Even Dwarfs Started Small (DVD)

Werner Herzog, a German director who came to prominence in the seventies, is best known for the films he made with the volatile but charismatic actor Klaus Kinski, Aguirre The Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo being the most popular. Even Dwarfs Started Small pre-dates these films, but I think it's probably my favourite of the Herzog films I've seen (although his recent documentary about Kinski, My Best Fiend, is superb). The film, shot in black and white on a low budget, is one of the most grimly comic pieces of cinema I've ever seen. Set in an unspecified hot country (looks like it might be central America somewhere), the story tells of the inmates of ...