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The six-film Herzog/Kinski boxed set is a sleek compilation of a visionary cinematic collaboration. The history of cinema is dotted with great directors who have found an actor whose face, voice, and style capture that director's point of view: Josef Von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich; John Ford and John Wayne; Martin Scorsese and Robert DeNiro. In 1972, the German director Werner Herzog cast Polish actor Klaus Kinski in Aguirre, the Wrath of God--the result was perhaps the definitive film for both. Kinski had previously made almost 100 films, but his malevolent role--as a Spanish conquistador obsessed with finding gold--shot him into international stardom. Though Herzog and the volatile Kinski were at each other's throats through much of the filming, seven years later the director cast Kinski as the tortured vampire of Nosferatu, Phantom of the Night (a color remake of the silent horror classic) and the title character of Woyzeck, based on the classic expressionistic German play about a jealous, unstable soldier who murders his lover. Both films continued the Herzog-Kinski trademark of intense unflinching emotion and the palpable presence of the raw physical world.

In 1982, Fitzcarraldo carried this ethos to new heights as Kinski portrayed a man who, in order to bring grand opera to the depths of Peru, has a huge steamship hauled over a mountainside using ropes, pulleys, and human endurance. The mad ambition of the film matched that of its hero as Herzog repeatedly placed crew and actors at risk of their lives. Nonetheless, the love-hate relationship between the director and his star carried them into one last film, the uneven but still remarkable Cobra Verde, about a Brazilian bandit sent to Africa to reopen the slave trade. After Kinski's death in 1991, Herzog made a documentary, My Best Fiend, about their decades of collaboration; the result rivals their previous work as a testament to human extremity. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (9)

The Cinema of Werner Herzog
I'm of the opinion that Werner Herzog is one of the three best filmmakers of the past thirty years. What really distinguishes greatness, in my mind, is a personal stamp on every film. Knowing that whatever movie they make, whether it's from an original source or an adaptation, it will be theirs completely. Take a look at one scene, one frame from any movie and you'll know who made it-- that's the case with guys like Kubrick and Burton from a visual stand-point. I never found Herzog to be that visually distinct, although there's no doubt his is unique. It's really in his scene set-up, the poetry of his moving visuals, and the content and psychology of his characters which distinguish Herzog from the rest. The films are packed with imagery and fascinating characterizations. It's our luck that Kinski found Herzog, as the two compliment each other and go hand-in-hand. Here I will review three of the films in this collection, three of history's best.

Aguirre, the Wrath of God has been compared to Shakespeare, the psychological fall from grace of Kinski's character as he leads this doomed expedition. From the opening frame, Herzog seems to foreshadow the impending failure of the journey, with the music and visual imagery. At one point, he actually points the camera at rapids for two full minutes. At first, we ask 'what?' but then we realize these rapids look less like flowing water, and more like bubbling, boiling waters. The water seems to be flowing right above hell's fires. Aguirre hopes and hopes that the city of gold is just a bit further down stream, but as he commands the expedition further, he falls further into insanity. Like Fred C. Dobbs in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Aguirre is the product of pure greed and power. His motivation is pure enough (riches), but his madness betrays him until it climaxes to monkeys. Aguirre is a difficult film to watch with its cynicism and ugly look, but it's a worthwhile experience.

Nosferatu is both a re-tread of Murneau's classic and an apocalyptic vision at the same time. At one point Jonathan, the lead, passes through the Transilvanian wilderness and we're treated to an endless shot of the moving sky. The feeling of dread Herzog creates here has never been matched. The whole film has an eerie quality, yet it's grounded into reality, almost as a documentary. When finally dracula has reached society, we're no longer in 'horror-movie' territory, but we watch the plague unfold into a full-fledged apocalypse. We get a feeling of how the bubonic plague really felt. It falls into a psychologically deranged state, as we realize just how quietly deadly the Nosferatu is. Society crumbles before our eyes, as people celebrate their demise on the streets while the rats slowly take over. If it sounds depressing, it is, but this cynicism is not without basis. You cannot blame Herzog, or Kinski, for turning the camera not on life's fiction, but on its' fact. Here, and in his their work, Herzog exposes the inconsistencies and darknesses of life. Not that these are new themes explored in film, other giants such as Kubrick and Polanski have made careers of it, but I'm not sure it's ever been done with this level of poetry.

Fitzcarraldo, I believe is his most satisfying. I'm not going to say it's his most optimistic, but as compared to Herzog's other work, it's his happiest and most triumphant. Fitzcarraldo is Kinski's most accessible character, because he, the dreamer is within all of us. Of course the greed of Aguirre is in all of us, as is the evil of Nosferatu, but the dreaming, ambitious state of Fitzcarraldo is something we should be proud of as humans. All logic dictates that his crazy plans will fail, but new ideas which do not leave us are there for a reason. In Fitz's case, building an opera in the middle of the jungle is his goal, and in order to finance this, he must reach an unreachable area of the jungle by dragging a ship over land. Fitz is not the kind who represses his ambitions, and that's all I will say about the story. The movie chronicles his journey and culminates into the most satisfying end of any Herzog film.
Woyzek, and Cobra Verde are also interesting works, but not as good as those three. Both are more akin to the dark sensibilities of Aguirre than the triumphant Fitzcarraldo. My Best Fiend, the documentary is essential for all fans, as the insight between the two's relationship is interesting. I also recommend Herzog's Stroszek and The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (both starring Bruno S., whom I believe is just as effective in those works as Kinski is in these). Werner Herzog actually recorded a commentary for all the movies in this set, and they're all worthwhile.

The bottom line is, the films by modern standards are very weird, and European. They are slower paced as well, but they're classics for a reason. The psychology of the characters, the intensity of Kinski, the music of Popol Vuh, and the poetry of the cinematography are all in a cinematic top form.

Initially, I actually didn't enjoy Herzog's films. The films bubbled in my mind over time, and I couldn't ignore the impact. Soon I had to watch them again. I became an instant fan.

Great collection, Great Additions and Price
Ok, somebody got it right. Put together a solid, comprehensive collections of films, add a good documentary and then give the dedicated folks a break on the price. Herzog may not be the easiest director to make sense of at first, but over any two of these films you begin to get the power and the vision he was working with. Kinski is no different. It's an intensity that we don't view, let alone experience, enough, and yet seeing it in raw form provides access to more subtle degrees of emotion.

Four/five films are exceptional, and the last COBRA VERDE is still worth every minute after viewing the BEST FIEND documentary in the set. Kinski was so exhausted (spiritually) after playing the part that I don't believe he ever acted in a movie again.

While both made other films apart from each other, these joint-adventures bring out each of their purity. Taken as a whole, the combination is one of the greats in cinema or any other arts (like Bernstein and Copland). Provides an amazing and unique view of the human endeavor. You'll never forget it.

Technical details addition
I'd like to add some technical details for this DVD-set:

This DVD-set can't be with region 1 code, because my DVD-player is with region code 2 and plays this DVD-set complete. It must have region code 0.

Pre Ordered the Moment I Saw It
This is a gift from the Gods. All the combined works of Kinski and Herzog in one packaged set. I pre-ordered it the minute I saw it. Just having "Nosferatu," "Aguirre," "Fitcarraldo" and "My Best Fiend," in a set would be cause enough for joy. But ALL of their movies together is fantastic. If you are a film fanatic, you cannot live without having this most shining moment of German film. If it ever goes out of release, you will be able to sell it for a fortune as a collector's item, if you can bear to part with it. I separately review the movies in here under their own titles so will not attempt to do that here.

Herzog & Kinski & Yin & Yang
I always think of them together, Herzog and Kinski. Cinematic Yin and Yang. The best and worst that the world has to offer. The films they made together are their respective crowning
achievements, achingly hypnotic, synchronous and chaotic. Their relationship, as explained in "My Best Fiend," was a joyous nightmare, born in a place that resides between heaven and hell. Screaming mad, death threats, insanity, perfection on film. All of Kinski's characterizations are the most believable interpretations of the most unbelievable characters imaginable, several are real people from the cobwebbed corners of world history! Kinski was a timebomb, and Herzog was his fuse, and his muse. Herzog should get a Nobel prize for not having killed Kinski, brought him back to life, and killed him again! He tolerated Kinski's intolerable behavior to make Art. It must have been like painting on a canvas that spits back at you. Herzog rose above it all to helm some of the most amazing films the world has known. 5 excellent and astounding dramas, and a posthumous "love letter," that must be seen. What magic from such an unpleasant relationship, there really must be some kind of balance in nature for such a conundrum to bless us. 6 miracles in a box, how often is that offered us? ... Read more

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Quite simply a great movie, one whose implacable portrait of ruthless greed and insane ambition becomes more pertinent every year. The astonishing Klaus Kinski plays Don Lope de Aguirre, a brutal conquistador who leads his soldiers into the Amazon jungle in an obsessive quest for gold. The story is of the expedition's relentless degeneration into brutality and despair, but the movie is much more than its plot. Director Werner Herzog strove, whenever possible, to replicate the historical circumstances of the conquistadors, and the sheer human effort of traveling through the dense mountains and valleys of Brazil in armor creates a palpable sense of struggle and derangement. This sense of reality, combined with Kinski's intensely furious performance, makes Aguirre, the Wrath of God a riveting film. Its unique emotional power is matched only by other Herzog-Kinski collaborations like Fitzcarraldo and Woyzek. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (76)

Herzog's visionary film is one of the greats!!
Werner Herzog's Aguirre, The Wrath of God is one of the great achievements of the incredible New German Cinema movement of the 1970's. The film's "story" has been discussed elsewhere on this page so I won't bother to repeat it. But really, this is no plot to speak of. This is a mood piece, a dream of a film. It is a study of power and delusions and if that sounds boring, believe me its NOT. The visuals are extraordinary (typical of a Herzog film). From the films incredible opening shot of a long line of men as they snake thier way down a mountain to the final shot, which is one of the most memorable in cinema, of a mad Aguirre on a raft surrounded by corpses and small monkeys floating down the river. Adding to the dreamlike effect is the eerie music of Popol Vuh. Aguirre is a memorable film experience that you should'nt miss. I commend Anchor Bay for releasing Herzog's entire output on DVD, this a definitely one for your personal library at home. Very highly recommeded!

Entertaining but eerie.
This film has always been a sentimental favorite of mine, although it is definitely not a mainstream movie with mass appeal. It chronicles the eerie, haunting, and morbid journey of a group of fifteenth century Spanish conquistadores who break off from Pizzaro's group and head into the deepest parts of the Amazon jungle in search of gold. They are swallowed up, one by one, by unseen natural forces in the jungle, and also by the paranoia and insanity of their leader Aguirre (Kinski). It is well deserving of its reputation as a cult classic, and it is one of Kinski's signature pieces. Showcasing his ability to create a bizzare, twisted and disturbing persona. Since the conquistadores are eventually lead to destruction by Aguirres lust for power and riches it is almost a metaphore of the entire history of the Spanish conquests of South America. The film is actually shot in several languages (including English), then DUBBED into GERMAN, and then SUBTITLED back into English again; which gives the whole thing a rather strange appearance. Kinski's daughter Nastashia is also in the film, playing Aguirre's daughter. Her character is not well developed, and she is only there to show that there IS actually something in the world that Aguirre cares about besides gold. Nevertheless, it is a novelty to see her in her movie debut, before she became famous in her own right. I recommend the movie to those who like offbeat 'artistic' films, and cult classics, but not to those who are looking for light entertainment or an adventure movie.

The doomed quest for El Dorado
I am new to Warner Herzog, and "Aguirre: The Wrath of God" is the 2nd of his films that I have seen. Like many directors with strong artistic visions, I have found his style a bit hard to adapt to but I am appreciating it more and more. The grotesque colors he uses are particularly noteworthy, lending a feeling of unreality that contrasts with the naked realism of his films. The visual images are haunting, and linger after the film is over. The Wrath of God and 400 little monkeys...

"Aguirre: The Wrath of God" is by no means an easy film to get into. The characters are brutal and uninviting, and it is impossible to sympathize with their plight, the conquest of the native peoples. Like the river they travel on, the armored conquistadors move slowly but relentlessly forward, pieces of their humanity and sanity falling off along the way. At one scene in particular, the soldiers dispassionately watch their fellows trapped in a river eddy, discussion whether or not they should attempt a rescue with no more urgency or care than wondering if they should have coffee or tea. The peruvian natives are equally unsympathetic, picking off the soldiers slowly from the jungle, invisible and dangerous. One can see the influence it must have had on"Apocalypse Now."

People call this film dreamlike, and that maybe, but it is also brutally realistic, dirty and harsh. There is a sense that this is exactly what it would be like. There is a definite sense that animals were harmed during the filming, and that people were harmed as well. No camera trickery or artistic license is taken. All deaths are ignoble. Klaus Kinski, as Aguirre, is an uncharismatic Richard III,. slightly hunchbacked and ugly, leading his followers down a mad path that can have only one destination.

Herzog and Kinski's Vision of Manifested Madness
On the eastern slopes of the Andes during the Spanish expedition , Gonzalo Pizarro urges his men to continue through the thick Amazon forests despite the dangers within the dark and humid jungle. The tale of Pizarro's venture begins with an ominous warning as it is revealed to the audience that the only surviving evidence of the expedition is a journal kept by Brother Gaspar de Carvajal, a monk who travels to spread the gospel of Christianity. This bleak foreshadowing induces an inching uneasiness into the mind of the audience. This is enhanced by further looming incidents such as native slaves dying like flies from simple colds and food shortage. The low supply of food leads to a decision to split the group where one group should return for provisions and the other should continue searching for a gold shimmering city. This tale then follows the ill-fated who continue the journey for the legendary city as they are drawn deeper into the cruel world of the Amazon. Deaths of several men forebode the grim future of the expedition, which the leadership wants to call off and return to the safety of civilization. However, Aguirre (Klaus Kinski), a high ranking soldier, commands a rise against the leadership based on a proud vision of greatness and worldly riches beyond imagination that drives him to thrust deeper into the unexplored rainforest. Aguirre's vision draws the expedition into a personal realm of madness and destruction, which leads to only one certain fate.

Aguirre: The Wrath of God has a lingering effect on the audience as the eerie atmosphere created by Herzog persists from the initial shot to the final scene. There are several components that generate this bizarre ambiance of the story such as cinematography, idiosyncrasies, mise-en-scene, and performances by the cast. The cinematography is simple and sometimes documentary-like, which produces a real feeling. This real feeling together with the uncanny knowledge of the unavoidable doom enhances the extraordinary atmosphere of the venture. The complete portrait of the character Aguirre by Klaus Kinski is nothing but spectacular. Herzog's choice of mise-en-scene is delicately chosen as all the items had to be transported by the expedition. Each item within each frame displays a significant symbolism such as the horse and raft, which adds new layers to the unnatural atmosphere. Lastly, the performances by the cast are outstanding as it is not the dialogue that drives the story forward, but the visual manifestation of their being that elevates the outlandish impression of each scene. When Herzog combined all the aspects of film-making in Aguirre: The Wrath of God he left the world a brilliantly eerie cinematic experience that will leave several notions in reflecting minds.

Herzog and Kinski go Tarkovsky.
Wraith of God was actually made in 1972 in German and got its US debut in 1977 and provided Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979) with a vision. The film is pure art through and through using the Amazon River as a backdrop for the epic tale of Spanish conquistadors finding themselves abandoned in South America on a quest to find the legendary city of gold 'El Dorado'. Set a few decades after the Inca Empire has fallen in the 16th century, these troops of Spanish explorers have been selected by the head explorer for the region, and founder of Mexico - Pizarro, to find the lost gold. Within a few days of being on the Amazon the conquistadors are split on the rapids. Soon there is a mutiny, murder, revenge and betrayal as the dreams of vast wealth and power drive all of them to their doom.

The combination of Kinski and Herzog is electric. Here, on a shoe-string budget, they make mountains out of nothing as Tarkovsky did on 'Stalker'. The costumes and sets are all obviously mostly made by the actors and whatever film crew that would actually risk hanging around Herzog and Kinski for the gung-ho shoot. This is kino-art's rendition of Hearts of Darkness. The actual suffering of the film crew (and some cruelty to animals - several horse falling scenes, the pillaging of a village with an attack on pigs and a monkey being thrown aside) is clearly visible in the narrative which borders on extreme adlibbing most of the time as well as hard labour (moving a cannon on a small wagon around the jungle, building rafts with a toilet on board and living off the land). The improvisation though is classic in every sense of the word making Herzog and Kinski instant important additions to the world of high profile art film makers. The cinematography is spot on. The majority of it is hand-held but the images of the jungle are striking and the final shots of the circling raft are sublime. Seeing Kinski chasing monkeys around the raft is also some of the most memorising and breathtakingly remarkable scenes in cinema. The film is one of the most unusual you have ever seen and becomes psychotic towards the final stages showing the craziness of our characters search for the gold - a reflection of the exertions of the crew and actors. Kinski is outstanding as the deranged Don Lope de Aguirre who trying to follow in Pizarro's footsteps even manages to take his family into hell with him. There is an excellent plot element involving a mock trial with a monk as a judge and the crowning of a pseudo-king that will have you in disbelief. The film is so lucidly insane that it will captivate you within the first few minutes. By the time the credits role you will have experienced an epic completed with a few actors, a raft, some animals and natives and yet have witness something as grand and epic as 'Spartacus'. Herzog is a crazed genius and the world is his strange colloid laboratory.

'Aguirre' is up there with the ranks of 'Andre Rublev' and 'Apocalypse Now' however Kinski and Herzog did go one better when they made 'Fitzcarraldo'(they tow a steam ship up a mountain... really!). The aspect ratio of this film is 1.37:1 meaning that it is not in widescreen or letterbox, but it was originally filmed as a square almost (fitting television perfectly). The transfer is extremely good although I believe that this is not a new transfer and was probably encoded from a very good master video tape (Beta SP) for German television broadcast and not from a 35mm film print. No one is complaining though because the quality is extremely good. The extras (documentaries, commentaries) are a must. By the way you can get the Kinski/Herzog box set of 6 films for a few quid extra than this stand alone DVD. Go look for it. ... Read more

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Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald (Klaus Kinski), known as Fitzcarraldo to the native Peruvians, is an avid opera lover and rubber baron who dreams of building an opera house in the Peruvian jungle. To accomplish this, he plans to reach an isolated patch of rubber trees and make his fortune. But these trees are not directly accessible by river because of dangerous rapids, so Fitzcarraldo runs his ship as close as possible via an alternate river and then enlists the aid of the native Peruvians to drag his ship over a mountain to the desired area. However, the natives seem to have their own agenda in so mysteriously acceding to Fitzcarraldo's wishes. The results manage to both mock and affirm the dreams of determined figures like Fitzcarraldo, making absurdity out of the stuff of human endeavor without negating the beauty of that effort. There is hardly a more awe-inspiring or arresting image than that of Fitzcarraldo's ship pulling itself up the mountain with cables and pulleys, or of the ship resting in mid-ascent as seen through the thick morning fog of the jungle.

The tortured production history of Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo (ably recorded in Les Blank's documentary Burden of Dreams) tends to take the spotlight away from this deeply mesmerizing film. And that's unfortunate, because the film itself is even more fascinating than the trials and tribulations, amazing though they might be, that led to its being made. Part of the problem is the film's deliberate, some might say ponderous, pace, which invites the viewer to experience the slow immersion into the jungle that Fitzcarraldo and company experience. Herzog did something similar in Aguirre, the Wrath of God, sometimes aiming his camera at the river rapids for extended periods of time, with hypnotic results. This could never happen in a Hollywood film, and it should be treasured. --Jim Gay ... Read more

Reviews (34)

One of the Greatest Films Ever...I Was Stunned
It shocks me that I had never even HEARD of "Fitzcarraldo" a week ago (nor did I know who Werner Herzog was), and now that I've seen it I consider it to be one of the 10 best films I've ever seen in my life, right up there with "Vertigo," "Once Upon A Time In The West," and "Rashomon."

The pacing of this film is slow, languid, and dreamlike, and allows the viewer to really immerse him/herself in the brooding jungle atmosphere. I never realized how contrived most American movies felt, until I experienced the stark reality of Werner Herzog's documentary-like style. "Fitzcarraldo" blurs the line between reality and drama, utilizing actual natives in conjunction with his character-actors (including the brilliant and intense Klaus Kinski), who subject themselves to real hardships in order to lend the film legitimacy. The result feels like a cross between a surreal daydream and something out of National Geographic.

The transfer to DVD is virtually perfect. I was awestruck at the quality of the video and audio on this disc. The picture is gorgeous, in sweeping, flawless widescreen, and the sound is bright and alive. There are few extras on this disc, but the film itself was so satisfying that I didn't care.

I highly recommend the boxed set entitled "The Herzog/Kinski Collection," as it contains excellent DVD versions of all 5 of their collaborations, as well as Herzog's tribute to Kinski entitled "My Best Fiend," a fascinating portrait of their bizarre, yet intensely creative, working relationship. It will add to your appreciation of "Fitzcarraldo" and all of their films.

" Life without music would be a mistake"---Nietsche.
Documentaries have been made about the love/hate relationship between the greatest German director and the greatest German actor of the twentieth century. Kinski claimed that he kicked Herzog during the making of this film and that "Herzog groveled." For his part Herzog claimed that when Kinski threatened to walk off the set, Herzog took a high powered rifle and swore to Kinski that he would shoot him as his motorboat passed around the bend.( They were filming in the The Amazon ) Kinski stayed.

Only these two superbly talented megalomaniacs could have pulled off this tour de force of directing and acting.

Fitzcarraldo is, quite simply , one of the greatest films of all time. No other actor could have played the lead as well as Klaus Kinski, and no other director could have conceived eschewing props and actually hauling a 300 ton steamship over a mountain, or, for that matter, hiring warring tribes of headhunters as extras.

It works.

The story is set in the late 19th century when rubber (and robber!) barons created great wealth in the remote jungles of South America, built on the monopoly of the rubber plant. We moderns know that this artificially created civilisation will soon collapse, when the plant is smuggled out; so what better setting than these ephemeral cities of gold and palaces of opulence to tell this tale of man's capacity to dream?

Here is a world where elegance mingles with crudity. In one scene, a millionare, proud of his collection of rare carps, tosses them them large bills, while he jokes in front of an impoverished Fitzcarraldo about how fond the fish are of the taste of money.

Fitzcarraldo has a passion for opera. If the viewer does not share this, the film can still makes sense, provided the viewer has a passion for SOMETHING. If not, forget it. It'll be incomprehensible to anyone without blood in his veins. Just the story of a nut.

Not that Fitzcarraldo is not er . . .speculative in his business schemes. When he announces to his lover, a successful brothel keeper, (Claudia Cardinale) " I have an idea! " She responds with: " Oh, no! Not another one! "

But she bankrolls him, nevertheless. Now all he has to do is--well, as Einstein once eloquently said, to achieve the impossible, we must attempt the absurd.

Caruso on the Amazon!
It seems almost ridiculous to add yet another praise-filled review to the heaps already expressed here, but such a consummate piece of art like, 'Fitzcarraldo,' deserves the most it can get. Since others have brilliantly summarized the plot, I'll concentrate instead on why one should 'treasure' the three perfect hours of this film.

Rare is the film nowadays that says so much with so little. Dialogue is used very sparingly throughout Fitzcarraldo, but that's all the better, for Kinski's Fitzcarraldo doesn't need words to express his dream. Every close-up of that intense face tells more than two hours of annoying chatter ever could. With his sharp features, searing gaze and untamed mane, Kinski is indeed Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald. A man possessed by his dream, by his mission to bring one of the most delectable of human creations, opera, to the 'wilds.' I agree most wholeheartedly with that reviewer who mentionned the role of Kinski's hair. It indeed has a life of its own and it mesmerizes the viewer. Like the antennae of Fitz's spirit, it stiffens in determination to see his passion come to bear, and then flys off his head, when the dream is realized. Every single second of this masterpiece is artfully necessary. Every stony gaze from the Indians, every sweeping shot of the misty jungle fits perfectly into place, creating a mosaic of colossal proportions. The scenes of the boat being painfully nudged over the hill mirror the struggle of creation itself. Or my favorite: when the Indians board the boat and meet Fitz for the first time. Herzog closes-up on how the chief gently touches, then rubs Fitz's palm. Two minutes that cast us into eternity. What could it mean? A symbol of our underlying brotherhood, a first 'clash' between 'the civilized' and 'the wild?' I don't even pretend to know, nor do I particularly care, for the soothing, almost sensual warmth of the scene brings that inner peace that all great art should.

Ponderous? Deliberate? Yes and rightly so. Good things, great things, whether they be an exquisite meal, passionate lovemaking or the creation of a masterpiece, take their own time, irregardless of the frantic chaos that surrounds them. Fitzcarraldo is one such 'time-less' experience. Dive in and revel in its every breathtaking second!

Not only does this film enrichen our senses, it strengthens our hearts. Fitz instructs us on we should pursue our dreams. With relentless faith. Believe and yes, we can move mountains! And move our weighty burdens over them as well. Yes, they are painstaking and for every inch gained, we lose two more. Yes, there are casualties. For ourselves and for others. And yes, nobody believes you can really pull it off, but in the end, you shall have your vindication as did Fitz. Caruso on the Amazon? Watch and believe!

Towering!!
What can one say about this unique film experience. Herzog takes the viewer along for the great "ride" and we must pay attention.

The love of opera here is manifest in a way that is so compulsive and thereby so compelling that we have to take breaths often during this film.

All you F(x) experts can stay home and ponder your next bit of software on your bland and insufferable computers which dole out dreams as emotional as Hexadecimal!! Everything you see here is real and the passion of the vision is evident with Mr Kinski giving one of his Dr. Pretarious performances.

Hollywood bean counters and executives beware..This is a real film, this is cinema not the pap you have been shoveling the last 24 years. Finally, I would like to quote a,line by Paul Scofield in " The Train" to Burt Lancaster...and transpose the thought to those same hollywood bean counters " Letting you look at this film is like showing a " String of Pearls to an Ape"!

Fitzcarraldo a Rare film experience

Obscure history, writ large
Among the things that distinguish Werner Herzog as a film-maker are two qualities that he shares with William Shakespeare: he knows the human heart better than most dramatists, and he never lets the facts get in the way of telling a good story.

Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald (called "Fitzcarraldo" by the natives) was a real guy, who really loved opera, and really did drag a ship over a piece of land to get it from one part of a South American river to another. He did it to bring opera to middle of the jungle. That's history. What drove this guy to do such a frankly outrageous thing in the name of art? What kind of fever siezes a visionary and brings him to the brink of insanity to attempt such a thing? That's the stuff of drama. Herzog knows the difference, and his choices in bringing the story to the screen were flawless.

Fitzcarraldo, like all of Herzong's films (even Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht), uses the theme of cultural clash as a macrocosm of the conflicted human mind. So what if the real boat was much smaller than the one in the film? Who cares if the real act of dragging it across land - though arduous - was not nearly so grand as the film depicts? The resultant images are what count, and they would not have the stunning effect Herzog pulls off in this film were it more "historically accurate".

All film directors do things for effect. What separates the good ones from the great is their reason. The once-great Frances Ford Coppola seems to be aiming for empty aesthetics with his last few films; Herzog wants nothing less than to illuminate the soul. It's a grand, quixotic goal; prone to failure - much like dragging a boat through the jungle. But he seems to pull it off time and time again. You remember the images, yes - they're hard to forget. But you also remember the passion of the characters - their desparate dreams, wild fantasies, great achievements, and devastating failures.

Klaus Kinski perfectly embodies the obsessive madness of the title character - albeit in a far less sinister way than in Aguirre: The Wrath of God. His performance is no less brilliant. Claudia Cardinale plays his love interest, the kind of woman whose heart every visionary dreams of winning.

In most treatments of this kind of story, one would expect things to end badly. They do for Fitz, but somehow it does not matter. He finds grace and dignity in the struggle, rather than the outcome. He is a brighter vision of Don Quixote, and the feeling of surviving his ordeal is, miraculously, more like that of triumph than defeat. Fitzcarraldo ends in exuberance rather than despair. How can a man lose everything and still raise his head so high, as Kinski does in the last scene?

Without a hint of sappy, artificial feel-good-ism, Herzog has pulled off one of the most authentically moving surprise happy endings in recent cinema.

Failure never looked so good! ... Read more

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In his widely acclaimed attempt to fathom The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser, director Werner Herzog probes a real-life mystery that has puzzled German society for nearly two centuries. In the title role, Herzog ingeniously cast the equally mysterious street musician Bruno S., whose mesmerizing performance is unique in the history of film. Isolated since infancy in a dank cellar, the now-adult Kaspar is abandoned in 1820s Nuremburg by his unknown custodian; townsfolk futilely speculate on his origins, and he's shaped by a bourgeois villager who places rigid, conflicting restraints on his new and peculiar perspective on the world around him. It's telling that Herzog's preferred title is Every Man for Himself and God Against All, for this is an eerily effective cautionary tale about an innocent man of nature who moves from one prison to another in a cruelly fateful universe. The mystery lingers, making The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser a deep, resonant reflection on the nature of humanity. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (17)

Excellent and Moving Film
Werner Herzog makes great and fascinating movies - there's no doubt about it. His films are just "neat" (for lack of a better word). I love Herzong's films, and the "Enigma of Kaspar Hauser" is one of his best. This movie represents well, the Romantic era in general. It's very well done, historically.
I don't know much about the true story behind Kaspar Hauser's life: who he was, where he came from, etc., but this movie held my interest deeply. It was a perplexing and stimulating story that truly made me think about a lot of things.
Bruno S. always wanted his identity to be kept somewhat secret, so that is why we call him "Bruno S.". You gotta' respect that kind of "anti-Hollywood" mentality - that's so antifamous and noble. The lead character is brilliant in this film and Bruno S. should have received an Oscar. This is a true and genuine performance; so real. This is one of those roles that no one else could have ever played. It was made for Bruno and he for it. Bruno S. is Kaspar Hauser and Kaspar Hauser is Bruno S.!
This movie is wonderful - I loved every minute of it. Werner Herzong is a genius and Bruno S. is a natural!

This DVD comes with a nice picture (slightly grainy) and with a commentary soundtrack by a film critic interviewing director Werner Herzog himself.

There are really good movies...
...there are great movies, and then there is "Kaspar Hauser". Those unfamiliar with it, or unfamiliar with the films of Werner Herzog in general, should remedy the situation at their earliest convenience.

If you have ever been stirred to the marrow by a film performance, grab plenty of Kleenex -maybe don a raincoat- before sitting down to meet Bruno S.

God bless Werner Herzog.

The Most Powerful Film Ever Made
Not only is The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser Werner Herzog's best film but it is without question one of the 5 greatest films of all time. This movie has some of the most astonishing and powerful images ever committed to film. One of the opening shot's is that of a wheat field blowing in the wind while Pachelbel's Cannon plays and the following words appear on the screen; "Don't you hear that horrible screaming all around you? That screaming men call silence." This sequence perfectly captures the essence of this film. The beauty of suffering seen through the eyes of a man that is completing untainted and untouched by society. This movie will change your life. This movie has amazing cinematography, a genius use of music, astonishing performances and Werner Herzog's direction is unbelievable.

Kaspar Hauser by any other name . . .
First, the original title of this film is *not* The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser. It's Every Man For Himself And God Against All. The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser - also The Mystery of Kaspar Hauser - are America-only titles. That really doesn't detract from anything, but if you're ever looking for information on the film, you might want to know.

This is a great dvd, with a mildly informative biography of Herzog and (yay!) commentary from him.

The commentary is very worth listening to - more informative, I think, than the Criterion version's film essay would have been in this case. Herzog is a very interesting man with a very storied past, and this commentary explores that. Norman Hill - who shares the English track - seems to have been put there for the sole purpose of prompting Herzog into speech and gets grating after a while.

The movie itself is also wonderful - even if it feels at times to be missing Klaus Kinski, Herzog's lifelong friend and actor. This is due mainly to the way that Kaspar Hauser shares the feel of Herzog's more famous work, Aguirre - The Wrath of God. Many of the shots are the same: foggy landscapes shot through multiple lenses to disassociate the viewer from them, images of isolation on the water, and, of course, the controlled manner of speech which Bruno S. adopts for the film. There's even a moment where Bruno steps out in front of the camera in the very same fashion that Kinski invented for Aguirre.

A very worthwhile DVD, my only problem comes with the subtitles. While they seem (mostly - Herzog comments on one or two moments) to be adequate translations, they are at times unreadable. I'm not sure how escapable that is given that this is a colour film, but it seems Criterion have done an ample job on similar works. Cries and Whispers comes to mind. That one flaw, however, is minor and should in no way detract you from purchasing.

Excellent transfer of superb, unique film
This has been a favorite since I first saw it in a college film series soon after it came out. Among the 80 or so DVDs I have bought, I rank it at the very top for fidelity to the color and texture of the original film. The sound is also crystal clear. If you look hard enough you'll find the occasional artifact, but they are drowned out for me by the natural look.
I hope the DVD version brings this treasure to a whole new audience.
(An added bonus for students of German is the ability to turn off the subtitles.)
Now all I want to know is when the hell I'll be able to get La Dolce Vita on DVD! ... Read more

Reviews (82)

Werner Herzog creates the ultimate vampire.
Nosferatu was originally a German expressionist film, much in the style of "The Cabinet of Dr. Calgari. Moody, extremley gothic, and very scary, shot in Germany in 1922. Max Schreck played the part of Nosferatu, aka Count Orlok, the ugliest, scariest Dracula in cinematic history. Orlak is tall and skinny, shriveled, actually, with elongated limbs, and long, sharp claws for hands. He is ancient as well. We have no leading man type here, a la Christopher Lee, who was actually a sex symbol back in the late sixties, or handsome Bela, Frank Langella, or more recently, Gary Oldman. Orlak is the combination of an evil old man, mixed with a rodent. His ears are batlike, his eyes, wide and scary, a beak nose, and his full lips hide long, ratlike fangs. He is bald as well. Klaus Kinski captured Nosferatu to a tee, although Klaus is well, flat out not as ugly as Schrek. the story is virtually Dracula retold, including Harker's trip to Transylvania, the Count buying Real Estate, the Count lusting after Lucy, and Lucy's sacrifice. There is a hidden eroticism in the final scene with Lucy that must be seen to be believed. Lucy, by the way, is portrayed by the ever sexy Isabelle Adjani, and she portays a perfect damsel in distress, who knows what she must do. The contrast in Lucy's beauty, compared to Orlak's hideous repulsiveness, only adds to the erotic chemistry that is on the screen during their scenes together, especially when Lucy is first confronted by the lustful old vampire, and he demands her love. During the famous, final scene, we see Orlak consumate his vampiric love, in full detail. Lucy almost seems to be enjoying it. Orlak must have Lucy, even if it means that his very existance is the price to be paid, so he enjoys his night of bloodlust, and lovemaking to the fullest. The movie is atmospheric, and well acted throughout, although the Van Helsing character seems a bit powerless. Then again, aside from Lucy's sacrificial beauty, what can stop the evil Count Orlak.....Highly recommended.

Cerebral, dream-like horror
Nosferatu unfolds like a languorous, disturbing dream. The images have an hallucinogenic, archetypal quality: mummified human remains in an ancient tomb; the figure of a woman sitting on a beach studded with tombstones; a dead sea-captain lashed to the wheel of a deserted sailing ship.

Like Kubrick's The Shining, Nosferatu is less a standard genre film than a singular expression of a filmmaker's vision. Writer-director Werner Herzog began with F.W. Murnau's expressionist classic, mixed in elements from Bram Stoker's novel Dracula, then set about creating a meditation on the vampire myth. What would it really mean to live forever, and be compelled to feed on the blood of others? What of the unspeakable boredom? The longing for companionship? For normalcy? For death? As played by Klaus Kinski, Herzog's Dracula has spent hundreds, if not thousands of years alone with these thoughts. He is the ultimate poster boy for German angst. If not for the skill of his performance and Herzog's direction, he might have lapsed into self-parody.

There are shots that all but reproduce moments from the silent classic - right down to the overwrought body language. But Herzog, Kinski, and the rest of the cast (including Bruno Ganz as Jonathon Harker and Isabelle Adjani as his wife Lucy) keep it in check and keep it beautifully stylized, so it all works.

Probably due to the involvement of American studio 20th-Century Fox, Nosferatu was shot in both English and German versions. Both are on this double-sided DVD; comparing them is instructive, since there are non-trivial differences in the visual construction of both films. Most critics agree (and I concur) that the German one is superior.

Finally, to get an idea of whether you will like this - or any - Werner Herzog film, take the Armageddon-Matrix test: if you hated Armageddon because it was empty and overblown, but kind of liked The Matrix because of its ideas, then you may like Nosferatu. If, on the other hand, you thought Armageddon rocked, but only kind of liked The Matrix because it was slow in places, then don't even think about it.

Good remake!
Remakes don't get much better that this, lets give a round of applause to the drictor, it's hard to make a remake of a classic film. So the film follows the story of the orignal, some guy goes to see Dracula, who he later bits( the guy goes crazy). Dracula later takes a ship to England and starts a rampage of death. This film does not have as much action as the first but it's still fun to wach. Make-up for Dracula rocked. Worth every penny.

The Classic Art-House Version of Dracula
For our second outing between Kinski and Herzog we find that the director has chosen to remake, or rather retell, his favorite film of all time - 'Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens' by F.W. Murnau (1922), while at the same time adapting more of the original Stoker novel into the remake, using the original name of Count Dracula (Kinski) instead of Orlok and injecting his own take on the story of Dracula (in German), which for all intensive purposes is a story about 'tragedy' and Herzog has correctly identified this main theme that would help levitate this entry to one of the all time great art-house horror films with images of Kinski's vampire often filling many film magazine pages and posters. In fact, it is Herzog's most commercial and accessible film to date. It was this telling of the Dracula story that influenced Coppola to remake the Stoker novel entirely into a film. It was not the first time Coppola had been influenced by Herzog. Coppola learned from Kinski and Herzog in "Aguirre: Wraith of God" that guerilla film making while going up a jungle river would be just what he needed for his version of Conrad's "Hearts of Darkness" (Apocalypse Now).

The usual Kinski/Herzog display of frustration is more subtle in this film than all the others probably because the beautiful Isabelle Adjani keeps Kinski distracted long enough for him not get angry with Herzog's cruel daily shoots to 'get it right' and deliberately making the actors and actresses angry for their performances. Here everyone just looks deathly sick and move extremely slowly. Even Adjani looks paler than Kinski at times. For some reason this has given Herzog a more controlled approach to this film with certainly less improvisation and 'on the spot' acting than any of his other collaborations with Kinski. Here we see a mix of Herzog's favorite - Tarkovsky's slow shooting style while cutting in shots of water (Herzog uses a bat in slow motion) and some sort of strange cinematic art house presence that we would see in many of Andy Warhol's productions. Herzog also gets the lighting just right and the cinematography is sublime - watching Kinski materialize from the darkness is again some of the most memorable images in art house cinema ever. Herzog also brings coffins en masse for display. Black coffins play a major role in the design throughout the film. Later on during a plague thousands of rats covering a city become central to Herzog's eye for capturing horror (a formal dinner takes place among hundreds of rats because the diners have the plague and wish to make the best of it before they die) - again extremely visionary and talented. Adjani puts on an amazing performance while remaining stunning under all the white. In one classic scene where she is confronted by Kinski she looks and acts more scary than Kinski almost performing him off the screen. The ending is an erotic take on the original film with Kinski touching Adjani all over, but the acting is excellent. The final twist comes as a shocker and is a bit funny. The end scene is like something out of a great Western and looks spectacular. Also the strange atmosphere of holiness is found throughout this film more than in any other Herzog/Kinski collaboration. The use of Orchestral sounds makes it all the more eerie while at the same time retaining that spirited electric connection to the presentation of madness that Herzog and Kinski are so well noted for.

'Nosferatu the Vampyre' is probably one of the most original art house horror films ever made even though the subject matter has been beaten to death, however it still ranks up there as one of the best versions of Dracula you can see. The DVD transfer is good and crisp. The aspect ratio is 1.85:1 and there are a lot of extras including director's commentary. By the way you can get the Kinski/Herzog box set of 6 films for a few quid extra than this stand alone DVD. Go look for it.

Belief and Science Clash
Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht (1979)

Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht directed by Werner Herzog, is really a color remake of the 1922 film Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens directed by F.W. Murnau. There are a couple of name changes: Count Orlok became Count Dracula; Jonathan's fiancée Nina became Jonathan's wife Lucy. The original film was silent and in black and white, where the 1979 version is in color and is in German with English subtitles.

However the plot is close to Bram Stoker's book on Count Dracula which has a very similar plot line and story. F.W. Murnau bought the movie rights to the film; however these rights were owned by Bram's widow Florence and she refused to allow the use of the name and storyline. Even though Murnau had changed the major names of the main characters (Count Dracula, Thomas and his wife Ellen) and location enough similarity remained that Florence took the case to court and in July of 1925 the German court ordered all the copies of the movie destroyed. However a few copies did manage to survive.

While the film starts off slow it shows spectacular scenes of an ocean voyage, and waterfalls experienced during Jonathan (Bruno Ganz) Harker's journey to Count (Klaus Kinski) Dracula's castle. The contrast with his return trip is startling, since he was healthy when he started, but on the return is very sickly and barely alive. The Count's journey is very stark, his companions' death and rats board another ship, which glides into port with no one left alive on board except the rats. As the rats depart the ship one reminded of the story of Ben, where the rats were everywhere and out of control.
An interesting dilemma in this film is the direct confrontation of belief in the existence of the supernatural and sacramental with belief in the rationale of science. Science was believed to able to explain away rationally anything that happened out of the ordinary. Yet here it could not produce an answer for Lucy (Isabelle Adjani) Harker. The way that this was shown was that after consulting with the town physician, Lucy broke and crumbed the Eucharist around Jonathan to keep him locked into a chair in a corner all night, while she became the sacrificed lamb to save him from the Count and death. While she did this out of her love for Jonathan, her sacrifice resulted in the final demise of Count Dracula and her own death. Yet Jonathan in essence lives on to carry the legacy of the living dead, alive yet not fully. The last that is seen of Jonathan is when he is released from his imposed prison, by the removal of the broken host around him, he declares that he has much work to accomplish he mounts a horse and rides off. ... Read more

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Stroszek is one of Werner Herzog's most accessible films, and one of his best. Herzog's clever use of kitschy folk music is just one perfect element in this mesmerizing, seriocomic "ballad" of America, in which a trio of unlikely friends leave their dreary lives in Berlin, certain that wealth and comfort await in America. Their naive American dream turns sour in rural Wisconsin, and the title character (played by Bruno S., the fascinating nonactor from Herzog's The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser) becomes an insanely tragic figure, celebrating a bitterly absurd Thanksgiving in the film's unforgettable closing scenes. By fusing his own intuitive, enigmatic style with factual details from the life of Bruno S., Herzog captures the elusive "ecstatic truth" that motivates his enduring cinematic vision. While deepening one of the most unusual actor-director collaborations in the history of film, Stroszek presents an American nightmare that's funny, bizarre, and deeply, magnificently human. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (10)

A MASTERPIECE, ONE OF THE GREATEST FILMS EVER MADE!
Werner Herzog's Stroszek (1977) is one of the ten greatest films ever made. It's almost equally as good as Herzog's The Enigma of Kasper Hauser (1974) and Aguirre the Wrath of God (1973).

Bruno S., the unknown soldier of cinema once again gives one of the finest performances I've ever seen. Eva Mattes is also wonderful as the prostitute Eva who along with Bruno and Herr Scheitz decide to emigrate from Berlin to Wisconsin to fulfill the elusive American dream. This tragicomedy is one of the bleakest films I've ever seen and also one of the funniest.

Herzog's brilliant film making style gives the entire film the look and feel of a documentary, yet like all of his films Stroszek is highly stylized. An absolute masterpiece! Rating: A 10 out of 10.

A Rare Gem
I find it frustrating that American filmmakers cannot make a film as good as this one is. The whole story of misplaced hopes and lost dreams on the dreary American landscape is more powerful in it's telling than many films have been. The action of this film moves us from birth to death in a philosophical journey of the soul. The arrival of these obviously hopeful and distraught people on American shores is like the rebirth many immigrants went through when they escaped their own countries and arrived here. Dreams of streets paved with gold and the easy credit of American commerce is the undoing of many yet, here we see the disaster of it all. One doesn't have to be a recent immigrant to experience the foibles of modern credit like our characters do. They exemplify it though and it is to their peril that they do not understand it. The closing scene where we hear the solitary gunshot is most powerful. That it is done near a roadside zoo with it's caged animals is perfect because it portrays the cage our man has put himself into. There is only one way out, he takes it. Like many powerful financiers of the twenties who lost everything he does the only thing which will solve his problems.
The gunshot is his goodbye to his problems and the beginning of his new life. A shame that American studios cannot produce movies such as this. They are in need of lessons from directors who understand cinema and should study films of this type. Maybe they will be able to improve the fare they offer to us.

1st favorite farting film
The 2nd favorite, if you are interested, is Good Morning, by Ozu, of course, of course.
I am not interested in contracting AIDS! Sorry!

"Is This Really Me?"
Absolutely brilliant. Stroszek is THE quintessential film on the American experience. A dark fable revolving around the hopes and dreams of three postwar Germans and the disintegration of a relationship. But also incredibly funny and cynical. Herzog's best film to date, in my opinion.

GREAT MOVIE
Superb direction.

Once again, Herzog takes relative unknown and fairly untested talent, mixes in a few real actors and come away with a movie that's much,much more than following the typical storyline to the end.

As funny as you want, as dramatic as possible. Herzog is a genius. He's done it again!!! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Most people associate the director Werner Herzog with the actor KlausKinski--but few know how twisted and enmeshed their relationship was. Though Kinski has made dozens of movies, he probably remains best known for the five he made with Herzog: Aguirre: The Wrath of God, Woyzeck, Nosferatu the Vampyre, Cobra Verde, and Fitzcarraldo. In this documentary/cinematic memoir, Herzog uses clips from these remarkable films, on-the-set footage, and personal recollections to create a portrait of Kinski as both a deeply passionate actor and a raving lunatic; it's hard to say whether he's defaming Kinski or being generous to this mercurial, erratic actor. There's no question that their relationship is fascinating; after their first movie (Aguirre, probably the best of their collaborations) they both described moments of wanting to kill each other--in fact, both agree that Herzog threatened to shoot Kinski at one point, though they differ on the details. Yet they went on to make four more movies, almost all of them under circumstances that would be difficult for the most serene personalities. My Best Fiend was inspired by Kinski's death, and probably the movie's weakest aspect is that we don't get Kinski's side of their friendship. But even though it's one-sided,it's still a remarkable portrait of two artists who were willing to go toextremes to capture their visions. Any fan of either will find this uniquedocumentary indispensable. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (18)

Comic, Fascinating, Filled With Brilliance.
There probably could never be anybody capable of making a documentary about Klaus Kinski other than Werner Herzog. After all, as the title emplies, Kinski was Herzog's best fiend. This is an endlessly fascinating portrait of an actor who was a genius, a madman and a tender soul. Herzog creates a rich film here that never bores. He doesn't turn it into a mournful memory where he might just sit in a chair and talk to a camera, no, he takes us to the locations where he and Kinski filmed, travels to visit crew members and friends and shows us unique behind the scenes footage. The beginning is shocking but intuitive, as Kinski gets into heated arguments with audience members during a performance as Jesus Christ. And if you look at it, shouldn't this be the way hecklers should be handled anyway? Kinski remains a fascinating figure through-out, a brilliant actor who could perfectly become a character and take over the screen. Herzog is a mad genius too and so his portrait of his best friend is really filled with depth and even touching at times. We see them filming in the harsh conditions they went up against to make the masterpieces "Aguirre, The Wrath Of God" and "Fitzcarraldo." We see Kinski and his famous tantrums as he chews out crew members and Herzog in truly violent-mouthed ways.... It is always interesting to hear Herzog talk about the making of the movies and there stunning vistas, like the amazon and Andes where the two mentioned films were made (we see the stunning sequence from the beginning of "Aguirre" where we see hundreds of Spanish conquistadors look like ants as they walk down an Andean slope). One thing the movie should be valued for is that Herzog does not only show the dark, crazy side of Kinski, he also shows the nice side. The last shot is truly memorable where Kinski is gently playing with a butterfly and we see his gentle, tender side. The movie is also comic, especially when we see two brilliant artists battle it out. It's funny to see that Kinski and Herzog loved and loathed each-other equally. "My Best Fiend" is a must for movie buffs, fans of Herzog or Kinski, and for anybody who is fascinated by films that explore unique minds. It is a fascinating, memorable piece of work.

My Best Fiend
"I was not excellent! I was not extraordinary! I was monumental! I was epochal!" Klaus Kinski, in response to a compliment from a theatre critic.

From the moment the film "My Best Fiend" begins, you are shocked and mezmerized by the sight of Klaus Kinski in a live performance piece, where he assumes the guise of an iconoclastic Jesus Christ, who proceeds to berate, denounce and even physically challange members of the audience. From that moment on, it is clear that Kinski is either completely mad, or teetering at the very edge of insanity. What director Werner Herzog has done, is to reveal their fascinating working relationship, by which he had to manipulate and channel Kinski's madness, so that his intensity could be captured by the camera, and used in his movies. Their collaboration resulted in such great movies as "Aguirre, The Wrath of God," and "Fitzcarraldo." The series of catastrophes that occured during both of these movie shoots on the Amazon, coupled with the stars' total instability, brought out the best and worst in Kinski, demonstrating that great art can sometimes be the result of two artists at war with each other. The location scenes along the Amazon are hauntingly beautiful, wild and frightening. It is the perfect backdrop and metaphor for Klaus Kinski's performances in these movies. The DVD offers the option of hearing Werner Herzog's narration in German or English.

Conflict is good
The title's play on words pretty much sums up the sentiment of the film. Herzog's depiction of his relationship with Kinski is painfully honest, but it is not hard to see the affection mingled with the frustration. Kinski was a mad man and nearly impossible to work with. And yet Herzog chose to work with him again and again, and with great results. This film is a tribute to their contentious and productive relationship.

There are some really funny stories here, including one where Herzog actually threatened to kill Kinski. Some may have heard of this spat, but it is still interesting to hear Herzog's dead-pan account.

Very honest, very informative, very entertaining documentary about a very complex relationship. It goes beyond friendship. It just had to be, whether either of them wanted it or not.

Character assassination
While providing an interesting behind-the-scenes glimpse at Herzog's truly stupendous films, this amounts to little more than a sustained attack on Kinski. Perhaps Kinski deserves it, but Herzog constantly pushes anyone who says anything nice about Kinksi (which is most of those interviewed) to say something negative about him, usually trying to remind them of some horriffic episode or another. This gets trying in a hurry. Perhaps the greatest display of pathology here are Herzog's transparent attempts to smear someone held in affectionate regard by people he worked with.

How not to Manage Conflict
I first recommend that a viewer rent Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes and Fitzcarraldo before viewing this documentary. To undestand the importance of this collaboration it is necessary to first see the films that it produced.

Herzog revisits the locations near Macchu Pichu where artistic passions blossomed into homicidal rage in the crucible of the Peruvian rainforest.

Herzog is fascinated by notions of human madness, obsession, and conciousness. This theme is the focus of most of his films. In Fitzcarraldo, the madness leads to incredible triumph and success, in Aguirre it leads to revolt, death, and utter chaos. What is most important to note is that in both instances is that the madness of the dominant individual, whether Fitz or Aguirre, is an intoxicating charisma that conforms a following to the individual's will. This is Kinski's obsession even when the cameras aren't rolling, and it is this passion that attracts Herzog's interest, an interest perhaps tied to his childhood in post-Third Reich Germany. Perhaps Herzog underestimated Kinski's persuasive rage that nearly turned Herzog's jungle endeavors into Pizzarro's folly. ... Read more

Description

Lessons of Darkness shows the disaster of the Kuwaiti oil fields in flames after the Gulf War. This comes packaged with a special bonus DVD of Fata Morgana, which also takes a special non-linear look at the beauty of the Sahara Desert. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

A visually stunning Herzog documentary worth preordering.
While I cannot comment on this particular DVD issue, I have seen a PAL video of "Lessons of Darkness" and cannot express how thrilled I was to see that Anchor Bay had scheduled this film for release. In addition, they have included an extremely rare, full length documentary, "Fata Morgana," which I have never successfully been able to track down on video (as if Lessons of Darkness alone were not sufficient incentive to order this DVD). Given the high quality of the video and audio transfers for the other Herzog films in Anchor Bay's catalogue, I have little doubt that this DVD issue, which like the other Herzog issues includes audio commentary, will be nothing short of outstanding. Now if only the catalogue of Fassbinder, Godard, or Resnais films on DVD were equally exhaustive.

Lessons of Darkness is a haunting account of the burning of the Kuwaiti oil fields in the aftermath of the Gulf war, and, with the exception of a few engaging interviews with local village dwellers, is told almost exclusively through images, set to the music of Mahler, Arvo Part, and Strauss. This is perhaps Herzog's most absorbing film visually, and, with due respect to "God's Angry Man" and "Little Dieter Needs to Fly," the latter also being released by Anchor Bay, "Lessons of Darkness" is perhaps the director's most compelling documentary. Moreover, the images of the firefighers struggling to put out the infernal flames rising out of the oil fields are all the more timely and moving given recent events. Highly Recommended!

Darkness indeed
This is a sad and eerie film, in some ways similar to those of Godfrey Reggio. Werner Herzog and a camera crew toured Kuwait and environs in the wake of the Gulf War and documented the destruction (both physical and human) wrought by Saddam Hussain's armies in the oil fields and by the bombing of strategic targets. But instead of presenting a straightforward story about a historical event, Herzog created a science-fiction parable. The entire movie has a strange, detached tone; we see horrendous destruction, rooms full of torture equipment, and victims of brutality, but there are no cinematic clues about how the 'aliens' who supposedly made this movie feel about these things; their attitude is implied rather than stated. There is no need to play up the events; seeing them is enough.

"Fata Morgana" is similar in some ways, but it is more disconnected and humorous, portraying another trip-- this time through northern Africa. And, like "Lessons of Darkness", it manages to portray Earth as a particularly weird planet. An especially interesting point is Herzog's commentary about the mirages that he filmed; we can see that there is a bus (for example) in the distance, but Herzog tells us that when they went to the place where the bus should have been, they could see that there was nothing for miles around... "Fata Morgana" is not as cohesive as "Lessons of Darkness", but its tone is much lighter.

Masterpiece
No aspect of Lessons of Darkness can be praised too highly. What I'd like to know is, how can I find out the artists who performed the various musical works? Herzog has chosen the most sublime renditions of his sublime selection: Verdi's "Recordare" from the Requiem, and similarly the best of Strauss, Wagner and so on. I'd like to gt the same recordings. Any help? Thanks in advance: send to johnwood@umich.edu

A Haunting and Hypnotic Masterpiece
Fata Morgana is an absolute masterpiece. It's Werner Herzog's most unconventional film and the most bizzare film I've ever seen. It doesn't have a plot or story. Instead, we're presented with a brilliant collection of images, words and music woven together by a master filmmaker. Fata Morgana is not a documentary either. Most of the people in this film are directed and given lines to read. It has some of the most beautiful and haunting images ever commited to film. Herzog photographs actual mirages and we see cars and people floating around in the middle of the desert who aren't actually there but hundreds of miles away reflected due to the heated strata of air. All of the tracking shots were done with a camera mounted on top of a VW van that Werner Herzog drove himself. The use of music in this movie is amazing; from Leonard Cohen, Mozart, Blind Faith and the Third Ear Band. Imagine Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey taking place in the desert instead of outerspace. Fata Morgana is so hypnotic that it has the ability to make you feel as though your spirit has left your body. This film is a must see and is not recommended for conformists who've been forced fed a steady diet of Hollywood-commercial fast food movies. It will change the way you view films. Rating: 10 out of 10.

Fantastic
Both films are brilliant, and the appearance of Fata Morgana will be a great relief to Herzog fans who have waited so long to be able to see it again. But it is Lessons of Darkness that is the real epiphany. A haunting, gorgeous, almost perfect film that is deeply moving and deeply inscrutable at the same time. Few films present you with images of such awe-inspiring horror on such a large scale. While it is earth that is hurt here, one cannot help but see this film as an elegy for man. Together with "My Best Fiend," this is Herzog at his most penetrating, deeply insightful best. Nothing else even comes close. The DVD is wonderfully executed, too. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Only Werner Herzog could turn the factual story of Invincible into a timeless allegorical fable. This is unmistakably a Herzog film--the director's first narrative feature in a decade--exposing evil in the stage show hosted by the cynical occultist Hanussen (Tim Roth), whose Berlin nightclub entertains Nazi officers on the eve of Hitler's rise to power. This arena of pre-Holocaust amusement is ill-prepared for the disruptive influence of Zishe (Jouko Ahola), a burly Polish blacksmith recruited to play a strongman in Hanussen's act. When Zishe announces his Jewishness to the crowd, thus attracting a Jewish audience to Hanussen's Aryan enclave, his simple act of bravery represents a pivotal affront to Nazi pride, with entirely unexpected results. Finnish body-builder Ahola is Herzog's daring experiment--a nonactor (and it shows) whose likable nature is starkly contrasted with Roth's manipulative malevolence. As Zishe so innocently demonstrates, resistance may be hazardous, but it's not always futile. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (15)

It's great to have him back.
This is Herzog's first feature film in a while. I know he has recently moved to Los Angeles and apparently loves it. It may show in his film. This is his glossiest production to date. As opposed the the outdoors, where he is usually fond of filming, most of the action here takes place in Hanussen's Theater of the Occult. The picture is in English, which allows us the wonderful performance by Tim Roth. Herzog shows Hanussen as a kind of villain, yet he is too much like Herzog himself - someone who uses hypnosis, lies, and great imagery to put on a spectacular show.

Neophytes might be a bit put off by the overdubbing of some of the actors, but that is a trifle. It is just great to be back in Herzog-land again. Like all of his films, there is a central image that tells the whole story. In this story, it is a remarkable dream sequence of The Invincible helping his little brother over rocks (WWII) through a sea of crabs (the Nazis).

The Return of Herzog
Herzog's return has definitely made me realize how desperate I am to see a movie by a director whose main focus is to explore in films rather than simply entertain an audience. I don't think criticizing the "slowness" of the movie makes any sense, because anyone who's seen Herzog movies knows he doesn't nervously speed through his films, and personally, this is what I admire about him. Patience is something that a film can help us regain, or at least remind us that it is still possible today to be patient. If there is something to criticize, it is the dialogue in certain scenes, which the actors had trouble bringing to life (not Tim Roth). Some of the lines were a shade too sentimental and simple. To be honest, the beginning of the movie was a bit cliche-strong, but by this I mean the first thirty minutes or so. Eventually though, the imagery of the film , and the greater allegory (which wasn't calculated allegory) of Nazi Germany, make up for these minor flaws. The dream sequences are amazing, as well as the set of the clairvoyant, equipped with a tank of jellyfish. I hope that there will be more from this genuine filmmaker in the future, and soon. It is one thing to be patient while watching a movie, and another while waiting for the arrival of another film by a master. It seems patience in the latter case, today, among so many cinematic failures, is almost impossible.

DON'T BOTHER WATCHING THIS ONE!
This is possibly one of the worst films I have ever seen. The writing and acting, as far as I am concerned, are no better than that of a middle school live performance. The only reason I didn't turn it off was that I was hoping SOMETHING in the movie might help me justify spending $10 to buy it used. That something never came. I would never waste my time on this movie when there are others on this topic that so richly deserve my viewing time investment, such as "Schindler's List" & "The Pianist". Trust me, PASS IT UP just as fast as you can!

Great story and Script, but the acting ?????
I was a bit confused at the start of this film when I thought I detected what sounded a bit like a Swedish accent by a Jew living in a Polish schtetle who was being idealistically lectured by a suspiciously non grizzly looking blond hair little boy with a bit of a Brittish accent. - - Though the story is great, throughout the film its apparent that Herzog may have gotten a bit carried away with his genius as a director as if almost to say, "I'm such a great director, I could take anybody and make them look like great actors... !" - - uhhhhhh, not so. - - Likewise, maybe he thought that by having real people, the film would have a more realistic feel ? - - Though Tim Roth gives an OUTSTANDING performance (the evil of his charactor gushes through) and a few other actors as well, one begins to wonder through the film "What's going on here ?" - - Keep in mind, I saw the film without realizing it was a Herzog film, so I was wondering if maybe it was a good film but a director who... well, just wasn't quite there yet, but still, had a good story to tell. - - Still, scenes that should have been climatic (The Jewish Samson announcing before a room of Nazis that he was indeed a Jew) and others, turned out to be... drab, whereas others (virtually any scene that Roth appeared in) were full of passion and energy in comparison. - - The end result, I felt the true significance of Zeisha's charactor was lost... If you read his actual biography, you find out that he became a mythical folk hero to the Jews of Europe... he wasn't just an unintentional symbol, but called himself the Jewish Samson and lectured avidely on behalf of the then budding Zionist movement. In contrast, his charactor in the film doesn't seem to be the shapest knife in the drawer. - - In the film, though a hero to the Jews of Germany, when he returns to the Schtetles (where the real Zisha was a true folk hero) he's made into a virtual laughing stock with his predictions as to the rise of Nazism. (*And is it just me, or do some of those beards look rather fake...?) - - Not to spoil the end of the film if you haven't seen it, I'll only say that the real Zeisha died in 1925 from blood poisining as a result of an injury from a stage stunt.

All in all... great story... Werner Herzog, despite being a great film director might have done better to hire professionals... because virtually every element of the film BUT the acting reflects his greatness... unfortunately wouldn't one expect a director of Herzog's callibre to realize that acting... ummmm... does count...

disappointing
While the subject matter continues to fascinate, this film is too cliche ridden and questionably acted. ... Read more

Description

An incredible tale of courage and survival against impossible odds. The man's name is Dieter Dangler. He was born in the Black Forest of Germany. As a child, he watched his village destroyed by American warplanes, and one flew so close to his attic window that for a split second he made eye contact with the pilot flashing past. At that moment, Dieter Dengler knew that he needed to fly. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Riveting
Director Werner Herzog is obsessed with obsession. Practically all his films feature protagonists in the grip of a passion so powerful that it creates ruin for them and everyone around them. Yet it also creates a sort of tragic grandeur. The viewer feels that, in some strange inexplicable way, it was worth all the pain and suffering involved.

Since his falling out with the major movie studios in his native Germany, Herzog has restricted himself to making documentaries (they're a lot cheaper to produce than dramatic films like Fitzcarraldo or Aguirre), but he brings to them the same passionate commitment and haunting poetic sensibility that informed his famous dramas.

Here the subject is the German-American pilot Dieter Dengler, a man who, as a little boy, fell in love with flight when he made eye contact with the pilot of an Allied plane that was strafing his Bavarian village in WWII. At the age of 18 he moved to America and eventually became a Navy pilot, only to be shot down over Laos during the Vietnam War. Captured by Laotian guerillas and handed over to North Vietnamese soldiers, he endured unbelievable suffering and made a brilliant, heroic escape from a POW camp. Herzog takes Mr. Dengler back to the jungles of Laos to re-enact his ordeals. All this is intercut with scenes from his comfortable home on Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County, as well as his quaint little hometown in the Black Forest of Germany. Mr. Dengler is a charming, garrulous raconteur who hardly ever interrupts his fascinating, rapid-fire narration. During those rare moments when he is overcome by emotion and falls silent, it is deeply moving for him and for us. He has clearly suffered much in order to fulfill his dreams of flight. His obsession caused him tremendous pain, but it also saved him. It brings him the only real joy in his otherwise tragic life and gives him a reason to live.

Very rarely does a documentary have you on the edge of your seat and move you almost to tears. This one does exactly that. Everyone I have showed this movie to has been moved by it. Once seen, it is never forgotten.

One of Herzog's Best, and Herzog is one of the best
This is simply an astonishing film from Herzog. For those who are familiar with Herzog, he has once again found a character - in this case Dieter Dengler - who becomes more and more fascinating upon closer examination. Herzog's films always have the sense of being impressionistic -- he throws the images up on the screen, and they may not always follow each other in a linear fashion, but they nearly always have a sustained, cumulative effect that, by the end of the film, is deeply emotional and troubling.

In this film, the good natured subject starts talking at the beginning and never stops -- Herzog has found someone perhaps even more voluble than he is -- and the audience is perfectly set up by his cheerful good naturedness and lucid observations, because by the end of the film we discover just how unimaginably damaged this person has been by life. The unfolding final images of the film are completely striking in the usual Herzogian sense (if you've seen something like "Lessons of Darkness" you'll have some sense of what to expect), but the meaning is ambiguous: is this a kind of heaven for little boys that love to fly? Or is this a hi-tech graveyard ...

Like Herzog's best (e.g. Even Dwarves, Aguirre, Nosferatu, Lessons and My Best Fiend), you simply cannot take your eyes off this movie.

Have fun!

Excellent Documentary of Dreams Not Morality of Vietnam
Seeing this presented by Herzog at a college lecture it was clear that it made a lot of the audience uncomfortable in its depiction of violence and political aggression.

He was at pains during the question/answer session to demonstrate that his film is about an individual who is obsessed with a dream and goes through extreme conditions as a result. Dieter was not trying to fly in Vientnam. He was trying to fly and the sacrifice was to endure the hardships of POW enprisenment and war.

Its not a study of right and wrong. Its a study of dreams and their costs. Once again melding his own obsessive dreams with his subject matter, he builds one of his best documentaries.

Another fine effort
Like all Herzog work, a beautifully filmed and thought provoking film. The director has uncanny ability to find the unusal and marginal in human experience and make it our own. Herzog's style lends itself nicely to the documentary format as his films tend to have that real life, improvisational feel. I particularly appreciate the director's choice to not make the obligatory condemnation of America's role in Vietnam. The movie speaks for itself; as in life, choices and circumstance are complex and hard to quantify. My only gripe is the movie is not in German. Others may find this a bonus.

Herzog fans only
I have mixed feelings, even though I am a declared Herzog's fan. It's not a [bad] movie, don't get me wrong. It's very well done, like all Herzog productions - pictures, music, atmosphere etc. - no dissappointments here. First I thought it was Kinski that was not here. Well, his absence is certainly challenging to both the director and a viewer, but on the second thought no, it sure is not Kinski that misses here. I am simply not sure if I like the moral concept of the movie. War, abuse, violence - I am against too, but it should have been sad less straight-forwardly than just "war is bad, violence is bad, those guys are poor". He doesnt say that of course, but you can feel it - and it makes the movie sound like a Dangler's confession, really, and I dont feel well in a priest's shoes. Then I thought it could be a good documentary, but somehow Herzog cannot keep a necessary distance, he is obviously engaged while reportage should keep a colder distance and not be so charged with emotions, which makes the movie lose out on artistic atmosphere. So? I think buy it only if you know what you are doing. There are better Herzogs out there to start with first. You can always come back later. ... Read more