German director Werner Herzog is 73 years old this year. During the new German film, he became famous for a series of mysterious drama films, and was known as the "movie maniac", and his distinctive style brewed many miracles in the film.
One [Mark of Life] Lebenszeichen (1968)
Herzog made his debut feature film [Mark of Life] at the age of 26, but that goes back to his 15-year-old trip to Greece.
Herzog was wandering through the mountains of Crete, Greece, through a valley, when suddenly ten thousand windmills were spinning in front of him, which he described as "like a whole crazy flower."
He pinched himself, making sure it was true. When he stood there, he knew he would come back one day to make a movie.
Years later, this dazzling thousands of windmills became the core lens of [the mark of life].
Thousands of windmills turn in the valley
Auch Zwerge haben klein angefangen (1970)
Speaking of [the pygmy rogue], even Herzog was tired of the terriers inside, saying, "Almost all of the stories that have been told in my biography have been told indiscriminately." ”
This incident is mainly due to the superb performance of the dwarfs: one of the dwarfs was run over by a car while filming, and Herzog thought he was dead; another time, the dwarfs actually poured gasoline on their bodies and lit themselves while filming.
One day, Herzog said, if you're done shooting unscathed, I'll jump into the cactus bush.
Finally, Herzog took his goggles and jumped from the ladder into the cactus bushes more than 2 meters high. But things are not good, it is easy to go in, and when you come out, you even have the heart to die.
▲ Herzog with a dwarf actor on the set
Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes (1972)
[Akil God's Wrath] Went into trouble as soon as filming began, and Klaus Kinsky, the "mad actor" who had first collaborated with Herzog, roared wildly, demanding to give him a close-up of his intimidating devilish face.
But Herzog resolutely refused, saying that he was not yet the leader of the entire army, and eventually overwhelmed the mad Kinsky, only intercepting the moving partial landscape of peru's Misty Mountains, so that "all the passion, drama and human compassion slowly emerge in it."
▲Part of the Misty Mountains of Peru
Kaspar Hauser - Jeder für sich und Gott gegen alle (1974)
Herzog is known as a "poetic landscape artist", and even when shooting "Everyone For Himself, God Against Everyone" set in the Middle Ages, he does not forget to join his "Thought Landscape".
The three dreamlike thought scenes in the film are all early video materials: the first is a valley full of magnificent temples photographed by Herzog's brother while he travels in Burma.
The second is a horrific picture of a thousand believers on a foggy pilgrimage on the west coast of Ireland; the third is a camel caravan shot of him in the Spanish Sahara Desert.
▲ Picture of a pilgrimage in the fog on the west coast of Ireland
Herz aus Glas (1976)
During the filming of the Glass Genie, Herzog was inspired by films such as Jean Hush's "Crazy Fairy" and hypnotized the actors to show almost ethereal movements and grotesque demeanor, thus capturing the madness of these people before the end of the world.
At the same time, the move takes on a strong expressionist color, making the Glass Genie one of the most mysterious of Herzog's works.
▲ The actor shows a strange effect after being hypnotized
Lu [Shi Chu Xi's Wanderings] Stroszek (1977)
There is an auction scene in which an auctioneer grunts and speaks at a fast pace, and the auction ends quickly, becoming a rather interesting part of the film.
It was a marvelous phenomenon that Herzog stumbled upon during his filming of the American Midwestern documentary [How Much Can a Groundhog Can Chew], a domestic auctioneer muttering, a language of rhythm, beauty, and horror, like a religious ritual incantation, that seduced a large audience.
▲ The auctioneer speaks quickly, like a mysterious spell
Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht (1979)
At the end of [Achill, Wrath of God], a bunch of monkeys climb onto a bamboo raft, which is just Herzog's first attempt. Herzog's version of Nosferatu: Ghosts of the Night opens with thousands of creepy rats running across the square.
This was filmed in the Dutch town of Delft. Herzog believed that such a clean, unspoiled place, filled with land and the only mammals on land that surpassed humans in number, could exhibit a strong horror and devastating effect.
The local town council and the villagers were very upset, but under the careful arrangement of Herzog, none of the rats transported from the Hungarian laboratory ran away.
Thousands of rats ran through the town square
Woyzeck (1979)
Because the Czech filming permit was quite difficult, when filming [Northferatu] in the Czech Republic, Herzog concealed it from the Czech authorities and began filming [Wowicek].
Kinsky, who has just finished playing a vampire, has not yet completely withdrawn from the role, and his appearance in [Wotzek] is facial distortion, panic in his eyes, dull movements, with a sick and neurotic.
Herzog said he brought something different to the performance in the film, bringing the fragile nature of the vampire into The Role of Wotzek.
Klaus Kinsky injects the fragile qualities of vampires into Wotzek
Nine [Overland Boat] Fitzcarraldo (1982)
Perhaps Herzog's most famous feat was to pull a 340-ton steamboat over a steep hill while filming [Overland Boat].
This "key plot" comes from two inspirations, one is when Herzog is driving through Karnak, Egypt, when he suddenly sees a huge prehistoric stele erected around him, nearly ten meters high, weighing hundreds of tons, and stretching for miles along the mountain range in two parallel lines, so an indescribable connection arises.
The other is that Herzog wants to return the image to its original shock, saying that Lumiere's [Train In] makes everyone scatter and flee, and he hopes that the plot of pulling a boat over the mountain will also have such a shocking effect.
▲ Pull the 340-ton steamboat over the steep hill
Fitzcarraldo (1982)
When filming [Overland Boat], being able to leave Klaus Kinsky has to be said to be a miracle. Originally it was starred by Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger, but after filming a little bit, he had to quit because of the tour.
After Kinsky joined the group, the situation was even worse. As he approached the finishing round, Kinsky roared wildly and boycotted the show again, with Herzog pressing a rifle against his head to force him to act.
But this is just a rumor, herzog often did extraordinary things, such as not afraid of assassination, daring to eat shoes, running to the erupting crater, but it is irrational and profound.
The truth is that as Kinsky growled and packed his men away, Herzog said, "I have a rifle with eight bullets going to your head, and the ninth bullet I'll use myself." As a result, Kinsky was frightened and honest, but for the sake of face, he continued to roar.
▲ When Klaus was yelling at others, Herzog watched with relish
(This article was originally published on the WeChat public account of "Watching Movie Weekly" magazine)