HERZOG, MY SECOND FAVOURITE GERMAN

Werner Herzog is one of those oddities in documentary film making, in that you can never quite tell if he is half joking or being deadly serious…..the thick monotone German accent probably doesn’t help either. Grizzly Man (2005), a documentary about the unfortunate mauling of a wannabe conservationist, Timothy Treadwell, is probably his most recognized work. The zaniness of Herzog, is not only part of his films, but also extends into hos interviews. While promoting Grizzly Man in LA, Herzog was being interviewed by film critic Mark Kermode in the Hollywood Hills when, out of the blue, a stray bullet hit Herzog square in the gut….

Perhaps the trademark of Herzog is his use of narration throughout his films. In Grizzly man you almost get the impression Herzog is death presiding over the protagonist’s soul…

And what haunts me, is that in all the faces of all the bears that Treadwell ever filmed, I discover no kinship, no understanding, no mercy. I see only the overwhelming indifference of nature. – Grizzly Man (2005)

Recently a video of Herzog giving his view on chickens surfaced on the web and is just hilarious from the moment he opens his mouth…