Werner Herzog Rhapsody

[Twit 2]

Cheers for the Maron interview, was good.

[Smeraldina Rima]

A couple of recent posts from the general film thread. I thought they might get more attention from the resident fans by resurrecting the Werner Herzog Rhapsody thread.

Anyways, Strozsek. The first Herzog film I've seen that I've fallen in love with. Surprisingly endearing for such a pessimistic, "life is shit"-themed film, perhaps due to a combination of Bruno S. being strangely likeable in the title role (I mean just look at his face when he smiles ffs, just lovely) and the little surreal touches throughout. The ending

Spoiler alert

is of course brilliant, being surreal, mundane, nonsensical and perfectly relevant all at once, but I also really liked stuff like the two farmers fighting over one strip of land, an absurd take on human goals of land-owning and possession.

[close]

Yer man Herzog clearly has an excellent eye for unique actors too: between Bruno and Clemen Scheitz, the performances make this quite a treasure. Makes me wonder what the barrier was with the other two films of his I've seen, and I'll certainly have to check out more of his work.

Someone agree with me about great Strozsek is please.

I'm interested in exploring Herzog. List his work by rank of what will help me enjoy.

[Paaaaul]

Strozsek is great. Yep.

Good introductory films for a Wern00b:-

- Grizzly Man
- Aguirre, the Wrath of God
- Rescue Dawn and Little Dieter Needs to Fly
- Fitzcarraldo
- The White Diamond

My favourites,other than those above, are:-
- The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser
- Land of Silence and Darkness
- Happy People: A Year in the Taiga
- Wings of Hope

I watched Into The Inferno (now on Netflix) over the weekend.
It's really good. It starts off like a typical documentary about volcanoes, but slightly more self-referential than usual, and evolves into something very different by the end. Some of the cinematography in it is breathtaking. It's probably a decent starting place for someone who hasn't seen much Wern.

[Shit Good Nose]

Strozsek is great. Yep.

Good introductory films for a Wern00b:-

- Grizzly Man
- Aguirre, the Wrath of God
- Rescue Dawn and Little Dieter Needs to Fly
- Fitzcarraldo
- The White Diamond

My favourites,other than those above, are:-
- The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser
- Land of Silence and Darkness
- Happy People: A Year in the Taiga
- Wings of Hope

I watched Into The Inferno (now on Netflix) over the weekend.
It's really good. It starts off like a typical documentary about volcanoes, but slightly more self-referential than usual, and evolves into something very different by the end. Some of the cinematography in it is breathtaking. It's probably a decent starting place for someone who hasn't seen much Wern.

Throw Les Blank's Burden of Dreams into that list - explains the man and his ideas better than his own films.

[Paaaaul]

Throw Les Blank's Burden of Dreams into that list - explains the man and his ideas better than his own films.

Yeah - I thought that soon after I'd pressed Post.

[Sam]

Here's the other WH thread by the way:

http://www.cookdandbombd.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,36299.50.html

Had a re-read and then there's lots of good contributions and recommendations, mainly from me as I'm the best at liking Herzog.

[Shit Good Nose]

Watched Into the Inferno last night.  Incredible film, and interesting how it became less about volcanoes and more about the people living in the vicinity of them.

It does, however, feel like he's taken a massive step back (as in the air of Herzog is less pervasive), especially after Lo and Behold and Cave of Forgotten Dreams.  But that just could be a reflection of how highly he obviously regards Clive Oppenheimer.

[Lost Oliver]

Another shout here for Inferno. Amazing.

I could watch those shots of the lava all day long. Did he do something similar that was essentially just volcanoes and opera music or have I made that up? Also, what was the documentary he mentioned about the village that was evacuated prior to an eruption?

I'd never had an interest in volcanoes before and I have to admit that I didn't even know what they were. Which is a terrible thing to admit, I know, but I'd never even considered them before. And that's what Herzog does, he changes your life. God he's great.

[imitationleather]

If you mean the one about the eruption on an island near Iceland, I paid a fucking fortune to see a DVD screening of a 20 minute film of footage of that in a tiny cinema in a room in a fish and chip shop in Reykjavik. I think the attached shop actually sold the DVD for less than I paid to go and see it being screened. One of those moments where you really regret not working out the currency conversion before forking out your foreign lolly.

[Shit Good Nose]

Also, what was the documentary he mentioned about the village that was evacuated prior to an eruption?

If you mean the one about the eruption on an island near Iceland

Nah, I think Oliver means La Soufriere, where it's basically Herzog, a few of his crew, some animals and one crazy old townsman left on the entire island with a "guaranteed" imminent eruption

Spoiler alert

that in the end didn't happen

[close]

.

[Sam]

Another shout here for Inferno. Amazing.

I could watch those shots of the lava all day long. Did he do something similar that was essentially just volcanoes and opera music or have I made that up?

Burning oil fields plus Wagner in Lessons of Darkness, one of his best and most 'Herzog to the max' films.

[clingfilm portent]

Into The Inferno was breathtaking. Herzog is a fucking giant.

[TheFalconMalteser]

What about Wozyeck? Come on, that's peak Klinski? Great stuff.

[Sam]

Only just got round to watching Inferno.

Absolutely cracking, my fave doc of his since Grizzly Man I think. I loved the tangents, the way the film flowed in different directions. Loved the John Frum stuff. Mental.
The way he shot the volcanoes/lava was very reminiscent of Heart of Glass. I think my favourite bit in the film was the footage of the French couple wandering around lava flows in anoraks. Completely otherworldly.

Bless you, Werner.

[Sam]

Oh dear, Salt and Fire is getting shit reviews. Still, if the second half promises to be Shannon mugging in alien landscapes to Russian wailing it'll still be worth a go. I think he should get a decent scriptwriter for his fiction stuff.

If anyone hasn't seen Into the Inferno, have a look. It's brill.

[Twit 2]

Werner Herzog is funnier than Fred Murphy:

http://youtu.be/Cmh_YMRtnW8

[garbed_attic]

His little Killers promo/ documentary is the funniest thing I've watched in yonks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-CwCqdrc6E

A natural fit. Brandon Flowers also does not understand irony.