I recently decided to cap off all the John Carpenter films I hadn't seen. I figured he's one of my favorites and I should see his entire body of work. After this epiphany I decided to do the same with some other directors. Who better to start with then one of my all time favorite... Michael Bay! I kid... Werner Herzog. I will start by saying, of his 30+ films, I've seen all of them except 7, these 7 will now be reviewed right here.
(1968) [Full Movie]
Director: Werner Herzog (IMDB)
Synopsis: A group of German soldiers fall to boredom as their post at a munitions depot on the island of Crete starts to get old.
This is Herzog’s first feature full length and it’s pretty old. It’s an interesting look at a subject Herzog tends to dwell on and that’s man’s descent into madness. All the actors do a fine job and the use of locals in the film (which is another Herzog trademark) makes for a realistic feel. The sound design in this film is awesome and the Greek music used is hypnotic at times. The last 20 minutes of the movie are the best and Herzog manages to use some extremely awe inducing shots to wrap things up. For me the greatest thing about this is seeing the groundwork and style that becomes universal in a lot of Werner's other films. It's like going back and watching a home video of Kurt Cobain performing in his high school talent show.... or something like that.
(1974) [Full Movie]
Director: Werner Herzog (IMDB)
Synopsis: Bruno S has been held captive and chained in a cellar all his life. One day his captor releases him into the wild, AKA the normal world. Upon his release he's left to try and adapt to this new found reality.
This film is very straight forward for Herzog and stars Bruno S, who was also in Stroszek, which I love. Bruno S has a really crazy bio, especially his up bringing, so in my opinion, he's perfectly cast for this film. Herzog primary injects a classical score and tamed cinematography, which really lets the story be the star of the show. There are still plenty of quirky additions that you would except from one of his movies, but overall this was more toned down. I would recommend this if you can get your hands on it. It's a solid installment into Werner's arsenal and considerable for any film buff.
(1976) [Trailer]
Director: Werner Herzog (IMDB)
Synopsis: Honestly, there's no real plot here... I guess if I were to try and give one I would use this... A glass blower dies and leaves a void in the hearts of the locals in his town.... I guess.
This movie was an extremely unique viewing experience for me. Visually, it's breathe taking and a lot of frames could be painted on canvas, then sold as fine art. The plot more of a device to explore poetry if anything, it's pretty nonsensical but still very beautiful. I read that Herzog had everyone on set put under hypnosis before they filmed their scenes and you can tell. The performances are odd and seem a little off, which makes things a bit eerie, but in a good way.
I really loved this, but like a lot of Herzog's works, it's not for everyone.
(1984) [Trailer]
Director: Werner Herzog (IMDB)
Synopsis: Herzog heads down under for this drama about a group of Aborigines that refuse to leave sacred ground that's been targeted by miners.
This movie employs the use of actual Aborigines and their acting isn't the greatest... but it's still very unique to watch. This is just as weird as any other Herzog film but still manages to walk a straight line in terms plot. It stars the tall guy from Mad Max and he's pretty convincing for the most part. There's a lot of interesting interludes spread throughout this and some really fantastic cinematography. There are a few moments where the movie seems to drag, then other points which are incredible and make up for lost ground. I'm a little mixed on this, I liked it, but I didn't love it. I think I'm gonna give it another poke soon.
(1991) [Clip]
Director: Werner Herzog (IMDB)
Synopsis: A group of climbers try to make it to the summit of Cerro Torro, which is an infamous mountain in Patagonia.
I really enjoyed this, but I'd say it's probably one of the most non Herzog-esque movies I've seen of his. If you were to say Heart of Glass was pretentious, this undissembled entry would be the polar opposite. If you're looking for a film of Herzog's to start with, this would be the one, too bad it's next to impossible to find (a downloaded a VHS rip!)
Donald Sutherland and the rest of the crew do a stand up job, with the highlight for me being Brad Dourif (who was the strangest part of the film.) The score is really effective and brings a creepiness to the film in a lot of spots. All of the climbing stuff is spectacular and shot perfectly. I'd love to see a proper copy of this film on blu-ray... one can only hope.
(2001) [Trailer]
Director: Werner Herzog (IMDB)
Synopsis: In post WWI Germany a Jewish muscle head becomes all the rage as a performer who accompanies a deranged psychic.
This is officially my least favorite Werner Herzog film. With the exception of Tim Roth (AKA Pumpkin, AKA Ringo, AKA Mr Orange) everyone else in this is horrible. Jouko Ahola (The protagonist) is actually one of the world's strongest men, but he's a shit actor. I don't know if Herzog was unable to find a buff Jewish actor or what, but this casting choice was not the best. I wanted to shoot the little kid every time he spoke. The love interest, I guess she's a famous pianist, but I think they could have found a better actress and winged the piano stuff in the film. Honestly, the acting ruined this for me... everything else: the story, cinematography, and score are great. I just couldn't get past the performances.
The Wild Blue Yonder
(2005) [Trailer]
Director: Werner Herzog (IMDB)
Synopsis: Ummm... where to start. Okay... an Alien travels to Earth to escape his dying planet, meanwhile we are trying to leave Earth in search of the Alien's planet... I guess that will work.
This is a strange one and I don't really know if I'd recommend it to anyone. I personally enjoyed it and thought it was an extremely different movie watching experience... but... it's very unconventional and I could see how people could hate this. It plays around with genre by taking a less then straight forward science fiction plot, blending it with documentary footage, and then throwing in Brad Dourif to ground the piece as the alien story teller. It's a very raw film and Herzog's use of basic and almost unenhanced video footage helps give this a different feel from most his other movies.
There's a few spots where the film seemed to drag a bit and the use of stock footage, while always interesting to look at, didn't always help sell the sci-fi poetry.
It's a pretty philosophical piece and its obvious references to man's destructive nature are a bit heavy handed, but then again, it's Herzog... so that shouldn't surprise those familiar with him. This is definitely a little less accessible then most his films... but I still dug it.
Also, if you're interested you can check out my list of Herzog films ranked HERE!
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