What do you think of Werner Herzog and Nick Cage's new movie?
i am very much looking forward 2 this film and it seems like i have been waiting years 4 it 2 be released
release dates :O(
US (wide): November 20, 2009
UK: May 7, 2010
some of his blockbusters are good though like face/off con air and knowing :O)
Weird. It’s out already or coming soon on DVD and blu-ray in the states, so you could get a copy imported to the UK probably faster than waiting for the release.
But see it on the big screen. It’s worth the wait.
I don’t remember much discussion about it around here during the US re;ease, but I was lucky enough for it to play a nearby theater. I don’t want to get too detailed before more users have a chance to see it, but it’s worth a watch; if you’re a Herzog fan or open-minded you may like it. if you’re expecting it to be goofy & over the top, it is at times but not throughout; the "lucky crackpipe’ trailers had a certain “NOT THE BEEEEESSSS!” quality to them that I think they were trying to sell the film on Cage’s meme-itude.
As in Bad Lieutenenant: Port of Call NY, the performance & character do occasionally go over the top to the point of (possibly accidental) humor, but manages to work effectively. By Herzog’s design or not, the films do seem thematically related, if not closely so.
I work at blockbuster, and it comes out this tuesday in the US.
It was pretty good.
but like2sleep, Knowing?? Surely, you must be joking.
knowing is good
“(possibly accidental) humor”
I think the distinction is essentially irrelevant as this particular movie stands. It is what it is (I mean this with no detached irony): a a great thing, and my movie-going last year was better for it. Laughter is just a particularly pronounced form of breath-taking, and this movie’s fabricated moments were repeatedly as surprising as they get. Breath: taken. Stunned.
I think I agree with Ben, though I found the film snuck up on me more than overcame me; I even found it subtle, at times.
by the way, its not a remake.
The break dancing and “iguanas” scene are probably the best things I saw that whole year out of any film. It’s just so out of the blue.
Herzog certainly has an eye for the absurd. It brings to mind that scene in Rescue Dawn with the dog walking upright on hind legs in the middle of a POW camp. Or hell..the entirety of Grizzly Man.
Yea this movie definitely snuck up on me. I loved how odd it was at times, especially the scene where cage’s character insults another character and that character continues to tell him how he made a big mistake and slowly heads to the door making huffing noises.
And the ending. I swear it was a dream sequence taking place in reality.
good film. much better than ‘Rescue Dawn’ IMO, and i’m glad it wasn’t much like the Ferrara version either.
finally watched bad lieutenant and definitely worth the wait 2 see on big screen like ben said :O)
the only other werner herzog film i have seen before this is rescue dawn and i am very interested in seeing more of his movies now! i just discovered it was co-written by victor argo (the honest cop in abel ferrara’s king of new york)
Loved this film as a piece of entertainment.
For starters, this film surprised me as one in which Herzog actually is careful about the composition of his narrative and thus somewhat tames his “ecstatic truth”-prone visual approach. The result is on target as it permits him to generate great characterizations (not just Cage’s… and despite Kilmer’s waste) and overall pathos, amid a sea of existential and psychological chaos.
Besides, getting decent performances from Eva Mendes and Jennifer Coolidge is quite an accomplishment. (
As I mentioned in another thread, I think that a major noteworthy aspect of the film is how much more carefully composed and executed a lot of Zeitlinger’s cinematography is in it than is normal in most of his collaborations with Herzog. In a way, I feel like he deserves more credit than usual for the movie’s style.
Actuaally i streamed the film, right about the time of the film festivals, and then i saw the theatrical release. I liked when i saw it online, but boy, i loved it when i saw it on the theatre…it was a stellar film, and not a remake, herzog is more of a reader than he’s a film buf…and he had not seen the original ferrara, he actually dismissed the comparisons between the latter with “i don’t know who ferrara is, and have not seen his film, i’m sure if we would drink some beers, the all matter would be soon forgotten”.Indeed. And it was a great film. Best nick cage since his work with Lynch.
I think it’s definately more of a re-boot or a spin-off than a remake.
Some credit should probably be given to Finkelstein for the screenplay, the rest is average Herzog.
Let’s see what he does to Lynch (as a producer) in My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done.
“Best nick cage since his work with Lynch.” Agreed, which means “Let’s see what he does to Lynch (as a producer)” should have been a much more valid question than it turned out to be…Lynch apparently had next to no involvement with MY SON outside of some money and his name on the piece.
I can’t comment on that because I haven’t seen the movie yet.
Since buying the Blu-Ray, I’ve watched it with friends three times. I find it tightly-scripted and solidly entertaining. Friends tell me that, if I enjoy Herzog’s film, I’ll love “The Wire”.
LOvE this movie. But not as much as the original.
Well, there are many issues here. I said not since WILD AT HEART, (ok to be fair i loved him on THE ROCK), have i seen such a great role by nicholas cage (he was great on ADAPTATION and, one or two more…), he was one of the best things about the film, one funny thing, is that he usually gets 30 mil per movie, and here he is working on a 30 mil budgeted film. That goes to show, that an actor needs roles. All of these superstar actors, seem to have forgotten what real acting is, but when the gilliam’s and the lynch’s and kubrick’s of our world, use them on a real film, their acting chops come out. Loved this film. It’s more than a re-boot. It uses a similar character, he’s similarly amoral.
My son, my son, what have ye done is more lynchian than herzoguian if you ask me. Lynchian characters, lynchian landscapes.Etc. Was more Lynch than Herzog. His american films, seem always small, less subtle, more compromisse, less art. Tend to like them a whole lot less than his european counterparts…it’s a nice film, but there is not a whole lot many herzog in there…
great, great movie. i’m surprised it was even shown in multiplexes. there is still hope…
david k
A lot of people are angry, because its a remake of Bad Lieutenant, but I am actually looking forward to this. And am happy to see Nick Cage going back to his indie roles where he became famous. He has a lot of talent that has been squandered in blockbusters these last few years.