Werner Herzog AMA on Reddit

The life and times of Werner Herzog, as told by himself. Fascinating stuff.

This is amazing as one might expect. But this is what tickled me the most:

I am also a cat lover (though I don’t own any) and like their strangeness. But I also like that Werner Herzog demonstrates that we’re all layered.

That was kind of cool. Terry Gross did a great interview with him a while back for Fresh Air. It’s a great listen.

Very cool indeed. We just watched his Loch Ness film a few weeks ago, so it’s difficult to read his responses without hearing them in his voice.

"Well, you cannot really ask a mother, “Which one of your children are you most proud of”. You love them all, I love all of them, my 72 or so films. And those who are the weakest–some of them are weak and some of them have defects, where they limp–and I defend them more than the others. So, I’m proud of them all. "

Herzog is so awesome. Along with Ozu and Lynch, when I fail to respond to one of his films, I assume automatically that there’s something I’m failing to understand, not something he’s failed to deliver.

That was probably the best AMA I’ve ever read (not really saying that much). I kept scrolling down hoping for more amazing responses.

Admit it. You can only read his responses with his voice in your end.

Herzog is never not Herzog:

Holy shit, this guy.

“…so I had to say a few things in French. I regret it.”

That’s right up there with “it was not a serious bullet.”

-Tom

Hilarious. That ending got a great belly laugh from me.

He’s obviously a fascinating character with a somewhat charmed life, I’ve certainly seen him before but I don’t think I’ve ever seen any of his films. Is there a recommended Herzog experience I should check out?

I need to see a lot more of his work too, but I recently saw Aguirre, The Wrath of God and thought it was mesmerizing.

Here’s Ebert on the film.

I’m sure that many will decry my choices but I’ll try and suggest some of his more accessible movies…
I found these documentaries very compelling:


If you’d prefer fiction (although based on a true story), this movie that stars Christian Bale:

Most people will say Fitzcarraldo or Aguerre. I would agree with them. But he did a documentary on a search for the Loch Ness monster. Definitely check out Incident at Loch Ness, maybe as a delicious appetizer before the heavier stuff.

-Tom

one of my favourite Herzog films is Kasper Hauser. This is a great scene from it.

The movies I usually recommend as introductions are:

Fiction:
Aguirre, Wrath of God
Fitzcarraldo

Documentary:
Grizzly Man
Encounters at the End of the World

These are fairly straightforward as Herzog goes, while still very Herzogian (the penguin bit in Encounters is possibly the most Herzogian thing of all time). If you like those, you can delve into his wackier or more obstuse stuff.

I came here to say something silly like Herzog Zwei, but that is a great recommandation.

Ah, the Sapphire City!

(For those who enjoy that: John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme Series 1-9 : BBC Radio 4 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive)

Not sure where to put this news, so will stick it here.

Herzog wrote a novel! About the most Herzog topic ever - Onoda

Twenty-five years ago in Tokyo, where he had come to direct the world premiere of the opera “Chushingura,” the German filmmaker Werner Herzog received an enviable invitation. At a dinner of the cast and crew, the opera’s composer greeted Herzog with the thrilling news that the emperor of Japan would welcome a private audience with him. “My goodness, I have no idea what I would talk about with the emperor,” Herzog responded. The room froze. “I wish to this day that the earth had swallowed me up,” Herzog recalls dramatically in his first novel, “The Twilight World” — a book in which, his epigraph explains, “most details are factually correct; some are not.” When a guest broke the silence to ask if there was anyone in Japan he would, in fact, like to meet, Herzog answered: “Onoda.” He elaborated: “Hiroo Onoda.”

Is this thread for the first RTS game on SEGA Genesis?

No that’s here: