Werner Herzog is often considered as one the greatest figures of the New German Cinema, along with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Volker Schlöndorff, Wim Wenders and others. He is definitely one of my favorite filmmakers. His edgy, larger-than-life films fuse the epic with the intimate, redefining the scale and scope of filmmaking to include more than 60 works shot on every continent.
Last April, Herzog visited the UC Santa Barbara campus where he spent two hours in conversation about his film making and life with the author and essayist, Pico Iyer.
You may also have a look at Werner Herzog’s 1968 short film “Last Words”. It was shot and edited in only 2 days. The film tells a story of the last man to leave the abandoned island of Spinalonga, which had been used as a leper colony. The film’s narrative style is very unconventional, with most characters speaking their lines several times repeatedly in long takes. The man from the island has the most spoken lines of any character, as he repeatedly explains that he refuses to speak, even a single word.
These videos will help time pass before the Spring 2011 premiere of Herzog’s upcoming 3D film, Cave of Forgotten Dreams.