Werner Herzog - cinema's greatest mad genius?

I've been on a bit of a Herzog spree since watching Bad Lieutenant (which, by the by, is probably the funniest film you'll see this year) a few months ago. I've been a fan of his for a while, since watching Grizzly Man and being bemused by the odd nature of that documentary. After watching some of his 'classics' and more recent films - the sublime Rescue Dawn and Encounters at the End of the World - I thought he was definitely one of the most intriguing, original directors out there.

My favourite film of his is probably Acquire: The Wrath of God. It sums up a lot of his recurrent themes - madness, man vs nature, absurdly ambitious feats - and is full of memorable images, particularly the final image of Kinski surrounded by monkeys. It has a deeply peculiar tone, and never quite feels like the period piece it is. Just a strange film, yet one with curious themes and a typically crazy backstory (filming in the Amazon jungle = not fun, apparently!). Fitzcarraldo is probably better known, and threads very similar ground, but Acquire is probably that bit more haunting for me.

Now I've starting to work through some of his odder experiments. Myself and some friends watched Even Dwarfs Started Small, which is a truly bizarre, almost structureless film about a group of dwarfs rebelling in the asylum-like grounds they are being kept in. It's as strange as it sounds, with tonnes of mad, bizarre images. It also meanders around a bit, and the distinct lack of narrative structure means it drags occasionally, while Herzog likes to leave the camera linger on the characters just driving around in a circle for minutes at a time). Last night I watched Heart of Glass, about a German glass producing town and it's peculiar downfall. While I was watching, I was interested in the unusual tone and strange performances by the actors. Only afterwards that I read the back cover and realise the whole cast were performing under hypnosis :pac:

These films aren't always entirely successful, but they do show a man interested in exploring new territory constantly (literally in cases, as he loves travelling to the most difficult corners of the world to film in ludicrously harsh conditions). I'm also constantly intrigued by his documentary techniques. He has very peculiar questions he wants to ask (in Encounters at the End of the World, he ponders why monkeys don't utilise 'lesser' animals as tools) and his treatment of interviewees is just bizarre (such as the scene in Grizzly Man where he plays the tape of Treadwell's death to himself while an old friend of Treadwell's watches on). His personal life is also deeply unusual, with countless tales of Herzog's quirkiness - from eating shoes, to being shot on camera and continuing the interview, to briefly helping Joquain Phoenix after a car crash, but promptly disappearing into the sunset before the ambulances arrived. Oh, and of course his legendary love/hate relationship with Klaus Kinski, one of cinema's most rewarding yet bizarre partnerships.

So, any opinions on Herzog? Personally, I tend to find a lot to like in his films, even if they tend to be very, very odd. His films always have a very surreal edge, and the tone is generally all his own. He can create interesting films out of well worn material, such as his creepy re-imagining of Nosferatu. He is also a very visual director, and he is especially able to capture the offbeat, weirder sides of nature on camera. For a while I always thought moments in his films were hilarious, although I was never quite sure if it was on purpose. Bad Lieutenant confirms he is a bit of a comedian though. Yet his experiments aren't always perfect, and some of his quirks can be quite alienating. Overall, I think he is a fascinating director, and one whose films make cinema a much more interesting and far stranger medium.