Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog
Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)
The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974)
RANKED:
5. Nosferatu, the Vampyre (1979)
When you think of a Werner Herzog film, you might first think about their rich, complex themes. It's not often that beautiful visual compositions come to mind. However, his 1979 film "Nosferatu, the Vampyre," the remake of F.W. Murnau's 1922 silent classic, is perhaps the greatest in his filmography that one could point to as containing the most breathtaking visual images of his career. Although it is a straightforward remake, Herzog makes the vampiric story completely his own. Mixing scenic imagery with performance styles paying homage to silent film acting, Herzog constructs a film that is far more meditative than 'scary.' This meditation centers around humanities relationship to death. There are those who abandon their bourgeois constructs, those that reason with death scientifically, and those that succumb to death's insatiable appetite. Perhaps nothing can quite best the feat of Murnau's original work, but Herzog certainly obtains a unique high mark that hasn't been matched since.
4. The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974)
It's clear that Werner Herzog uses cinema to strip humanity naked of its modernity, traditions, and social norms to reveal it in its purest form. With his 1974 film "The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser," Herzog strips these things away to reveal the purity of the human spirit through his protagonist, Kaspar Hauser. Based on a true story from the 19th century, the film centers on Kaspar, a young man kept in isolation for the first seventeen years of his life. As the film progresses, he begins to learn to speak and become acquainted with modernity. However, the constant conflict between Kaspar's pure intentions and the confusing, self-righteous, and incoherent logic of modern humanity iterates Herzog's philosophies on these social predilections and how they directly interfere with our natural selves. "The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser" serves as somewhat of a palette cleaner to his previous film, "Aguirre, the Wrath of God," by illustrating the natural virtue that can be found within the human soul.
3. Fitzcarraldo (1982)
Although he would go on to make more fictional narratives, Werner Herzog's 1982 film "Fizcarraldo" acts as a perfect bookend with his debut, 1972's "Aguirre, the Wrath of God." Both center on a European coming into the Peruvian Amazon with lofty dreams of building his own paradise. In doing so, he exploits the people and the land that exists around him. Some would argue that's exactly what Herzog himself was doing in making this film, thus creating a parallel between story and story-maker. To me, this only pours even more thematic juice onto an otherwise complex thematic narrative. To Herzog, this is the way of the jungle, the way of nature, and the way of humanity. We are savage animals that only care about our own edification, and we're willing to exploit whatever and whomever to attain it. The full contextual scope of "Fitzcarraldo," the insanity of its leading actor (Klaus Kinski), the lofty ambitions of its production, and the perplexing narrative that continues to haunt this film only make it one of the most baffling and intoxicating experiences in modern cinema.
2. Stroszek (1977)
Although it may not pop out of Werner Herzog's filmography like one of his more notable films, 1977's "Stroszek" is perhaps one of his finest films. It centers on an alcoholic street performer who moves to Wisconsin to escape the brutality of West Germany, along with a prostitute and an elderly neighbor whom he brings along the way. All in all, the film is about the façade of the American dream. Even more so, it's about the façade of hope. As the viewer watches the inevitable tragedies of their story unfold, you can't help but feel emotionally attached to these characters. Their dreams of stability and success ultimately fall between their fingers like grains of sand. Herzog frames them in the vast nothingness of the Wisconsin plains, illustrating their desolation, as well as their ultimate disillusionment. Much like with his other films, "Stroszek" is about the journey of discovering nothing, of failing to reach your goals, and of coming to terms with the sad realization that life does not provide any sense of final satisfaction.
1. Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)
After the creative explosion of global cinema in the 1960s, cinema had so many different places it could go. For Werner Herzog, it was a documentary-style approach to realize his 1972 film "Aguirre, the Wrath of God." Centering on a group of 16th century conquistadors traversing the Amazonian rainforest in search of El Dorado, the film is able to echo its themes through its bare-boned visual style. This style is able to reveal the depraved, vile, and absurd wasteland of humanity underneath the surface of customs and sensibility. Our characters are just as savage as the jungle that surrounds them - especially our titular Aguirre, who unravels into homicidal psychosis in an attempt to lead the group to an unconquered 'golden city.' "Aguirre, the Wrath of God" succinctly identifies the style and themes of its writer/director, allowing for him to unclothe the social aspects of humanity to reveal their unbound savagery.
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