Fitzcarraldo
Actually, I’d say- Aguire Wrath of God
Aguirre or The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser.
fata morgana seems interesting whats that like?
I am not a huge fan of Fata Morgana to be honest. I mean, it’s not a terrible film, but I tend to lump it in with Herzog’s more mediocre works.
I recommend Nosferatu, Land of Silence and Darkness, and Woyzeck.
No one should tell you where to start. Just pick any one and enjoy his genius.
Lessons of Darkness and Stroszek sound good they seem surreal
my freinds say start with blue yonder
isn’t it suposed to be his best?
The first Herzog film I saw was Aguirre, the Wrath of God, and I loved it. There are several other films by him that would rate much higher, like Woyzeck or The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser, but I still think Aguirre would be a potentially great introduction for someone unfamiliar with his work.
watch Herz Au Glas and Strozek
Well, neighbor, I find Herzog’s most accessible title to be Aguirre: The Wrath of God. Good hunting!
You should see Burden of Dreams just for an understanding of Herzogs madness or “dedication” to his art and how this will be reflected in all subsequent films. Start with the usual suspects as Strozek Fitzcarrldo and Aguirre maybe even the Enigma of Kaspar Hauser. Why not just see Port of call. Anyone of these should be a nice introduction to his fiction films.
Don’t see Burden of Dreams before you’ve seen all the Kinski films – it contains too many excerpts from them ! For example – it shows the endings of Aguirre, Nosferatu and Cobra Verde, and gives away too much of the story of Fitz.
My first Herzog was LITTLE DIETER NEEDS TO FLY, closely followed by LAND OF SILENCE AND DARKNESS – I was hooked immediately and forever, and so those two would be the films I would recommend you to start with.
One more piece of advice – try and see these films on as large a screen and with as loud a sound system as possible. This applies particularly to Fitzcarraldo and Aguirre: The Wrath of God.
In particular DO NOT watch Lessons of Darkness – my favourite of his films, along with Stroszek – on a television.
Aguirre is easily one of my all-time favorite films.
AGUIRRE,
BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS,
LESSONS OF DARKNESS,
and GREAT ECSTASY OF THE WOODCARVER STEINER.
Then FATA MORGANA / WILD BLUE YONDER double feature. And HEART OF GLASS to really give you a final idea of his range.
Agreed on the advice not to watch LESSONS OF DARKNESS on a small screen…if you are in NYC this week, you are in luck: http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/film_screenings/8647
Erik Villasenor
Never seen a Werner Herzog film and was wondering where to start. please look at my profile and tell me which would be the best for me