Welcome to the Movie Club! Today’s movie is Werner Herzog’s tragicomedy Stroszek!
Stroszek follows Bruno Stroszek, an alcoholic musician played and inspired by Bruno Schleinstein. After being released from prison he meets a friend, Eva, who works as a prostitute, and decides to move to America with her and his neighbour, Scheitz, in order to start a new life.
Stroszek was first released in the US on January 12, 1977.1 It was very well received by critics, as it currently has a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes.2 Otherwise, given that it’s an older movie and not a major studio production, there isn’t much info readily available about its release or production.
- The film’s screenplay was written in four days and is largely inspired by the life of its star, Bruno S. While much of it is scripted, he did improvise some details, such as the scene where Bruno describes wetting his bed as a child which happened to him in real life.
- Stroszek is named after one of Herzog’s classmates, who he told he would make famous one day if he wrote a paper for him.
- David Lynch has mentioned before that Stroszek is one of his favourite films.
What did you think? Share your thoughts below!
Up Next: The first movie in our next round of selections will be David O. Russell’s war comedy Three Kings! Unfortunately it does not appear to be streaming anywhere but is easy to rent. We will meet to discuss it on January 16 at 12PM EST. Check out the trailer and where it’s playing below:
USA
- Stream: Nada!
- Rent or Buy: Amazon, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Google Play, YouTube, Spectrum (Rental only)
Canada
- Stream: Nada!
- Rent or Buy: Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube, Prime Video, CosmoGO (I thought this was a new one but this is what used to be Cineplex Store, which is weird because Cineplex is a way more recognizable brand)
UK
- Stream: Nada!
- Rent or Buy: Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube, Prime Video, Rakuten TV