Werner Herzog's Unusual Choices: Directing, Acting, and Documentary

Contents:

• Stole a movie camera
• Jumped into a cactus
• Complicated relationships with psychopathy: my personal experience of friendship
• Walking trip from Munich to Paris
• On the brink of disaster: a dangerous resemblance to Pompeii
• An unpredictable moment: a shoe as an appetizer at a premiere
• Lied to the audience
• Drinking from a leather shoe

The 82nd Venice Film Festival kicked off with a major moment: Francis Ford Coppola presented the honorary Golden Lion award to renowned German film director Werner Herzog. This extraordinary creator has been directing since the early 1960s, and his relentless style on set has made him a legend in the world of cinema.

On Werner Herzog's birthday, film critic Yegor Sheremet looks back at the career of this mastermind provocateur, examining it through the prism of his most eccentric actions.

In this article, we will discuss the following:

• Why did the young director decide to begin his career with an act of theft?
• The reasons why Herzog sought to destroy actor Klaus Kinski are connected to their complex and tense relationship. The two creators worked together on several films, and each of them possessed strong characters and a vibrant personality. Their collaboration was marked not only by creative successes but also by frequent conflicts, which sometimes escalated into outright scandals. Kinski, known for his eccentric behavior and difficult temper, often irritated Herzog. In turn, the director repeatedly subjected the actor to psychological pressure, which also contributed to the tension. These factors led to the fact that at some point, Herzog, experiencing extreme tension and dissatisfaction, expressed his intention to take Kinski's life, although this statement should not be taken literally - rather, it was an expression of his despair and deep fatigue from working together.

  Thus, their relationship can be characterized as a complex and contradictory union, where the creative process was often threatened by personal conflicts and emotional outbursts.

• How Herzog almost lost his life during the filming of his film.
• Why did the director decide to do such an act as eating his leather shoe?
• What prompted Herzog to fall in love with "Baby Yoda"?

Stole a movie camera

Werner Stipetic was born in 1942 in Munich, which at that time was in a state of devastation: the Allied forces did not spare the Bavarian capital, regularly striking. In an effort to protect her children, Werner's mother decided to move the family to a quiet alpine village. For the next twelve years, young Werner lived surrounded by nature; the Stipetić home had no toilet, telephone, or running water. Stipetić, who later adopted his father's surname, "Herzog," first encountered the world of cinema as a teenager. His small village lacked a cinema, and "moving pictures" could only be seen thanks to visiting projectionists. However, upon returning to Munich, Werner quickly decided on his career choice: becoming a director. He "mastered" the basics of his craft by studying a few pages from an encyclopedia and immediately began making his debut film. The only obstacle this young talent faced was a lack of funds to acquire professional film equipment.

Herzog found an elegant solution to this problem by resorting to crime: he stole a 35mm film camera from the Munich Film School. After this, he immediately began his creative work. Moral considerations consumed him, and Herzog himself felt no guilt. He claimed he had every right to this instrument, which enabled him to create his works.

Herzog is a person full of passions and extraordinary abilities. He did not miss a single opportunity to experience life, often immersing himself in risky adventures and defiantly ignoring the judgment of others. The incident with the theft of a movie camera is only the beginning of the manifestations of his "madness" and obsessive attachment to the world of cinema.

In 1962, at the age of twenty, the young The director presented his debut work. In his short film "Hercules", Herzog addresses the issue of masculinity, capturing the images of professional athletes and military personnel. This experimental film was released at the perfect time, and soon the aspiring director was considered one of the founders of the "New German Cinema".

Jumped into a Cactus

In 1970, Herzog presented his black-and-white feature film "Even Dwarfs Start Small" at the Cannes Film Festival. In this film, which tells the story of patients of a strange clinic who rebel against their cruel overseers, all the roles were played by people with achondroplasia. What else could you expect from a director who persistently ignores the established standards of festival cinema?

The filming process took place in an atmosphere of complete chaos. One of the actors was first hit by a passing car, and then caught fire as a result of a pyrotechnic mishap. The alarmed director gave the crew an ultimatum: if the film was completed without further incident, he would jump onto a cactus. The stunt was successful—the project was completed without incident, and Herzog himself readily threw himself into the arms of the prickly plant.

The premiere of this chaotic comedy had an impact comparable to a bombshell: Herzog began to be considered a scandalous figure and a provocateur. However, 55 years later, this work is perceived as one of the first steps towards inclusive cinema: despite the ironic title, the film significantly contributed to the visibility of marginalized social groups.

After the moderate success of his film "Dwarfs", Herzog decided to continue exploring the topic of people with disabilities, but this time chose the documentary genre. In 1971, he released two films that addressed issues of inclusion: the short "Limited Future," which focused on the difficulties disabled children face in integrating into society, and the feature-length "Land of Silence and Darkness," which focused on deaf-blind people.

In 1974, the director met Bruno S., a street musician who suffered from multiple mental disorders. Bruno's straightforward manner made a strong impression on Herzog, and he decided to cast him in the lead role in his film "Every Man for Himself, and God Against All." This film was awarded the Grand Prix of the Jury at the Cannes Film Festival, and Bruno became a real star.

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A Complicated Relationship with Psychopathy: My Personal Experience with Friendship

In the early 1970s, Werner Herzog began creating his most ambitious project yet, the film Aguirre, the Wrath of God. The film, which tells the story of a conquistador in search of the mythical city of El Dorado, starred the famous German actor Klaus Kinski.

Herzog worked on Aguirre with a minimal budget. However, Kinski ignored the director's financial difficulties—he declared that he was demanding two-thirds of the total budget as his payment and regularly threatened to leave the project. Tired of the actor's whims, Herzog was forced to resort to threats of his own.

When Kinski again decided to try to escape, Herzog presented him with a harsh ultimatum: if he tried to leave again, Werner was ready to shoot him in the head with a rifle. A frightened Kinski completed the filming of "Aguirre" without any tantrums. At the same time, it became clear that the difficulties Herzog encountered while working on the film were caused solely by the behavior of the intolerable actor.

Despite the unexpected emergence of disagreements, the alliance between Herzog and Kinski did not disintegrate. The director found himself in a situation reminiscent of an abusive relationship: critics loved Kinski so much that Herzog was forced to continue collaborating with him. The success of Aguirre led to three more joint projects: Nosferatu: Phantom of the Night, Fitzcarraldo, and The Green Cobra.

Kinski's complex character gradually drove Herzog to the limit. In the documentary "My Best Enemy Is Klaus Kinski," the director candidly revealed his plot to kill the actor: he intended to set fire to Kinski's house, but his plan was thwarted by the actor's dog, which attacked the enraged director.

Kinski's behavior had a significant influence on Herzog's creative approach. During the filming of "Fitzcarraldo," the director presented the extras with an impossible task: moving a giant steamship over a real mountain. The tired and exhausted actors actually managed to move the colossal structure, and Herzog decided to include the scene in the final version of the film. For Werner, it was very important that the audience saw the real movement of the ship in the frame.

After completing work on the film With "The Green Cobra," the paths of Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski began to diverge. The director realized he could no longer collaborate with the actor, whose antics had become too unpredictable. Nevertheless, even after his final split with Kinski, Herzog continued to search for a replacement for the eccentric artist. He sought to up the eccentricity of his projects, attracting such renowned masters of unusual acting as Nicolas Cage in "Bad Lieutenant," Michael Shannon in "My Son, My Son, What Have You Done?" and Christian Bale in "Rescue Dawn."

However, he was unable to recapture the level of success he had enjoyed with Kinski. By the early 2010s, Herzog had almost completely retired from feature filmmaking, turning his attention to documentaries.

Walking Journey from Munich to Paris

From a very early age, Herzog had a passion for walking. In fact, he prefers to call it "traveling on foot." At such moments, when he sets out on long hikes, his mind seems to enter a special state, and his legs seem to guide themselves to the final destination.

In November 1974, Lotte Eisner, a film critic and Herzog's mentor, became seriously ill. The director was so concerned about her condition that he decided to undertake a walking pilgrimage from Munich to Paris, where she lived. For three weeks, Herzog walked along country roads, enduring the harsh cold of the European winter, which was particularly hard on him. By the time he finally reached Paris, Eisner had already recovered. Four years later, Herzog published a book, "On Walking on Ice," based on the diary entries he kept during the journey.

In 2019, the director invited viewers to embark on a long hike. The documentary "Nomad: In the Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin" was created in honor of Bruce Chatwin, a writer and close friend of Herzog's, with whom he often explored the area on foot. This poetic film has become a touching gift for lovers of walking: Herzog shares with the audience the secrets of successful hikes and remembers his friend.

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On the Brink of Disaster: A Dangerous Resemblance to Pompeii

In 1976, director Herzog visited the island of Saint Vincent, where all the locals had fled their homes due to the threat of an eruption of the Soufrière volcano. He was eager to meet a lonely old man who, despite the danger, remained on his native land. However, to reach this elderly peasant, Herzog and his crew had to risk their own lives.

Only the old man, the film crew, and a massive volcano that could have destroyed Saint Vincent were on the island during filming. Fortunately, the eruption did not occur. Herzog survived, and viewers were able to take a "walk" across a deserted island and encounter death in the short film "La Soufriere."

For Werner Herzog, the risk associated with danger to life during filming has become a habitual part of his creative process. For the documentary Lessons of Darkness, he captured burning Kuwait oil fields and fields flooded with flaming oil. And while working on Into the Thick of It, the director even dared to descend into the crater of an active volcano. For Herzog, art always took priority over personal well-being.

An Unpredictable Moment: A Shoe as an Appetizer at a Premiere

In the mid-1970s, Herzog met the young director Errol Morris, who had an ambitious plan to make a documentary about pet cemeteries. However, he was having difficulty finding producers willing to support his unusual idea. Herzog was impressed by the concept, but was somewhat irritated by Morris's modesty. He tried to convince his young colleague that the film should be released first and then look for distributors. They made a wager: if Morris could complete his work, Herzog would publicly eat his leather shoe.

In 1978, the film "Heaven's Gate" was released. True to his word, Werner Herzog spent five hours with a California restaurant chef cooking his shoe in a fragrant broth with garlic and spices. At the film's premiere, he even decided to eat his shoe. This unusual act was captured on camera by director Les Blank, who later called his short film "Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe."

Herzog's actions cannot be seen simply as the result of a failed deal; they represent a conscious effort by a man willing to do anything to support young directors. In 2009, Werner continued his unconventional efforts to inspire aspiring filmmakers. He founded his own film school, Rogue Film School, where students spent their time practicing instead of tedious lectures. Under Herzog's guidance, young directors learned how to pick locks and falsify film permits. In this way, Herzog sought to convey the message that true cinema cannot be confined to the confines of Hollywood studios and prestigious awards.

Lied the viewer

The film "Bells from the Deep" contains an interesting scene: two men explore the surface of a frozen lake. These pilgrims are trying to discern the mythical city of Kitezh, whose bells are said to be heard even through the ice. This scene fits harmoniously with the overall idea of ​​the film, dedicated to the lives of people in small Russian villages who continue to retain a belief in miracles and mysteries.

However, behind this captivating moment lurked a nuance: documentarian Herzog used a forbidden method. Inspired by the legends of the lost city of Kitezh, the director went to the village of Kideksha, but did not find a single pilgrim. To save his film, he persuaded two local residents to participate in the filming—the men were placed on ice, thus falsifying the documentary footage.

In doing so, he openly violated the principles of documentary filmmaking, which prohibit directors from interfering with real events. At the same time, Herzog himself did not consider his actions unlawful, arguing that “this scene most fully conveys the fate and soul of Russia.”

Why should a documentary filmmaker confine himself to the confines of reality when imagination can enrich cinema? Much of Herzog's work contains elements of fiction. At times, his penchant for hyperbole affects not only the audience but also those who portray his characters.

In "Little Dieter Must Fly," director Werner Herzog delves into the life of pilot Dieter Dengler, a victim of Vietnamese captivity. Instead of limiting himself to interviews and old photographs, Herzog sent his subject into the jungles of Laos and forced him to participate in the re-enactment of his own suffering. Dieter was clearly uncomfortable, but the director's desire to convey the "truth" to the audience was stronger - and Herzog masterfully demonstrated the realities of Vietnamese imprisonment, skillfully combining documentary elements with artistic interpretation.

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Drinking from a Leather Shoe

In 1999, director Harmony Korine released his second feature film, Julien the Donkey. This experimental film, about a young man suffering from schizophrenia, stood out for its unusual camerawork and bold plot. However, it was the portrayal of the ailing hero's father that made the greatest impression on audiences and critics. This character forced his children to commit terrible acts and drank alcohol directly from a leather slipper.

Korine did not skimp and invited one of his favorite directors to play the difficult father. Herzog, dressed in a T-shirt, actively set about helping the young author. The director's transformation into an actor happened naturally, since Herzog had appeared in front of the camera many times in his documentaries.

The German film director did not ignore and voice acting—his voice can be heard in such animated series as The Simpsons, American Dad, and The Boondocks. However, the most memorable role of his acting career was his portrayal of the main villain in the action film Jack Reacher. The character of the terrifying old man, who chewed off his own fingers to break free, proved so multi-layered that the antagonist was even more memorable to audiences than the title character, played by Tom Cruise.

In 2019, Herzog decided to join the Star Wars universe, playing a character named The Client in The Mandalorian. During filming, he encountered a puppet depicting "Baby Yoda." The director was so impressed by the Grogu puppet that he openly confessed his boundless love for it, emphasizing that the character looked "astonishingly realistic—it almost brought tears to his eyes when he looked at it."

Today, Herzog celebrates his 83rd birthday, but he has no plans to retire. At the Venice Film Festival, he showed his new documentary, Ghost Elephants, and in the coming months, he plans to voice one of the characters in a secret animation project being created by director Bong Joon-ho.