Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- grotesque
- sardonic
- provocative
- arthouse film night
- werner herzog retrospective
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a provocative, formally distinctive dark comedy-drama whose absurd revolt delivers powerful social and institutional critique.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The correctional colony's riot turns petty rule-breaking, destruction, and cruelty into sustained blackly comic spectacle.
The inhabitants rebel against enforced good behavior and redirect their anger into collective disorder and malice.
The small-statured cast is arranged in stark institutional spaces and prolonged scenes of collective action, creating an unsettling physical tableau.
The entire conflict centers on inhabitants of a correctional colony challenging its behavioral regime.
Films like Even Dwarfs Started Small, and why
The Exterminating Angel
shared grotesque black humor, institutional rebellion, and confrontational absurdism
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
shared surreal group dynamics, anarchic destruction, and unsettling dark comedy
The Ruling Class
shared transgressive humor, social satire, and deliberately provocative treatment of cruelty
Movie Details
- Director
- Werner Herzog
- Release Date
- 1971-02-02
- Runtime
- 96 min
- Rating
- 6.4 / 10 (128)
Cast
- Helmut Döring
- Paul Glauer
- Gisela Hertwig
- Hertel Minkner
- Gertrud Piccini
- Marianne Saar
- Brigitte Saar
- Gerd Gickel
- Erna Gschwendtner
- Gerhard Maerz
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Philo, Fandor Amazon Channel, Shout! Factory Amazon Channel, Cineverse Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Even Dwarfs Started Small about?
- A starkly comic rebellion inside a correctional colony mutates into an unsettling spectacle of freedom, cruelty, and collective malice.
- What is Even Dwarfs Started Small like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Even Dwarfs Started Small as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Even Dwarfs Started Small violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Even Dwarfs Started Small as moderate.
- What did critics think of Even Dwarfs Started Small?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a provocative, formally distinctive dark comedy-drama whose absurd revolt delivers powerful social and institutional critique.
- Which films are like Even Dwarfs Started Small?
- Films with a similar feel include The Exterminating Angel, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, and The Ruling Class.
- How long is Even Dwarfs Started Small?
- Even Dwarfs Started Small runs 96 minutes.
- Where can I watch Even Dwarfs Started Small?
- In United States, Even Dwarfs Started Small streams on Philo, Fandor Amazon Channel, Shout! Factory Amazon Channel, Cineverse Amazon Channel.
