Even Dwarfs Started Small (1970)

Werner Herzog's 1970 film Even Dwarfs Started Small (Auch Zwerge haben klein angefangen) is a bold. brutal, and black and white look at an unnamed institution which is populated and run entirely by little people. The inmates rise up and turn the tables on those in charge and in doing so take their newly won freedom much farther, into an equally harsh anarchy. Many of the scenes push buttons and elicit strong reactions, others make the viewer question meanings of what's being displayed. Especially recommended for fans of Eraserhead or El Topo.

Gummo (1997)

In the scene where Solomon's eating spagetti in the bath, there's a piece of bacon taped to the wall behind him. Says Werner Herzog: "When I saw a piece of fried bacon fixed to the bathroom wall in Gummo, it knocked me off my chair. Korine's a very clear voice of a generation of filmmakers that is taking a new position. It's not going to dominate world cinema, but so what?"

the trailer



the movie

God's Angry Man (1983)

God's Angry Man (1983) is a Werner Herzog documentary which looks at the controversial televangelist Dr. Gene Scott.

Burden of Dreams (1982)

The films of Werner Herzog have always impressed me and several are among my top favorites, most notably 1972s Aquirre: The Wrath of God. In the documentary Burden of Dreams director Les Blank followed the painstaking and chaotic production of Fitzcarraldo, which would eventually earn Herzog the Best Director award at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival.

Director Herzog had once earlier tackled filming in primeval wilderness with Aguirre, but Fitzcarraldo presented him with a new galaxy of challenges. Numerous delays were caused by several changes in the actor portraying Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, aka Fitzcarraldo. A Herculean effort was also involved with the moving of an actual steamship first across thick rain forest jungles, then over a mountain and finally through waterways and white water rapids. No CGI was used, making many scenes breath taking in their intensity and realism.


the trailer

the feature

La Soufriere (1977) Warten auf eine unausweichliche Katastrophe

La Soufrière - Waiting for an Inevitable Disaster
Recently watched the humorous (and recommended) mockumentary Incident at Loch Ness (2004) which was co-written by Werner Herzog and Zak Penn, who was also the director as well as appearing in the film alongside Herzog. Aside from the curious fact that among his other projects Zak Penn was the screenwriter for PCU (1994), I was reminded of the high quality and fascinating actual documentaries Werner Herzog has created throughout the years and La Soufriere is one of my favorites.

La Soufriere takes Herzog and a skeleton crew to the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe as an enormous volcano has begun showing multiple signs than an cataclysmic eruption is imminent. Many years earlier, the volcano had erupted and killed everyone nearby (with one notable exception) and this fact has caused nearly all residents near the volcano to evacuate. He is drawn to the situation and interested in speaking with the one islander who has chosen to remain. The visuals are supplied with beautiful panoramas of rugged and lush landscapes which are contrasted with stark, "after-the-end-of-world" shots of the town completely devoid of humans - but with electricity still powering things such as traffic lights.

Woyzeck (1979)

Adapted from the stage, Werner Herzog's Woyzeck was filmed almost immediately after completion of Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht (1979) with many of the same cast and crew. The gaunt, tired and desperate performance from lead Klaus Kinski perhaps owes something to this fact.

original German trailer

Aguirre: The Wrath of God (1972) Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes

Werner Herzog's 1972 film Aguirre: The Wrath of God was ranked #46 on Entertainment Weekly's "Top 50 Cult Films of All-Time" and I would include this on my list of all time favorite films.

The naturalistic savagery of the primeval tropical rain forest, searing characterizations and cinematography that effortlessly transcends into pure hallucinatory visions contribute to its brilliance. An appropriatly haunting musical score is providing by Popol Vuh. Klaus Kinski delivers a powerfully wide-eyed performance as the title character who usurps Gonzalo Pizarro and Don Pedro de Ursua's leadership while on a 1560 quest over the Andes into the mouth of the Amazon in search of golden treasures. Constantly beset by trouble, the group suffers a steady attrition due to this myriad of difficulties as the quest takes on an increasingly nihilistic tenor.

A truly incredible movie from the breath taking initial shots to the inevitable end. Below is the English dubbed trailer and the complete subtitled film.