Bruno S.'s apartment. The piano, which Bruno actually called his "black friend," had been bought with the salary he received from The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974), and his worries about his future were real.
- #007
Bruno S., Wilhelm von Homburg and Burkhard Driest were all convicted criminals. When Von Homburg was convicted 9 years after the film, he was guilty of almost exactly the same crimes his character is seen committing in the film.
- #008
The story about the sheets really happened to Bruno; like most of the film, it was shot in a single take (though one part had to be edited when Bruno farted loudly).
- #009
The scene of the man pulling out his own tooth is based on a similar scene in Spend It All (1972) and was adapted with Les Blank's permission (misspelled as "Les Blanc" in the credits).
- #010
During the first scene set in America (an aerial view of New York), a subtle piece of "word-painting" emerges: the middle movement of Beethoven's "Les adieux" ("Farewell") Sonata is heard (on glockenspiel).
- #011
A dialogue sample from the film was used to transition between the first two tracks of Ratatat's album "LP4."
- #012
The tilt machine seen at the 10th minute is Williams's 1976 title Space Mission.
Production Story (13)
- #013
Herzog shot some parts of the film in Plainfield, Wisconsin. When he learned that Plainfield was the hometown of the notorious cannibal killer Ed Gein, who inspired the novel and film Psycho, he decided to shoot there.
- #014
The scenes in Stroszek's apartment were actually shot in Bruno S.'s own home. He had bought the piano, which he called 'my black friend,' with the money he earned from The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974), and his worries about the piano's future were real.
- #015
Bruno S., Wilhelm von Homburg and Burkhard Driest all had criminal records. When Von Homburg was convicted nine years after the film, the crimes he had committed turned out to be almost identical to those of his character in the film.
- #016
The story about the bed sheets really happened to Bruno; like many scenes in the film, it was recorded in a single take. Only a part in which Bruno farts loudly was cut in editing.
- #017
It is said to be the last film Ian Curtis, frontman of the British band Joy Division, watched before his suicide. In the inner groove of the first side of the band's posthumously released album Still, the words 'the chicken won't stop' are written; the second and third sides feature chicken footprints, and the fourth side bears the words 'the chicken stops here.'
- #018
The story was inspired by the life of lead actor Bruno S., especially the parts of the film set in Berlin.
- #019
The film is included in Roger Ebert's 'Great Movies' list.
- #020
The scene in which a man pulls out his own tooth is based on a similar scene in the film Spend It All (1972) and was adapted with Les Blank's permission. In the credits his name is mistakenly written as 'Les Blanc.'
- #021
In the scene where America first appears in the film, the middle movement of Beethoven's 'Les adieux' (Farewell) Sonata is heard on a glockenspiel over an aerial view of New York; this is a subtle example of 'word painting.'
- #022
A sample of dialogue from the film is used in the transition between the first two tracks on Ratatat's album 'LP4.'
- #023
It is included in the '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die' list, edited by Steven Schneider.
- #024
The pinball machine seen in the tenth minute of the film is Williams's 1976 model Space Mission.
- #025
This film is the second and last film Werner Herzog made with Bruno S. Their first collaboration was The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974).
Characters & Cast (2)
- #026
Stroszek is also the name of the protagonist in Herzog's Signs of Life (1968). Herzog took the name Stroszek from one of his former classmates, who once helped him cheat on an exam and used the name as a gift to him.
- #027
Director Werner Herzog initially planned to shoot the story of Woyzeck (1979) with his star Bruno S. However, a few days before the production, he decided the story should have Klaus Kinski in the lead role. He told this to Bruno, who said he was already on vacation and had taken leave from his job at a steel factory. As a result, Herzog wrote this film in 3 1/2 days, deliberately choosing a similar title.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
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