Whether as a director, author, producer or as an often copied, unique voice from the off: Werner Herzog is one of the most famous and respected German filmmakers – and has also been attracting attention as an actor for some time now. However, his appearances inThe Mandalorian’ or ‘Jack Reacher“ are just curious footnotes in his six decades of work. Much more impressive is the ease with which Herzog has already covered numerous genres – while always maintaining his distinctive signature: From horror films and surreal thrillers to adventure cinema and historical dramas…
… to great tragedy and almost nihilistic documentaries that nonetheless exude great curiosity. On the occasion of Herzog’s 80th birthday this year, Arthaus released a new collection that brings together a cross-section of his work, both on DVD and Blu-ray. Of course, his collaborations with the controversial actor Klaus Kinski are part of the ten-film set:
» “Werner Herzog 80th Anniversary Edition” at Amazon: Blu ray* / DVD*
The “Werner Herzog 80th Anniversary Edition” does not contain any Blu-ray premieres, but the set does contain several films that have been out of print in HD for some time.
The “Werner Herzog 80th Anniversary Edition” contains five films that have received the maximum rating of five stars from DashFUN and therefore officially enjoy masterpiece status. The masterful half of the set also includes Herzog’s possibly most famous and influential film: The extraordinary, exhilaratingly filmed adventure “Fitzcarraldo” with Kinski as a manic person who wants to build an opera house in the jungle. Kinski’s outbursts of anger during the shoot are well documented and have become part of German culture. Nevertheless, one does the film an injustice to reduce it to that – its narrative is too powerful, its images and sounds too memorable. No wonder he’s referenced in films as diverse as Wes Anderson’s The Deep Sea Divers, There Will Be Blood and the Pixar hit Up.
Rarely imitated, but no less remarkable, are the historical adventure “Aguirre, the Wrath of God”, the haunting theater adaptation “Woyzeck” and “Nosferatu – Phantom of the Night”, the devastatingly consistent remake of the silent film classic “Nosferatu”. . All of these films were made with Kinski in the leading role, and the shocking Kaspar Hauser biopic “Everyone for themselves and God against all” is included in the set as a Herzog highlight without Kinski.
Also part of the collection is the fifth and final Kinski-Herzog collaboration “Cobra Verde”, about which Herzog himself has not commented too positively in the past, but which is remarkable for its unexpectedly large amount of self-mockery. Also starring Willem Dafoe and Michael Shannon is the surreal thriller My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?, produced by David Lynch, and the Buddhism documentary Wheel of Time. also two 4.5-star films on board.
Rounding out the box set is the haunting documentary Lessons in Darkness, about burning oil fields in Kuwait, and the true-event epic, Queen of the Desert. Nicole Kidman plays the lead role, with James Franco and Robert Pattinson in supporting roles.
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