watch Rescue Dawn
Try Stroszek
Heart of Glass is probably his most original and visually rich film, I like his other stuff a lot but for me that one leaves them in the dust.
I don’t understand how Aguirre can bore anyone. It is such a beautiful film. Actually, while Grizzly Man was great, it shows Herzogs more mainstream side, like the recent Rescue Dawn. I have still lots to see by him, but if you didn’t like or love Fitzcarraldo or Aguirre, I don’t know if he’s the right guy for you. Watch some of his documentaries, maybe.
What I admire about the man is that his films seems so incredibly honest. I can’t explain this, but everytime I watch one of his films they feel incredibly personal. It’s as if he’s leaving all the bullshit out and just saying what he really thinks. Even in the weaker Rescue Dawn I felt as if Herzog thought: screw everything I am just going to tell a story, because I want to tell it. I have rarely felt that way about a directors work before and maybe I am mistaken on Herzogs part, but he hasn’t disappointed me yet.
watch Fata Morgana,if you don’t like it and still prefer Grizzly Man over Fata Morgana,arguably one of the most poetic documentaries EVER….
then stay away from his art-house stuff….
Jim – Watch The Grand. If you don’t fall in love with Herzog in that film, I don’t know what to tell you.
And yes, Rescue Dawn is a solid film, as is the documentary.
Well, there’s an example of my ignorance of Werner Herzog’s films. I thought Grizzly Man was his first/only documentary. I’ll have to check these out.
I love Herzog, and Aguirre was the first movie of his I ever saw. For me, right there and then it redefined the language of cinema as I knew it. But I understand why some people would not be able to “get into him”. One possible angle is that his films are not to be assimilated (decodified) the way an idea or most plot-driven films are. He uses images to convey primary meanings or even to create a new reality devoid of (intellectual) meaning. I think his films are about conveying “force” rather than intellectual or narrative (even technical) constructions. That’s what I have always thought of his films. (Sadly, the above-said can also be intellectualized and subsequently transformed into pre-cooked formulas.)
Maybe it’s something else between you and him; maybe it’s his moustache…
Slavoj Zizek and Sophie Fiennes were on radio/bog promoting her documentary The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema and someone asked what Zizek thought of Herzog’s films. Zizek hemmed and hawed and then said he didn’t think much of them.
First of all, I think you have to separate the fiction from non fiction work to ask that question. And then he has done so many things, I don’t know how one could generalize about Herzog’ oeuvre
He made an extraordinary short film, “La Soufrière,” which was photographed at the mouth of a live volcano in Guadeloupe. I think it is the most accessible film he has done. I like “Stroszek” too, even though it is not in the same class.
Zizek is a Lacanian.
How come Europe always has these celebrity intellectuals/philosophers and the U.S. doesn’t?
I’m actually listening/watching Aguirre with the commentary right now. I can’t imagine what it must feel like not to love his films.
“How come Europe always has these celebrity intellectuals/philosophers and the U.S. doesn’t?”
Hmm…. In Argentina they have a hand gesture to answer questions like that
Zizek isn’t really a person whose opinion I would be seeking out.
Opinions are overrated… ALL of them.
(..well, except those that are underrated)
I would recommend trying The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser and Encounters at the End of the World
Ralch:
’Opinions are overrated… ALL of them.
(..well, except those that are underrated)’
This should be adapted for a bumper sticker. ;)
“This should be adapted for a bumper sticker. ;) "
Meh… I think you’re overrating it. ;-)
Ralch: Ahhh, true. But, if we can get more people to say it is overrated, we can then call it underrated. ;)
“Zizek is a Lacanian.”
That’s ok, the problem is that Lacan was Freudian. In one of the films, Zizek played a clip of Lacan and made fun of him
Zizek might be right to hesitate about Herzog’s documentaries – the problem was that he didn’t have an explanation.
How come Europe always has these celebrity intellectuals/philosophers and the U.S. doesn’t?”
Would you rather look at Britney or Zizek?
Herzog’s style might well appear ‘boring’ to the unaccustomed ear and eye. He doesn’t give it to you on a plate. You have to come halfway towards the film, and actively read meaning into the images. I think that’s why he will often hold a shot for longer than is usual – to force your mind to respond somehow. If you don’t engage in this way with his films, and you are just letting it wash over you while you wait for the next plot point, they might appear empty of interest. But once you are tuned in to his style, his body of work can be more rewarding than any other filmmaker’s. If you had to choose one filmmaker’s ouevre to put in a capsule to be jettisoned into space as a representation of life on earth, it would have to be his. What other filmmaker has captured so many cultures, so many landscapes, languages, musics, animals, stories?
There are about 60 films to date I think, and all of these films speak to each other. Motifs and phrases recur and resonate. The more you see of his work the more you will appreciate it. Even the lesser works are crucial components of the whole.
I do hope you watched Aguirre and Fitz loud and on a big screen. The power of the images is inevitably reduced on a small one.
I recommend you watch LITTLE DIETER NEEDS TO FLY – that’s the one that first got me in
Then LAND OF SILENCE AND DARKNESS and THE GREAT ECSTACY OF THE WOODCARVER STEINER. Watching these 2 I felt my understanding of the world being stretched and deepened. Almost no other films have changed the way I think about the world.
But my favourite of his films are probably STROSZEK and LESSONS OF DARKNESS.
Also, listening to the hugely entertaining commentary tracks on the Anchor Bay DVDs will probably give you a better understanding of a film like AGUIRRE or FITZCARRALDO.
And if all those don’t do it for you, then give in – Werner’s not for you!
Sam: ‘There are about 60 films to date I think, and all of these films speak to each other. Motifs and phrases recur and resonate. The more you see of his work the more you will appreciate it. Even the lesser works are crucial components of the whole.’
I haven’t seen Herzog, but this is very true. Some directors you just have to keep watching, where each new film allows you to appreciate not only the film itself but their body of work as a whole.
Herzog is brand you can trust.
His documentaries are quirky and personal – you are going with him to the south pole or the jungle or he is telling you about a personality conflict he had with an actor.
This is not serious stuff – not on the order of Bus 174, but would you send something as taught as Bus 174 to represent us on another planet?
You might want to see his documentary about his relationship with Klaus Kinski called “My Best Fiend.” It shows the good as well as the bad times or maybe the hard times that Herzog had with Kinski making his films. It shows how Herzog got his performances out of Kinski in the hardest moments during filming. There’s also some other films that he made with Kinski that could be interesting such as “Nosferatu,” which is based on the silent film “Nosferatu” by F. W. Murnau and the last film that they made together called “Cobra Verde.” I don’t think “Cobra Verde” is as good as say “Aguirre” which is one of my favorite movies or his other film “Fitzcarraldo.” I think “The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser” is fairly good as well, but isn’t exactly at the level of the last two films he made with Kinski that I just mentioned.
How come Europe always has these celebrity intellectuals/philosophers and the U.S. doesn’t?
Is that a serious question?
Heh, sorry, but I can’t help myself:
Jim W: “I don’t really like these movies, what should I do?”
Everyone: “Watch this. Or this… or this! Or this.. Or this!”
DiB: “Okay. Watch something you enjoy instead.”
I like Werner Herzog for the same reasons I like Takashi Miike: he’s batty, and he’s prolific. However, I have a particular fondness for Miike’s style and subject matter that I simply don’t have with Herzog. Herzog is a curiosity to me.
That said, I LOVE “Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe.” My God, sooo awesome…
—PolarisDiB
You can’t get into VERNER HURTZOG?! VVWHAAT?
LESSONS OF DARKNESS may be the answer to your problems.
Jim W
I have seen Grizzly Man, Aguirre, and Fitzcarraldo and outside of Grizzly Man, I have not found what everyone is raving about. I mean, he has an eccentric personality, but I feel like I’m missing the real “Herzog” films. Or is that it?
I enjoyed Fitzcarraldo but Aguirre: Wrath of God bored me.