Werner Herzog is a German filmmaker with a lot of skills under his belt. Not only does he have an impressive director’s portfolio, but over time, he has also acted, he is a published author, and he’s even directed a few operas. Often, he’s been called a pioneer of New German Cinema. He even made it onto the 2009 list of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people.
Herzog has a unique film style both with his directing and his writing. Often, his films feature impossible ambitions, unique talents, or general ‘character against nature’ conflicts. His filmmaking process is also rife with improvisation, a disregard for storyboards, and making the cast and crew really immerse themselves into some aspects of the films. He’s developed and directed 51 feature films and full-length documentaries, so there’s a lot to go through. If you need a place to start, consider looking at one of his best documentaries.
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9 Fata Morgana
Werner Herzog Filmproduktion
Fata Morgana is a documentary set in the deserts of Africa and inspired by the Mayan theory of creation. It even includes a voiceover of a version of the Popul Vuh, an ancient Mayan text that, among other things, includes their creation myth, and how they believed the world and people came into existence. The film is split into three parts: the creation, paradise, and the golden age. Throughout all three are various shots filmed within the deserts, some with people and some without. All three bring with it what seems like the impossible as it contemplates reality — each part ends with a mirage, a hallucination or optical illusion that seems impossible to actually catch on camera. It’s a truly hypnotic movie.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
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8 The Transformation of the World into Music
A documentary on music and operas may sound strange at first, but that is exactly what The Transformation of the World into Music is. The film focuses on two things: the Bayreuth Festival and the composer Richard Wagner. The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival in Germany that Wagner founded and built up, and still continues to this day. He helped build the grounds the festival takes place on, and made it so that his operas and his music could continue to be displayed in a special theater big enough to host the orchestra needed. It’s a fascinating look into the history of this music festival as its legacy has continued to persist, even thorough many hardships.
7 Into the Inferno
Netflix
If you’ve ever wanted an up close look at volcanoes, Into the Inferno has got you covered. Explore active volcanoes in Indonesia, Iceland, North Korea, and Ethiopia along with Herzog and his crew. Co-director Clive Oppenheimer is a volcanologist that leads the way, keeping the team safe amidst the chaos.
As they look at the volcanoes and the destruction they can or have caused, they also take a look into the lives of those who live around the volcanoes, as living next to something that could destroy your entire livelihood in a day isn’t something everyone deals with on a daily basis. It brings insight into these topics that would be hard and dangerous to get otherwise.
6 Wheel of Time
Tibetan Buddhism is the topic of choice in Wheel of Time. Herzog was present for and documented two initiations in 2002 for the Kalachakra, a religious Buddhist group. Both were overseen by the 14th Dalai Lama, though the first was disrupted due to an illness the Dalai Lama had. Between the two ceremonies, which start and end the documentary, Herzog shows the pilgrimage at Mount Kailash, a sacred mountain that thousands visit every year as they follow tradition. Each pilgrim circumnavigates the mountain, preferably within the course of one day, and performs several religious regimens along the path as well. Herzog captures all of this in order to show those who may never see it for themselves.
5 Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds
Apple TV+
A great recent Apple TV+ original movie, the documentary Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds is all about meteors. When co-director Clive Oppenheimer visited a lab that specifically studied and displayed meteorites, he had the idea to create this documentary and contacted Herzog to see if he would be interested. Together, the pair explores many aspects of meteorites, like the scientific side that would have been seen in this lab, but also the cultural and spiritual side, especially of ancient tribes who might not have known what it really was. They also look at the craters the meteorites leave behind in the same way, bringing a deeper look into this natural phenomenon and how people have viewed them over the centuries.
4 Cave of Forgotten Dreams
IFC Films
Cave of Forgotten Dreams is about the Chauvet Cave in Southern France. There, some of the oldest human-painted images that have been discovered exist, and as such, there are many restrictions for the cave itself. Not only did Herzog have to get special permission to film within the cave, but there were several requirements they had to meet too. The general public is not allowed in the cave, and it is well-preserved, so Herzog was only allowed three other people with him, and they only had a two-foot wide walkway to work with.
Despite the hardships of the specialized equipment and limited space and crew, they were still able to capture the footage they needed, and included interviews with scientists and historians throughout the film. They even did so with 3-D photography in one of the most innovative and successful uses of the technology. It was a success upon its release, winning many best documentary awards from places like the New York Film Critics Circle and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.
3 Grizzly Man
Lions Gate Films
Bear enthusiast Timothy Treadwell is the focus of Grizzly Man. It chronicles the life and death of Treadwell, a man who thought he was defending the bears from poaching and basically living among them until he and his girlfriend were killed by them. Over 100 hours of footage was recovered from Treadwell’s last five years of life, and Herzog scoured through these to incorporate the actual footage of the bear interactions throughout his film, along with interviews of people who knew Treadwell, or scientists and park rangers that were bear experts.
Herzog also includes some of his own musings, thinking Treadwell was sentimental, but ultimately didn’t understand the harsh reality of nature until it was too late. The film won several awards, including Best Documentary from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the San Francisco Film Critics Circle. It remains one of the best documentaries about animals - not just bears, but the human being.
2 Encounters at the End of the World
Image Entertainment
Encounters at the End of the World is not your average Antarctica documentary. Instead of focusing on wildlife like penguins and polar bears, or even the ice itself as some documentaries do, Herzog visited Antarctica to document the scientists there. While there is some footage of the nature of Antarctica, such as ice tunnels and diving footage underwater, most of the documentary consists of various interviews with different scientists who live there, interviewing them to find out more about them and what they do.
They travel around to several scientist camps in Antarctica, and even visit the well-preserved cabin of Ernest Shackleton, a scientist from the early 1900s who made several expeditions into Antarctica, trying to go as far south as he safely could. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary, but unfortunately didn’t win it. The Antarctic imagery is stunning, and the almost philosophical conversations throughout are a perfect accompaniment.
1 Lessons of Darkness
In Lessons of Darkness, there is very little commentary to accompany the shots that Herzog took. This was to bring emphasis and focus on what he had filmed instead, trying to take a closer look at what a catastrophe is and how they are viewed. The catastrophe in this case is the aftermath of the first Gulf War, mostly focused on the Kuwaiti oil fires. However, no actual information about either of these moments is mentioned, instead focusing on the imagery from the different camera angles they had gathered. It feels almost apocalyptic, and definitely hits its goal of making the audience really think about what is happening.
