Into the Abyss - 2011 - Dir. Herzog

Probably sedated for what people expect of Herzog these days. You know, being that it's about people on death row (that's the starting point, at least). The man has respect for his subjects and the topic of the death penalty. And it clearly shows, there's no goofy voice over, no albino alligators. So if you are going in with that narrow view of what to expect, you may be a little disappointed. It feels like his older documentaries. It's not a somber Death Penalty film by any means but more of an document of how a group of people are coping with the aftermath of a violent crime. Herzog's strengths do really show in this picture though. I feel like he has a great eye for America. It's depicted with great admiration but he is still very aware of its blemishes and never shies away from them. His tangents are more controlled, more thoughtful. I admit, I'm pretty biased. It's Herzog doing what he does best, being himself, so I had a great time watching it. I like that we get to watch a movie about people on Death Row and we don't have to hear about Death Row the entire time. I like the amount of perspective given from the criminals, to the victims, to an almost complete stranger whose rants Herzog clearly fell in love with. It just feels like a refreshing documentary on perhaps a somewhat tired topic.

This guy is so mad to be stuck in such a tiny picture.

The Cave of Forgotten Dreams - 2010 - Dir. Herzog

God bless, Werner Herzog. That's all I have to say. The man knows how to get me going. I have to say, that this wasn't exactly my favorite of his films. The subject matter itself didn't strike me as exciting or as interesting as say The Antarctic or a Man who lives with Grizzlies. Herzog manages to sell the material though. His passion pushes us through it, excites us. Or at least, it excites me! But if anything, there's something very impressive (and telling) in what he managed to assemble considering the limitations put upon him. He had limiting shooting time and limited crew, so a little has to go a long way. He finds a story and thoughts worth pondering in the smallest details of the paintings, in the curves of the walls. Herzog wants us to inspect every minute detail of the painting. 3D only aids his case. It doesn't take over the film by any means. The opening credits are pretty stunning, though, and perhaps the most showy of the 3D. The film is still filled with expected Herzogian rants and tangents. Playful handling of his subjects. He made no qualms about exposing the epilogue with the radioactive albino alligators. Clearly, doing so amused him. Which is what works in this film and in most other Herzog films: he follows the trail he wants, and if we're willing to go along, we'll probably enjoy ourselves.

Which one is the bigger nutcase? You'll be surprised.

How Much Wood Could a Woodchuck Chuck - 1976 - Dir. Herzog

Sort of a mini-documentary. Or just a normal documentary, I guess. "It's forty minutes long" is what I'm saying here! Herzog is capturing the World Livestock Auctioneer Championship. There are a handful of interviews in the beginning, some shots of Pennsylvania, but I would say the majority of the film is watching auctioneers strut their stuff. So the length is really appropriate length for the film. Any longer and I might have started to pull my hair out. That isn't to say that the subject matter isn't interesting. It's fun to see how all of the auctioneers do what they do. And rather hypnotizing. The scope of the film is a little limited. Apart from the opening when the auctioneers talk about their "craft." There isn't much to the movie apart from the actual auctioneering. I would have gotten a kick out of speaking with a few more people. There's something kind of funny when people are filmed talking about a subject about which they certainly don't seem to have a lot to say. Even the auctioneers don't have much to say repeating the mantra "Practice makes perfect" and go through how they began to practice. The movie is nice in depicting the atmosphere of the Championship. There seems to be something inherently engrossing about the film to someone like me who is very distant from that world, and also somewhat amusing.

Cattle! You are all just Cattle! It makes me sick!

Grizzly Man - 2005 - Dir. Herzog

Grizzly Man seemed to have made a big splash when it came out years ago. At least, it seemed that way to me. I wasn't as familiar with Herzog as I am now, so I didn't pay it much mind. Having seen a ton of his movies at this point, I can tell you, it's not one of my favorites. I imagine it's probably so popular because it's a lot easier to digest than a lot of his other movies. It certainly has a lot more popular appeal than some of his other films. Certainly, he does an excellent job putting the film together. It's assembled from clips of Treadwell's own footage as well as Herzog going around speaking with people about Treadwell. It still has a lot of the Herzog touch including a weird ass Doctor (maybe my favorite part) explaining the nature of Tim's death and Herzog listening to the audio of Treadwell's violent death, then telling a friend of Treadwell's to destroy the tape and never listen to it. I feel like the former, especially, reeks of Herzog. One of my favorite aspects of his documentaries is his casual yet jarring appearances and side comments. And of course, Grizzly Man has plenty of his highly poetic/philosophical German accented voice over. It's a terrific documentary, but perhaps it just didn't grab me as tightly as his others.

It is tremendously difficult to find a picture of Timothy not "popping a squat."

My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done? - 2009 - Dir. Herzog

I'm basically at the point where I realize that Werner Herzog might be one of my more favorite directors. He's capable of being simultaneously shocking and provocative without sacrificing any emotional impact and maintaining a sense of humor about the whole thing. I feel like My Son, My Son is a pretty good introduction to Herzog. At least, I dunno, the more modern Herzog. Additionally, Grace Zabriskie is a cold stone freak. In the best possible way. I mean, you can tell from her roles in Big Love and Twin Peaks, that she plays a sweet kooky momma. The real star of the film is Michael Shannon, a fella who I suppose is just starting to get some sweet roles. The man glares like NO OTHER. I feel like this role could have been easily over-the-top but he toes the line between uncomfortable, funny, and just downright scary. I could have also used some more of Brad Dourif as Uncle Ted, but I'm a little biased because I could always use more of Brad Dourif. To get right down to it, there are just so many awesome moments in this film. I barely feel like I could list them all. There are certainly some slower or some sequences that don't work as well as others. But when they work? MAN OH MAN!!!

AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! Grace Zabriskie, get away!

Cobra Verde - 1987 - Dir. Herzog

It kind of sucks that this was the last collaboration between Herzog and Kinski, because I feel like of all their movies together, this one left sort of the least of an impact on me. I'm not entirely sure why. I suppose Kinski could be pretty striking at times, I just feel like I was least interested in his character. Usually they are so driven or at least... I dunno. In this film, he seemed just like kind of a pawn. The film isn't bad by any means, I guess, it just doesn't really hold up with the other four films. There's plenty of neat visuals going on. I feel like the King's fortress with the strange towers are really of note. Kind of Neverhood-ish. I really think the story just ends up being a little weaker. It sorta doesn't have a really strong focus or conflict. It is kind of dully historical and less indicative of Herzog/Kinski's collaborations. I think maybe it didn't age as well. Sure, we don't see Amazons training everyday, but seeing large groups of people train for battle just isn't as epic as it once was. The movie's last scene is awesome, I am not going to act like it isn't. It kind of felt like I really watered down version of a Herzog movie.

I would love for Kinski to play a Craig T. Nelson type character.

Even Dwarves Started Small - 1970 - Dir. Herzog

You know, I feel like when I started this blog, I didn't have a very strong idea as to what a Herzog movie was like. I had seen a few of his films but never really managed to connect the dots, so to speak. I think, just recently, and prolly through this year of movie watching and basically picking out a shit ton of Herzog movies. Now, I think I'm catching on. My point being, this film is pretty much what I would expect an early Herzog movie to be. It has next to no narrative, basically a premise of mental patients over running an asylum except everyone is played by a dwarf... or excuse everyone IS a dwarf. The movie is basically the patients doing various things. Most of them crazy. They look at a bug collection. Make a truck drive in a circle. Crucify a monkey. Torturing and I believe killing two blind inmates. They regularly try and attack the Warden, who is locked up in his office and holding another inmate hostage. It has a neat sense of humor throughout. There are some moments that are AWESOME and then some that are less awesome. The movie drags, which is what I expected. But it's kind of interesting to see an early Herzog film. The last shot is The Best.

How to make me Happy: Hold this shot for too long and have the Camel eventually poop.

Stroszek - 1977 - Dir. Herzog

You know, Bruno S. is a hell of a guy to watch. I saw him in Kaspar Hauser and he definitely stuck out. I thought he was just acting in Kaspar but I suppose he is a little rattled. I mean, there's a chance he isn't but Herzog cast him after seeing a doc about street musicians and apparently his early life resembles that of Stroszek's. He definitely has a kind of... he's hypnotizing to watch. He's a little bit like the opposite of Kinski, who is exploding all over the place with emotions. Bruno is imploding. It can be so difficult to read him sometimes and his isolation is just completely out of hand. I suppose the movie is never as sad as you might think it would be. It has a lot of comedic sequences and absurdity mixed in with all of the drama. Because, after all, a great deal of the film is watching Bruno get shat all over by basically everyone. The ending is just awlsome. I loved the dancing chicken and the other sideshow traps. Naturally, Herzog gives them undue focus which always makes a happy Jeff. It's pretty neat how Herzog manages to assemble these types of movies. Non actors, unchanged locations. The film just meanders around, there's a clear finish line, but Herzog doesn't take the direct route there.

Bruno S. is FEELING it.

Nosferatu: The Vampire - 1979 - Dir. Herzog

Continuing my Herzogology, Nosferatu recently came into my possession. I hadn't really put two and two together of Klaus Kinski and Isabella Adjani being not only in the same film together but basically being protagonist and antagonist. I mean, they are the same kind of intensely theatrical actors, able to make HUGE emotions without being ridiculous. Not only that, but being directed by fucking Werner Herzog!? Even though, I'm talking it up, the movie is SOMEWHAT muted. Somewhat. By that, I mean, it just isn't screaming. Kinski portrays a very sad vampire, years ahead of Robert Pattinson. It kind of does some pretty neat stuff, nudging the original film. Calling it a stylistic remake, an idea that's a lot of fun and something I can get behind. The subplot of the plague is an interesting addition, especially with the goofy as festival things it leads to. There are plenty of awesome visuals in the film, especially when anyone is carrying a coffin. Unfortunately, I saw the english dub, or english version where apparently some of the performances are a little weaker since Kinski and Ganz apparently struggle with the English a little bit. Kinski still seemed plenty dandy but Ganz was totally weak. Oh man! And the last scene where they debate arresting Van Helsing is pretty ridiculous and Herzog all the way. An enjoyable film, if not a little slow.

Easily two of the most INSANE actors I know.

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans - 2009 - Dir. Herzog

You know, I really like Nick Cage. He's just plain awesome. He can do REAL acting as well as... Ghost Rider acting. In Bad Lieutenant, he busts out his real acting and THANK GOD for it! He. Is. Excellent. Alternately goofing off and bringing a reality to the character. His kind of fractured acting matches perfectly with film. It's tons of fun and the more I think about it, the more I like it. Also, Shea Whigham is in it as a ridiculous pseudo antagonist. This is my second Whigham movie to be seen and that guy just gets me excited about the lines he says. Also my best friend Brad Dourif is in it. ANYWAY, the movie toes a line between bizarre and mainstream. I can't even describe how awesome one of the ending scenes is. I'm a little surprised by Herzog. I mean, he's all over it but still, I'm a little impressed. The film had SUCH a tricky tone and Herzog can be all over the place sometimes. It also works really well as a meditation of focus and multi-tasking. In many senses, we are watching a man attempting to juggle everything and go in every direction. He can no longer find his "spoon" in a scene I thought was goofy but ended up being rather resonant. Obviously, it is also says quite a bit about addiction. Jennifer Coolidge's scene where they watch television together is sweeeeeeet!

Heeeey Mr. Cage, you're looking pretty astute.

Encounters at the End of the World - 2007 - Dir. Herzog

Man, I do get quite a kick out of Herzog. The man can make ANY kind of movie! Well, it's not always good, but this is a good one! He comes out saying this isn't like the usual nature documentary, taking a somewhat obnoxious and already dated jab at March of the Penguins. He's right though. The man went to Antarctica and ended up with something that focuses on the people's own eccentricities as much as the AWFUL UNSEEN CREATURES OF THE DEEP. Really, there are some nightmare creatures down there and that Jellyfish doesn't do it justice. He also captures some incredible footage. Some things he sees are so surreally beautiful, it's incredible to think they are just naturally occurrences. The sections of the film that are JUST nature footage are easily my favorite parts. ADDITIONALLY, you meet some pretty interesting people. The movie paints Antarctica as a last refuge for social outcasts and misfits. And Herzog (social misfit himself) captures them well, if in his own socially misfit-y way. At one point, the voice over mocks someone for being boring and long winded. In the end, it's an interesting, and very engaging film brimming with personality.

The Nightmare of the Sea

My Best Fiend - 1999 - Dir. Herzog

Herzog and Kinski made five films together. The first of which, Aquirre, I watched yesterday. I suppose my interest was peaked was peaked in the Director/Actor and their supposedly explosive relationship. All right, I said supposedly because just having watched Herzog's take on the actor, I'm feeling a little cynical, but I don't think I can really deny that the two motherfuckers sure must've butt heads a whole lot. In fact, I even buy that the two guys probably did try killing each other. Although, it certainly seems like Herzog did a lot more threatening. As a documentary, I found it really interesting to watch Herzog more than Kinski, who seems to spend a great deal of the film trying to convince us that he is NOT Kinski. That he's not insane. Then admitting that he actually thought about firebombing Kinski's home. I suppose, Kinski did seem to have a tendency towards sabotaging the projects he was working on and Herzog certainly did seem to be able to control that actor, but at one point, you just have to really question Herzog. He does admit to being an instigator but is convinced that Kinski is to blame. It seems like these two guys just loved butting heads. Enjoyed the drama that it created. I mean, it's fucking Werner Herzog, who insisted on a ship being dragged over a mountain. Guy's a nutball. There's an old clip in the film of Herzog describing everything in the jungle as Misery. "The trees are Misery. The birds are misery." He seems nuts in a whole different way. Kinski was explosive and Herzog was implosive (I GUESS). I can't take Herzog at his word in this film, but his word certainly does create an interesting enough hour and forty minutes.

Kinski relaxing between shots.

Aguirre, the Wrath of God - 1972 - Dir. Herzog

In a similar vein as Fitzcarraldo, Aguirre, the Wrath of God, features Klaus Kinski near some water being completely batshit insane and fantastically unreasonable. The film follows a group of Spanish soilders who are heading down river to discover the city of EL DORADO. Unfortunately, the second-in-command happens to be Klaus Kinski who causes a mutiny and then convinces the rest of the group to form their own nation of El Dorado and eventually leads them towards their doom and destruction. Kinski only becomes more and more delusional and has convinced himself that they will eventually overthrow the crown itself. Now, I'm a fan of Klaus Kinski, he's an intense fella, no doubt about it. I mean, it's a role suited to the man's talents. Herzog moves us through the story quickly with quirky or hallucinatory asides and consistantly awful events that have convinced me to never travel down a river of ANY SIZE. I mean, awful terrible shit never stops happening to those people. In some sense, the movie is watching people around Klaus Kinski die. And it's beautiful. I forgot to mention that. The movie has some beautiful shots. The opening sequence of the incredibly ungainly bunch make their way down a mountain is stunning. And the score only helps, creating a thourough amount of religious dread when it plays. OH, the pan flute guy is the best. There's a pan flute guy... he's the best. In fact, as I think about this movie, it really has been bringing a lot of smiles to my face. There's a lot of goofy one-liners that herzog sneaks into the movie, but he fits them in so well. And the climax, there's a shot of the raft being stopped by a wall of foliage and the massiveness of what they're up against is felt. It's fantastic. Yeah, this was a fine film. As I started this I was all "Eh, it's good." but now I'm all "Yeah, that was great!"

Kinski relaxing between shots.