Herzog Fest

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.

 Signs of Life
(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.

The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser
(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.

Heart of Glass
(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.

Where the Green Ants Dream
(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.

 

Scream of Stone
(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.

Invincible
(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.

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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!

The Jurassic Park Trilogy

All praise Steven Spielberg, a God amongst men. If his films were biblical scripture, Jurassic Park would be Deuteronomy. Why you ask? I don't know, but it sounded good.

Jurassic Park
(1993) [Trailer]
Director: Steven Spielberg (IMDB)

Synopsis: Who the hell doesn't know what Jurassic Park is about? Okay, for the people living in hippy commune since the 70's, who haven't seen this.... Scientists create a theme-park on an island in Costa Rica filled with dinosaurs and shit goes south real quick.

Jurassic Park is one hell of a film and when I was in highschool I think everyone I know saw this in the theaters and then owned a copy on VHS. It showcases exactly what I expect from a Spielberg film. Ground breaking special effects, a solid cast (including kids that actually don't annoy me) and a remarkable score. Side note: it's pretty awesome that he made a version of the music with vocals... check it out. Anyways... where was I?

Highlights for me are: Jeff Goldblum, the first appearance of the tyrannosaurus rex, and the electric fence gag... classic stuff. I love this movie and it makes me wish I was a teenager again. Then I realize how shitty I was, never mind, I'm glad I'm old.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park
(1997) [Trailer]
Director: Steven Spielberg (IMDB)

Synopsis: Jeff Goldblum, along with a new crew, are sent to a secret island used to breed the dinosaurs for Jurassic Park... again everything goes south quickly. Life will find a way... to fuck you up.

Spielberg returns to direct this follow up, which in my opinion, isn't as successful as the first. I still enjoyed The Lost World, but it's flawed. A lot of what makes part one exceptional, is recycled in this and it works. With all Jurassic Park films you must suspend disbelief, but there are some things that are a huge stretch in The Lost World. Like the little girl half-assing her way into the trip, then later using gymnastics to bust up a raptor. Also the ending, which I won't spoil, but it's pretty unrealistic. However; the film works in a lot of other ways... the suspense is high, the Goldblum is snarky, and the effects are even better then part one.

Jurassic Park III
(2001) [Trailer]
Director: Joe Johnston (IMDB)

Synopsis: Haven't these people learned to not mess with the dinosaurs yet?

No Spielberg directing and no Goldblum acting, I wasn't very excited about the promise of this film, but didn't want to write it off (it's the only one of the three I hadn't seen.) They did manage to get Sam Neill back from part one, which was nice, so I gave it points for that.

The plot is kinda weak and I feel like they could have done something more creative. The dialog also seemed a little stale at times.

My biggest gripe with part 3 is the ending. It felt very anticlimactic and seemed pretty abrupt. Spoiler Warning: when they're flying away from the island at the end, I was totally expecting something crazy to happen and the story to continue on. Then... nothing, just credits?

I didn't hate this, but it could have been so much better.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Invasion of the Body Snatchers
(1978) [Trailer]
Director: Philip Kaufman (IMDB)

This is a remake of the 1950's film by the same name. I haven't seen either one, but I know many consider this to be the best version and also a horror classic. I threw it on last night to see what all the fuss is about... actually there's no fuss, I made that up.

Synopsis: People start slowly changing into emotionless weirdos and a group of San Franciscans fight to avoid becoming clones.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers has easily moved its way into becoming one of my favorite horror movies ever. I seriously loved this film and it's one of the creepiest movies ever made in my book.

I am going to give you a run down of how the creep factor was turned up to 11 on this film.

1.The cinematography. It's all over the place. Weird angles, filming from behind a broken wind shield, and other oddly shot scenes which seem to not fit, but do in an aberrant way.

2. The extras in this are strange. There are lots of random people staring at the camera in the back ground and some of them even look like their faces are blurred out. They'll pop up behind windows, in the street, and in the hallways. It's a great effect.

3. The sound design is extraordinary. The score and all the little perverse noises added throughout help heighten the suspense.

4. The garbage men. There are always dudes taking out the trash, it's a dirty little metaphor.

5. The practical effects. The pods and the clones looked nasty. Love it.

It's also loaded with a great cast including Donald Sutherland, Leonard Nimoy, Brooke Adams, and Jeff Goldblum.  Definitely pick this up if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.

Gremlins & Gremlins 2

Gremlins
(1984) [Trailer]
Director: Joe Dante (IMDB)

Synopsis: A furry little critter from Chinatown is picked up as a Christmas gift and turns out to be more than its new owners can handle.

This is one of my all time favorite childhood movies and also one of the best Christmas movies ever. Joe Dante is an overall rad dude and probably one of the most effective directors when it comes to blending horror and comedy. There's lots of interesting practical effects and puppetry, which is something you don't see in a films nowadays... stupid CGI. Jerry Goldsmith (RIP) provides an incredible score as he does in every film he's involved in.

There are lots of amazing scenes in Gremlins that I loved as kid and that still hold up for me. Here's my top 5.

1. The final confrontation at the department store... the chainsaw scene is the best.
2. The hatching of the Gremlins at Billy's house and the kitchen massacre scene.
3. The Gremlins watching Snow White... so genius... I love the Mickey ears that you'll briefly see if you look hard enough.
4. The Gremlins getting wasted. Who doesn't love a drunk monster?
5. The teacher trying to feed a snickers bar to a Gremlin.

Gremlins 2
(1990) [Trailer]
Director: Joe Dante (IMDB)

Synopsis: The boys are back and this time they're taking it to the big apple.

Dante returns to direct this follow up and it delivers a cracked out version of part one. It's pretty extreme and goes a bit over the top, but in a fun way. Like part one, I noticed a lot of homages to other classic films: Rambo, The Wizard of Oz, King Kong, and Phantom of the Opera are all given nods and there's also a chorus-linesque scene at the end which is great. There's a very meta scene involving the Gremlins interrupting the movie and taking you out of the film into what is meant to be real life. The blu-ray offers both the theatrical version featuring Hulk Hogan, and the home VHS version featuring the Gremlin's shoot out with John Wayne. Both versions are pretty funny and it's an interesting idea I haven't seen before. 

Although this isn't as good as part one, it's still pretty funny and worth a viewing.

C.H.U.D.

C.H.U.D.
(1984) [Trailer]
Director: Douglas Cheek (IMDB)

If you've ever debated sparing some change for the homeless this movie may change your mind... don't help... they'll only come back as mutants and eat you.

Synopsis: Undesirables living under the streets of Manhattan are mysteriously turning into flesh hungry zombies and a cop, photographer, and soup kitchen cook are the only people who can stop them.

C.H.U.D. is a pretty fun watch, especially as a New Yorker, you'll get some nice views of Nolita in the 80's. Here's a quick comparison picture I put together for this very special occasion: NOW and THEN.

The C.H.U.D.s are creepy and done with 80's practical effects, which I love... there's a little bit of cheese factor going on, but it warms the heart. A lot of the scarier moments were underground in the sewers, which I thought were effective. As with most horror films from the era, the score is primarily synth based, which I normally enjoy and this movie delivers... the music is disturbing.

C.H.U.D. also dishes up some interesting actors who you've seen in other fine films. You have two Home Alone vets... Marv and Kevin's dad. You also have a nice cameo from a young John Goodman who plays a cop.

The main issue with C.H.U.D. is it takes awhile to ramp up, it's a bit of a slow burn in my opinion. Also some of the acting and dialog aren't the greatest.

C.H.U.D. is available on Netflix instant, so check it out if you're looking for some 80's horror.