Even Dwarfs Started Small

Even Dwarfs Started Small (German: ''Auch Zwerge haben klein angefangen'') is a 1970 film by German director Werner Herzog. A group of dwarfs confined in an institution on a remote island rebel against the guards and director (all dwarfs as well) in a display of mayhem. The dwarfs gleefully break windows and dishes, abandon a running truck to drive itself in circles, engineer food fights and cock fights, set fire to pots of flowers, kill a large ... more

Even Dwarfs Started Small (German: ''Auch Zwerge haben klein angefangen'') is a 1970 film by German director Werner Herzog. A group of dwarfs confined in an institution on a remote island rebel against the guards and director (all dwarfs as well) in a display of mayhem. The dwarfs gleefully break windows and dishes, abandon a running truck to drive itself in circles, engineer food fights and cock fights, set fire to pots of flowers, kill a large pig, torment some blind dwarfs, and crucify a monkey. The film was shot on the Canary Islands, at Lanzarote. The film was produced during the same time period as Herzog's Fata Morgana and The Flying Doctors of East Africa, and there are visual and thematic connections between the three works. Notably, the goggles worn by the blind dwarfs are the same goggles which appear repeatedly in Fata Morgana. During the filming, Herzog gave some strange direction to elicit particular performances from the actors. In directing one dwarf who continually... less