While he's probably best known for his recent documentary Grizzly Man or for the fantastic films that he made with the late, great Klaus Kinski, German filmmaker Werner Herzog has been making movies since 1962 and much of his output hasn't been in the form of feature films but in shorts and documentaries. This brings us to the Werner Herzog – The Documentary And Shorts Collection which is, as the name so obviously implies, a collection of some of the man's lesser known works. The twenty-five films in this set run the gamut from his first experimental short (Herkales from 1962) through to longer documentaries such as God's Angry Man and How Much Wood Would A Woodchuck Chuck, making all sorts of quirky little cinematic stops along the way. A lot of this work is new to DVD, though some such as Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe and Fata Morgana have shown up on releases from Criterion and Anchor Bay respectively. Available (at the time of this writing, at least) exclusively through his website, it's a truly interesting and off the wall cinema.

While his documentaries are hardly objective and more often than not they're just as much editorials or opinion pieces as they are legitimate examinations of the world around us, they are uniquely Herzog in that they're so infused with his personality, even to the point of egotism, that you can't help but get sucked in. Sure, he has a strange tendency to talk over his subjects while narrating his own films, to the point where it almost seems rude, but he's definitely bound and determined to make some sort of point and his genuine love of the craft of movie making is always evident and often times infectious.

DISC ONE:

Herakles (1962, 10 minutes):

Herzog's first film, made when he was nineteen years old, is a strange little experimental short film in which we switch back and forth from some bodybuilders toning and prepping themselves and working with weights and exercise machines, to various contrasts from the real world with Herzog providing bleak and pensive narration over top.

As he asks questions about what these men will do with their muscles, it culminates with him wondering if the last man we see will pull the stars from the sky, at which point we see American fighter jets, stars prominently displayed on their wings and near the cockpit, dropping bombs. The camera lingers on the men long enough that one could argue that it is intentionally homo-erotic, each man a perfect specimen, toned and oiled up to accentuate their features. The questions Herzog asks are taken from the legend of Hercules and it's an interesting little juxtaposition that he creates here. Herzog's strange sense of humor and irony is apparent, even in this debut work.

Last Words (1967, 13 minutes):

Another strange short film, this one follows a nameless old man as he rants about his life to the camera somewhere on a remote island near Greece. He's been picked up by the police and brought back to the mainland where he plays his instruments in a local bar. Some of the people who live around the old man talk about him, and for some reason they all repeat everything they are asked twice – this could just be 'weird for the sake of weird' – if Herzog was going for something with this tactic, it went over this reviewer's head.

At any rate, this is another quirky entry in a filmography riddled with quirks. We don't know anything about this man or his life other than what we learn in the brief running time but that doesn't make him any less interesting. The camera captures his weathered features and the sadness in his face very effectively, and while it's not possible to really get an understanding of his life in thirteen minutes, we definitely get a feeling for his frustration with the hand that life has dealt him.

The Unprecedented Defense Of Fortress Deutschkreutz (1966, 16 minutes):

A remote German fort used during the Second World War has been sealed off, it's doors closed forever as it is no longer needed anymore. The mayor has admitted that he doesn't know what to do with it, and the building has been put up for sale. Before the war the building was an insane asylum, now it's simply a shell. A group of four young men take shelter in the fort and use the left over uniforms as clothes. Now having the run of the abandoned fort, they have some fun by playing games and goofing off. Form there they start to pretend they're soldiers, going through military exercises and marching around the compound. They soon start to imagine that they're under attack and so they barricade themselves in with sandbags.

Huie's Sermon (1980, 42 minutes):

This film is, in essence, a forty-two minute sermon delivered by Reverend Huie, a Brooklyn preacher who delivers his thoughts live in front of a rather substantial congregation. It looks like it was shot in a single take with one camera, no edits or tricks (save for a very few opening shots and tracking shots to kind of set the place and the mood for the events to come), just simply a document on one man's incredibly fevered preaching. It's fascinating to watch the man build and build and build until, by the time he's starting to actually get to his point, he's as manic as anyone you've ever seen.

Lest you think that this is nothing more than boring footage of a man in a pulpit, let the record show that although he starts off in a rather pedestrian and restrained fashion, once Huie gets the feeling, he tears it up and bombasts everything from those who have had sex change operations to street crime in the neighborhood to energy problems to modern morals and decency. This guy is all over the place, he's even got assistants that wait at the side of the pulpit area with towels to help control the sweat he gives off as he rants and rages to those who have gathered there to listen to his words.

Huie's church, located in a poor section of town, and is home to an all black congregation and it's interesting to see how Huie plays up to his crowd. His heart seems to be very much in the right place but he knows what buttons to push and he certainly exhibits quite the flair for the theatrical. At times this seems like less of a sermon and more of a performance or a concert, it's interesting stuff.

The Flying Doctors Of East Africa (1969, 44 minutes):

This time around Herzog examines the impact that a group of British doctors has on the populace of East Africa, where they fly around to various stops to drop of medical supplies and help the sick as best they can. Through this set up, we're able to pop in and get a quick glimpse of a few different tribes and through the footage that he delivers to us we become somewhat acquainted with the differences that they exhibit from one another.

In this film, the footage of the doctors exists more as a way of bridging the different tribes together rather than as the main focus of the documentary. We don't learn much about the men out there doing these good deeds or their motivations or histories, instead, the focus lies almost primarily on the people that they're trying to help and how they differ from those trying to help them. The documentary does a very good job of showcasing the differences between the African tribesman and the British men trying to help them, and it effectively demonstrates, without passing judgment on either party or really even taking sides at all, the very vast differences in the way each side thinks and understands.

This is far from Herzog's best documentary as at times it is a little bit disjointed and more focus on the doctors would have balanced the movie out a bit more (after all, the film is named after them) but as an early work and a precursor of some of the subjects that he would tackle later on – and just as importantly, how he would tackle them – it is quite interesting.

Wings Of Hope (1999, 66 minutes):

Juliane Koepcke was a German biologist who, along with a few other crewmembers, boarded a plane in 1971 to fly to Peru to conduct some studies in the jungles there. The plane went down over the rainforest, and everyone was killed – except for Juliane. Almost thirty years later, Werner Herzog convinced her recreate the journey that, over ten days, got her out of there and back to what most of us would consider civilization.

Herzog, with his crew, accompany Juliane back into the jungle where, after some searching, they find what's left of the plane wreckage and from there Herzog, through some of his trademark narration and some interview clips, aides her in recreating her incredible journey of survival where she was eventually found by a lone fisherman who, while trying to help her, was stung by a ray and himself put into jeopardy when he didn't have the money to pay the fee required by the boat that they eventually needed to get on. We're also privy to some interesting footage of Julian in the present day wandering through the museum where she works in and amongst the various species and creatures on display, some of which are endangered and even extinct, which in and of itself is an interesting comparison to her own life experiences.

Through this hour plus retelling of her story, Herzog makes some interesting comparisons to the savage world that Juliane found herself thrown into, the fragility of life, how we can take certain aspects of 'civilized' culture for granted, and even manages to comment on man's cruelty to his fellow man. Herzog's camera does not shy away from the poverty in the area, the destitute denizens of the area are looked at and noted more than once.

Some of the more interesting analysis in the film has less to do with Juliane's ordeal (though it hardly overshadows her admittedly remarkable story) but with the reasons why the plane went down in the first place. Herzog manages to theorize, in that way that only he can, the various reasons why the plane crash might have occurred by way of some cost cutting measures on the part of the company hired to arrange the journey in the first place.

Precautions Against Fanatics (1969, 12 minutes):

An early color short, this one begins with the images of a man riding at a horse race track. From there we learn of how he wants to protect the horses from fanatics. He and his cohorts explain the various security precautions that they've put into place and how they aim to do their utmost to protect the horses. They get into arguments with old men and generally cause problems for the trainers and the owners. The whole thing is a put on they weren't really trying to protect the horses from fanatics at all, just having a joke and eventually they conclude that the fanatics are not a problem, there are only harmless visitors at the race track that day.

DISC TWO:

Land Of Silence And Darkness (1971, 82 minutes):

Truly one of Herzog's finest achievements in documentary filmmaking, this almost feature length piece takes a look at the life of one Fini Straubinger, a woman who, after a fall down a flight of stairs at the age of eight, gradually lost her hearing and her sight as she got older. She spent a fair bit of time simply lying in bed once this happened but as time went on she grew stronger and opted not to let her condition get her down. Instead, rather than sit around and dwell on what she had lost, she ended up traveling around the country helping to communicate with other deaf-blind patients in Germany. How do they communicate? Almost through a sort of Morse Code, in which they tap out a series of dots or dashes on one another's hand, which in turn represent letters. Fini, unlike many other deaf-blind patients, has mastered this technique and is able to communicate very well using it, and she uses her skills in this form of communication as well as her absolutely magnificent people skills to help others.

As Herzog follows her around and observes her work we're almost instantly struck by how completely gentle this woman is. She truly cares about the people that she is trying to help and unlike so many of us, she really is doing what she can to improve the lives of others. As we learn about Fini, so too do we learn about the ways of the deaf-blind, who have almost got their own society in that they can communicate with one another in ways that are exclusive to an extent.

There are moments in this film that will stick with you for a long time to come, not because they're sad or they ask you to pity their subjects but just because they're so powerful. When Fini tries to communicate with a young man who was more or less abandoned as a child, she finds he never learned to talk or communicate at all – all he really does is grunt, stopping once in a while to hit himself with his ball. He's much bigger than he is and he is quite aggressive but that doesn't stop the tiny old woman from reaching out to him, holding onto a glimmer of hope that she'll some day break through to him and help him move on to a better place. Another striking moment is when Fini and some of her acquaintances take a trip to the zoo. We see them petting the animals knowing that they'll never be able to see or hear them, but we can tell by the expressions on their faces that they know what they're doing and that it just simply makes them happy to be doing it.

The irony of all of this is, of course, the fact that neither Fini or any of the other deaf-blind patients will ever be able to see or hear the results of Herzog's endeavor. The film is much simpler in terms of its execution than a lot of his other documentaries and while it is still very much instantly identifiable as his work, it isn't quite as heavy handed as some of his other films. There are times when Herzog's personality and quirks dominate the narrative more than Fini's do, but that's part and parcel with his work, you have to accept that this is how he makes his movies and how he tells his stories – he always has and he always will, it's part of his charm – but he doesn't go off to the same extent that he has before or since.

Ultimately, Land Of Silence And Darkness is a very beautiful film about a fascinating and incredibly strong woman who has handled her difficulties in a truly admirable way. This film was previously made available domestically on DVD through New Yorker.

Handicapped Future (1971, 43 minutes):

This documentary, made originally for German television, does a really interesting job of comparing the way that handicapped people were treated in Germany during the time it was made, to how they were treated in the United States. Herzog makes a pretty strong case for Germany to improve the way in which it takes care of its handicapped citizens by showing how much better they have it in the U.S.A. and by explaining, in his own odd way, why they need the better treatment.

Herzog gives us some interviews with handicapped people and those who care for them so that we can understand a little bit of their dilemma. Sometimes we pity them other times we simply want them to be treated fairly, like real human beings. This film makes an excellent companion piece to the first film on this DVD, Land Of Silence And Darkness and the two films, made in the same year, have much in common as they deal with similar subjects in a similar manner.

Fata Morgana (1970, 74 minutes):

With Fata Morgana, Herzog perfects the technique he showed early on with Herakles, his first short from 1962, by juxtapositioning moving pictures and images with music and voice over, sans any serious or traditional narration. It's a very experimental work, and a high point in the man's career. To start things off, let the record show that this film has absolutely no plot. Instead, Herzog's camera shows us a series of images shot in and around the Sahara Desert. The music of Leonard Cohen plays throughout most of the film (three songs specifically – Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye, Suzanne, and So Long Marianne) and there are a few lines of spoken dialogue here and there to give the movie some context.

The images here are what are important. With no story to get in the way we're able to soak in some of the most amazing scenes you're going to see in a truly interesting environment. Split up into three parts – Creation, Paradise and The Golden Age – Herzog toys with various myths and religious themes as he simply shows us what a lot of us would never both to stop and look at. Actual desert mirages are shot and we see the hallucinations through the lens for ourselves. We see bombed out cars, smoking wreckage, and some odd roadside performance artists. The images tend to contrast with the titles of the three chapters and interestingly enough, Herzog shows us not what mankind sees in nature, but how nature sees mankind.

He cleverly sets up a shot in which a young boy stands with his pet dog. Though initially we see the dog as we normally would both in real life and in a film, the camera soon subverts the image and before we really realize it we're looking at the boy from the dogs point of view. Little tricks like this, subtle and smart camera work and compositions, lend an air of the supernatural to the natural. Herzog's work has often times concentrated on the natural and on man's eternal conflict with his environment, Fata Morgana is no different than many of his other films in that regard, but here it all comes together quite seamlessly. In this film, man is not the central focus of the film, he's simply a part of the bigger picture, part of the landscape or the environment himself.

Unfortunately the brilliant commentary track with Herzog and Crispin Glover that was recorded for the Anchor Bay DVD release of the film is missing in this set (probably a rights issue, sadly).

DISC THREE:

God's Angry Man (1980, 44 minutes):

This documentary from 1980 is one of Herzog's better known non-fiction works, thanks primarily to its subject, one Dr. Gene Scott. Scott, who passed away in February of 2005, was an eccentric television preacher who was notorious for his eccentric ways and over the top deliveries. Throughout this film, Herzog interviews Scott and splices this footage in between segments from actual broadcasts of his show wherein he delivers some of his teachings, asks for donations, and treats viewers to musical numbers from The Four Statesmen, a gospel quartet that performed on his show.

Scott was interesting not because he was a televangelist (or, as he preferred to be called, a Bible teacher), but because he was a genuinely odd guy with an odd history. Through interviews with his parents we learn that at a very young age he was very advanced in terms of his learning ability and education (he holds a PHD from Standford), and when he opens up to Werner and really gets to thinking, it's obvious that he is a very sharp, intelligent man. He was also a bit of a trouble maker in that he was in trouble with the FCC more than once, his church got into some hot water when their status as a charitable organization was called into question, and he had periodic visits from the police.

Herzog does a fine job of capturing Scott as his strangest (such as when he stops in the middle of a teaching and goes dead silent in protest to show how upset he is at the lack of donations coming in, only to burst out into a scathing attack on his audience afterwards, accusing them of caring more about their money than about their God) but also in more intimate, pensive moments as well. He successfully peels back a few layers of his television persona and gets him to open up about what he really wants in life, how he feels about working for the church, his place in the parish, and his hopes and dreams for the later years in his life. At one point, Scott comes close to tears. This gives his human side, not to be confused with his television persona (which honestly doesn't seem that far removed) a chance to bubble up and it makes for very interesting viewing.

The film has aged a bit and its easy now to laugh at the fashions and styles that are reflected in the film but the man behind the mission is still an interesting character and Herzog does a fine job of giving us a fairly intimate look at his way of life and the good and bad that it entails.

Echoes From A Somber Empire (1990, 87 minutes):

Michael Goldsmith is the subject of this documentary. Who is he? Well, he was a journalist covering events in The Central African Republic who found himself on the wrong side of Jean Bedel Bokassa, the man in charge who was quite insane. Bokassa had Goldsmith locked up, where he was held captive and tortured.

Through his experiences with Goldsmith, Herzog attempts to make some sense of out his experiences and off they go to Africa where they piece together Goldsmith's story. Herzog has Goldsmith interview a lot of people who knew Bokassa well – a few of his many wives, some of his children, a woman who was raped by him (who may or may not have been his daughter), and a few political cohorts who were associated with the man during his reign from 1966 through 1979. Even Goldsmith seems to have a hard time understanding Bokassa despite the insight that these interviews provide – the man was insane, he was convicted of cannibalism and sentenced to death at which point he went into exile.

Throughout the interviews, Herzog shows us strange archival footage, most of which is black and white and not in the best of shape which only serves to make it look even stranger than it is, of Bakassa's time in power. He presents this material to the viewer without any narration, only background music, as we see footage from his coronation and other state sponsored events that now exist only as stock footage or bad memories for those who lived through it.

Goldsmith, Herzog tells us, went into some sort of self-imposed exile himself after this movie was made. Reliving his experiences didn't purge him of the turmoil he felt or help him move on at all, it simply reminded him of the evil that man is capable of. The film allows the viewer to make up his or her own mind not out of laziness but simply because there are no real answers that can possibly explain or excuse Bokassa's behavior. He was as bad as Idi Amin, he was responsible for so much wrong and so much horror during his time in power, and he was so completely insane and mad with power that there really is no justifying what he did in the least. This film serves not so much as an outright examination of the where's and why's of Bokassa's regime but as a document of what he did, maybe in hopes that it will never happen again. Six years after this film was made, Bokassa died of a heart attack, after being released from prison in 1993 – proving that the madness Herzog is so fascinated with continues…

How Much Wood Would A Woodchuck Chuck (1976, 45 minutes):

This time out Herzog takes his camera to the 1976 Word Auctioneering Championships wherein he films a group of men (and one woman) competing for the trophy at a livestock auction somewhere in the central United States. Before we get to the actual competition, Herzog interviews a few of the winners and gets their take on the 'how and why' of their chosen career path. Oddly enough, the man who ends up taking home the gold is from Peterborough, Ontario, Canada and he claims to have wanted to be an auctioneer since the tender age of six. From there he gives us a very brief lesson in how to talk as fast as he does, and then we're off – the rest of the documentary simply highlights the competition itself before taking us to the closing ceremonies where the winners accept their awards at a banquet.

This one starts off interestingly enough and it does do a decent job of giving us a glimpse into the rather bizarre world of the auctioneer and explain, however briefly, the origins of how the position came to be and how it was created out of purely financial motives. Also of interest are some of the characters, they're a rather motley crew of cowboy types, many of whom look like the kind of walking and talking 'good ol' boy' stereotypes you'd see in a seventies era Joe Don Baker film. Sadly, the auction footage, which makes up the bulk of the film, gets repetitive quickly. You can only watch a man yodel about cow pricing for so long before it gets tiresome.

DISC FOUR:

La Soufriere (1977, 30 minutes):

This half hour documentary is interesting not because of where it succeeds but because, in all reality, it's more a record of Herzog's failure to capture what he set out to document.

In 1976 it was reported that a massive volcanic eruption would occur on the remote island of Guadeloupe and so Herzog and a pair of cameramen flew out there to capture it all on film. He finds that the town near the base of the volcano has been completely emptied with only one lone man still living there, refusing to leave his home. The town is like a scene out of a George Romero film when the crew shows up. Lights are on, stoplights still function, televisions and radios still fill rooms with noise, but not a single solitary figure can be seen for miles around – it's almost apocalyptic. There are dead animals all around, a donkey and loads of snakes, most of which have come down from the mountain hoping to escape.

From there, Herzog decides to try and trek up to the peak of the volcano, to see what he can see – this proves to be a pretty bad idea, as it doesn't take him too long to find out that there is a lot of poisonous gas in the air, prompting him to cut that idea short. All the while, Herzog is looking for the one man who wouldn't leave his home, hoping to interview him about his reasoning, but he finds that there is more than one hanger-on wandering about, all of them homeless people in the first place who are content to stick around and simply trust in God's will.

Herzog's trademark narration almost seems sarcastic in spots, as in hindsight he realizes what a bad idea this trek to the area was and how he and his two cameramen could have very easily been killed. This results in some rather pensive thoughts on the meaning of life, the simplicity of death and the fragility of mankind when compared to the powers of nature.

I Am My Films (1979, 93 minutes):

This is one of the few films in this set that wasn't directed by Herzog. Instead it was filmed by Christian Weisenborn and Erwin Keush and this time out, Herzog himself is the subject. For ninety minutes the filmmakers interview Herzog, providing clips from most of his major films and many of his minor ones as well, to present a fascinating portrait of the man and his working process.

Throughout this piece we see some great footage of Herzog at work, directing actors from behind the camera and setting up various shots. Through some revelatory interview footage we learn of his unusual childhood in a remote part of Germany away from most of civilization. He talks for some time about his family, the effect that they had on him as an adult, and how he feels about things in hindsight. What's interesting about this documentary is that it demonstrates to a fairly decent extent why Herzog's fixations are what they are. He sees a lot of himself in his subjects and to a certain length a lot of his films are partially autobiographical even when they're not about him per se.

He covers different periods of his career up to the time this documentary was made and speaks about Heart Of Glass in a fair bit of detail, proclaiming it to be a bit of a turning point for him as a filmmaker. He also speaks about his experiences on Aguirre and with Kinski a fair bit as well, which is interesting even if it was covered better later on in My Best Fiend.

Jag Mandir (1991, 82 minutes):

The Maharajah of Udaipur has his own private theater in which his subjects perform some truly unique productions for him and his guests. In order to explore this Herzog interviews a man who interacted with some of the participants and gets his take on things, why it's so impressive, and how it all came to be. From there we travel to the area where it all happens and witness the pomp and circumstance on display when the Maharajah arrives in a fancy car followed by a troupe of people waving giant feathers over his head to keep him out of the sun.

Many varied costumes are on display throughout as we see a rather massive parade in his honor, while the camera captures other oddities such as a man filling his mouth full of scorpions. Various musical acts come out and perform for the man, with flamboyant dancers and showmen prancing about. From there we see some warriors dance around with their swords to rhythmic tribal beats. From there the dancing girls come out and perform before some sort of strange tribal jester shows up to do his thing and then juggle for him. More dancing girls after that, and the ceremony carries on long into the evening before finishing up with some snake dancing and a ritual in which a man pierces his own cheeks. More dancing, more stunts and feats of daring, including some fantastic fire dancing and candle dancing finish things up before the grand finale, which I won't spoil here.

Almost all of this is presented without narration, it simply captures the performance and those involved in it as a record of what it was. There aren't a lot of different camera angles or editing tricks here, it's very flat but at the same time it only feels appropriate that the footage be shot this way, as realistically as possible.

DISC FIVE:

Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe (1980, 20 minutes):

Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe is a twenty-minute short film also directed by Les Blank, the man behind Burden Of Dreams, that further solidifies Herzog's eccentricities. The basic premise is that Herzog promised filmmaker Errol Morris that if he were able to actually complete his film, Heaven's Gate (a very good documentary on pet cemeteries), that he would eat a shoe. Morris got the film made, and Herzog made good on his bet. Les Blank was there at the premiere of Heaven's Gate to capture Herzog chowing down on the shoe and it also shows how Herzog prepared for the shoe eating and how he prepared the shoe itself to actually be eaten. It's an odd little movie, but a pretty amusing one that somehow feels very appropriate. This short was previously released as a supplements on Criterion's fantastic Burden Of Dreams DVD.

The Great Ecstasy Of Woodcarver Steiner (1974, 45 minutes):

Walter Steiner, the subject of this documentary, is a woodcarver by trade who also happens to be a champion ski jumper. Throughout the forty-five minute running time of this documentary, Herzog follows along with Steiner as he prepares himself for a competition in which he is supposed to compete. Less a biographical picture or history of Steiner the person, the emphasis here is on the jumping itself. Steiner is a master of his sport, and when it comes time for his jump, not only does he start further down the ramp (which gives him an obvious disadvantage) but he manages to surpass everyone else in the line up in terms of altitude and length.

What is painfully obvious in this film is just how impressed Herzog is with Steiner. He completely admires the man and he geeks out in much the same way that any of us would were we able to meet a personal hero, it's interesting to contrast the fan version with the usually stone faced and very stoic persona we usually associate with him. Herzog admires Steiner for pretty valid reasons, however – he seems like a genuinely interesting guy and he truly is a remarkable ski-jumper as made evident by the footage shot at the competition – the man literally flies through the air after leaving the ramp and it's very impressive stuff.

Contrasting with the sports hero side of the man, we also see him carving his wooden sculptures, many of which are inspired by many varied sources, and it's interesting to see the quiet side of the man as well as the high flying ski-jumper. The jumping footage is what really makes this one, however, as it makes excellent use of the mountains and the slopes in which it all takes place and it truly is a really beautiful looking movie.

The Dark Glow Of The Mountains (1984, 45 minutes):

This forty-five documentary examines Reinhold Messner's remarkable journey in which he climbed two of the largest mountain peaks in the world back to back. In his own strange way, Herzog takes a look at what fuels the fire that makes Messner and others like him want to go out into the middle of nowhere and risk their lives climbing giant mountain peaks. This film kind of follows in the foot steps of b>The Great Ecstasy Of Woodcarver Steiner in that we see a similar sense of admiration for the subject from Herzog himself come through in the work.

Messner, through some interviews, talks about his childhood, how his mother died while he was very young and how his father was sickly. He worked as a mason and worked at home during his formative years and it took him a while before he really had the time to commit to mountain climbing that he wanted to. We see him buying some supplies in the various towns around the mountains and preparing for this journey, and, in some remarkable footage, we see him journey by jeep through the rough lands around the mountain to the area where he will start his climb, surrounded by rough water falls and rapids.

From there he simply makes his trek, talking to Herzog and the camera and explaining himself along the way, answering Herzog's questions about whether or not what he does makes him insane, trying to explain himself as best he can. He explains that the simple curiosity behind climbing the mountain lead way almost to an addiction to altitude which in turn lead to his fixation with climbing. He talks about the physical problems he's encountered on climbs, how at times his life has definitely been in danger, and why he keeps at it. When asked about his mother, he at one point breaks down in tears, sobbing.

The end result is exactly what you'd expect – an intimate portrait of a man with strange obsession and desires. The last half hour or so of the film is simply some absolutely gorgeous footage of the man at the top of the mountain, climbing through the snowcapped peaks up to the summit before closing with some more interview clips that round things up nicely.

No One Will Play With Me (1976, 14 minutes):

This quick little short tells the story of a young boy who for reasons never explained is cast out of his classmate's social circle. We see him in school, playing alone, ignored by all the other children who seem to enjoy playing together as a group. After a while, the boy finally does make a friend in the form of a young girl who he takes home with him one day after class so that he can introduce her to his pet bird, a giant black raven who has the ability to talk. After he's introduced the girl to the raven, he tells her of his upbringing, how his parents are abusive and how they're more or less cast his lot for him in life, much to his dismay.

This is an interesting little short with some unusual compositions and some abstract moments. Herzog's message is clear, that children are more or less born innocent and if they become corrupt as they grow it's the parents who are responsible for it. He doesn't try to bury the theme or hide it at all, it's pretty much out there in the open but for a short film from the middle part of his career, it's an interesting experiment with some worth.

Ballad Of The Little Soldier (1984, 46 minutes):

Shot in Nicaragua, this powerful film examines the young boys, most of whom range in age from ten to thirteen, who are being recruited to fight in the skirmishes and political unrest that existed in the country at that time by the Contras. A basic understanding of the political climate of the times definitely helps when watching this one, but even without that the message is still a poignant one and it makes a very interesting companion piece in terms of theme and message to the earlier No One Will Play With Me, proving once again how easy it is for adults to corrupt their children.

The film is ripe with the heavy handed Herzog narration we've come to expect from the man but he sounds sincere in his concern and his examination of this phenomena. The camera doesn't shy away from showing these kids in their environment and as disturbing as it is at times, it's a fascinating portrait of a society and its inherent evils. Herzog interviews a few of the boys themselves, point blank, not sugar coating his questions and they are equally blunt in their responses to him, too young to be anything but brainwashed.

A joint project between Herzog and Denis Reichle (they shared writing and directorial duties), it's an eerie movie, one which deals with a subject that many of us would rather pretend does not exist at all.

DISC SIX:

Wodaabe – Herdsmen Of The Sun (1989, 43 minutes):

At first glance, this looks like a documentary on the Wodaabe tribe indigenous to the Sahara Desert - and in a sense it is, but there's more to it than that. After giving us a brief overview of who they are, their history, their customs (it's really brief, fleeting even), and the problems that they have to deal with on a daily basis such as droughts and the encroaching westernized civilization that threatens to destroy their culture we settle in and focus on a few of their more interesting rituals.

The main ritual we witness is a mating ritual that plays out as much like a beauty contest for the men of the tribe to participate than anything else, in what is essentially a reverse version of the Miss America pageants we televise in our own society. The men paint their faces up in much the same way that women wear make up to improve their appearance and from there they strut and dance about in garish costumes meant to draw attention from the women of the tribe.

This is an interesting document of a uniquely African event but it leaves as many questions unanswered as answered. We don't see any other westerners present at the ceremony but neither do we see how anyone reacts to the very obvious presence of the German film crew lead by Herzog. We don't know how the men go about priming for this ritual, how they apply their make up or of the role that women play in the society – there are hints at subserviantism in that a lot of times the women don't look directly at the men even at the end of the competition but rather at the ground, but nothing is stated as fact. Thought not one of his better movies, this is still an interesting look at a culture so different than our own but so similar in a few regards as well. The imagery is quite impressive, and it's pretty keen to be able to get a look into this ceremony period.

Lessons Of Darkness (1992, 50 minutes):

Shot in the wake of the first Gulf War, this nearly hour-long film focuses in on the devastation that occurred throughout the desert landscape as a result of the fires and burning oil wells that were wrought upon the land. Much of the material is shot from the air, not only for safety reasons but for cinematographic purposes as well, and we truly get a bird's eye view of the chaos and destruction that was left in the area. Herzog's narration is present but not omnipresent, it's not overbearing and more often than not he simply lets the images speak for themselves although some political and socio-economic points are definitely touched on throughout the running time.

In addition to capturing the chaos, Herzog also shows us the crews of American firemen tasked with trying to contain some of the fires, many of which are blazing out of control. In between some of the most amazing footage you're ever going to see in your life are brief interviews with some of the locals who have had to try and pick up their lives or what's been left of their lives in the aftermath of the war. These are pretty intense, and often times very unsettling and even heart wrenching.

While this might sound like a rather simple premise, and perhaps it is, words cannot do justice to the immense scale of the footage that Herzog and his crew have captured in this documentary. Striking images such as a raging blaze in the middle of the desert, surrounded by the blackness of the deepest and darkest night will stick in your brain and haunt you for some time to come. Much of this footage is presented with a very simple but emotive score (much of which is Wagner) playing overtop, with only periodic input from the director putting it into context.

More so than many of his other projects, this film suits his strengths perfectly. It combines his love of strange peoples, history, melodramatic narration and unusual visuals and creates what could arguably be his strongest film to date. The whole thing feels very alien and the landscape of Kuwait literally looks like something out of a science fiction movie in spots, like something out of the post nuke scenes from The Terminator. Much of this material is very striking, very stirring and even beautiful in a strange way, and all of it is quite frightening at the same time.

Lessons Of Darkness was nominated in 1992 for the Best Documentary Feature at the Academy Awards. It didn't win but it did become a darling of the critics. This is one of those rare occasions where a film is completely worthy of all the praise that was heaped upon it.

Bells From The Deep (1993, 60 minutes):

This more recent documentary explores the religious beliefs of the people who inhabit some of the more remote areas of Russia and Siberia. How does he do this? He speaks overtop of some absolutely fantastic footage of the rough landscape of the area and has some of the locals speak directly into the camera (and therefore directly to the viewer) about what they belief and the specific rituals and practices that their beliefs entail.

The movie starts off by examining a tribe called the Yulas who live on the border near Mongolia in a very remote and isolated part of the area. These people meditate by making strange noises, crawl over very thin ice as an act of their faith, and believe that a mystical city inhabited by angels lies at the bottom of the lake near their village. It's all very strange and all very fascinating and Herzog narrates the piece with class and his usual insight. We then meet some of the local religious leaders in the community. There's a man who speaks of various prophets and messianic figures that have held spots in the local religion. We see an exorcist attempt to cleanse a group of young women of evil spirits en masse in a high school gymnasium, this scene is presented very matter-of-factly without any narration or background music.

It all comes together and paints a very interesting portrait. Though he shows us what we could consider to be bizarre aspects of their beliefs it never feels disrespectful or like he's talking down to the people who appear on camera. His narration is insightful and makes you question your own beliefs to an extent, leading us to realize that although these people may have very different practices than our own, they are very much willful participants in what they do, which makes it all the more interesting that they do it.

Portrait Of Werner Herzog (30 minutes):

A sort of companion piece to I Am My Films, Portrait Of Werner Herzog has the unique distinction of being a documentary directed by its own subject. Herzog, with this movie, has made a thirty minute film on and about himself.

It starts off with footage from Herzog's village where the locals are celebrating Oktoberfest. He explains the origins of the celebration and the importance that it holds in the community. He then muses that although he's honored to be there he doesn't enjoy being around so many people. He talks about his hobbies, how he enjoys hiking and getting outside, and his thoughts on what a 'normal life' really is. We see him planning a shoot up a mountain, interacting with other German cinema types and discussing Germany's place in world cinema. We see many clips from his films as he talks over them, giving his thoughts on them and talking about his experiences capturing these images. He talks us back to the area where he grew up, talks about his experiences there, and shows us around the area. We also get to see some interesting Fitzcarraldo footage with Mick Jagger playing that part that Klaus Kinski would eventually make famous. From there we see a lot of footage from the shoot of that film, footage of Kinski and the ordeals that they went through together with the rest of the cast and crew. He closes it off with family photos, showing him in his teenage years.

Video:

Each and every one of the films in this set is presented in its original 1.33.1 fullframe aspect ratio save for Lessons In Darkness which is presented in its original 1.78.1 widescreen aspect ratio in a very nice anamorphic presentation. In terms of how the films look? Well, with the body of work contained in this set stretching back roughly fifty-five years, there's bound to be some fluctuations in quality and the fact of the matter is that yes, there is quite a bit. Thankfully, most of the material here looks pretty good. Some of the older black and white pieces such as Herakles look rougher than newer color pieces like Lessons In Darkness in that there is heavier grain and a bit of print damage here and there but considering how much of this material was shot on 16mm and under somewhat odd conditions, there's really not a lot to complain about here in terms of the video. The color films look a bit better than the black and white ones but more often than not, part of the reason for that is because they're newer productions and were made on bigger budgets. This set isn't going to win any awards for greatest DVD transfers in the universe but it's certainly more than acceptable and most of the movies look genuinely good.