Post "Invincible" Herzog returned to documentary filmmaking.
Wheel of Time (2003)
This documentary film is about Tibetan Buddhism. The title refers to the Kalachakra sand mandala that is a recurring image in the film.
The film documents the two Kalachakra initiations of 2002, The first, in Bodhgaya India which was disrupted by the Dalai Lama being unwell. Later that same year, the event was held again in Graz, Austria. The film includes a personal interview Herzog had with the Dalai Lama himself and he also interviews former political prisoner Takna Jigme Zangpo, who served 37 years in a Chinese prison for his support of the International Tibet Independence Movement.
The White Diamond (2004)
This documentary illustrates the history of aviation and depicts the struggles and triumphs of Graham Dorrington an aeronautical engineer, who has designed and built a teardrop-shaped airship which he plans to fly over the forest canopies of Guyana.
Most of the film focuses on Dorrington's flights near Kaieteur Falls, in Guyana. Dorrington discusses the mechanics of his flight, as well as his own struggles with uncertainty.
The film also explores the Kaieteur Falls themselves, a local man named Marc Anthony Yhap, a diamond miner, and the white-tipped swifts which roost in an inaccessible cave behind the falls.
Next Herzog embarked on a project that as far as I am concerned is one of the best documentary films ever. I don't know how this wasn't nominated for an Oscar.
Grizzly Man (2005)
Directed by Werner Herzog, Written by Werner Herzog, Produced by Kevin Beggs,
Billy Campbell, Phil Fairclough, Andrea Meditch, Erik Nelson, Tom Ortenberg &
Jewel Palovak, Music by Richard Thompson,
Cinematography by Peter Zeitlinger,
Edited by Joe Bini, Starring, Timothy Treadwell, Werner Herzog & Narrated by Werner Herzog.
Pieced together from Timothy Treadwell's actual video footage, this remarkable documentary examines the calling that drove Treadwell to live among a tribe of wild grizzly bears on an Alaskan reserve.
A devoted conservationist with a passion for adventure, Timothy believed he had bridged the gap between human and beast. When one of the bears he loved and protected tragically turns on him, the footage he shot serves as a window into our understanding of nature and its grim realities.
This documentary film chronicles the life and death of bear enthusiast and conservationist Timothy Treadwell and his girlfriend Amie Huguenard at Katmai National Park, Alaska.
The film includes some of Treadwell's own footage of his interactions with brown bears before he was eaten in 2003. Herzog interviews people who knew or were somehow involved with Treadwell, in addition to interviews with actual professionals who deal with wild bears.
One of the most memorable parts of the film is when Herzog is interviewing a friend of Treadwell who owns the video cassette that has the audio of Treadwell being killed and eaten. She had never brought herself to listen to it but we get to see Werner listen to it in headphones. Powerful stuff.
After hearing it Herzog is visibly distressed and he advised the owner to destroy the audio recording rather than listen to it or even keep it.
In a later interview Herzog did say that this advice was "Stupid" "silly advice born out of the immediate shock of hearing—I mean, it's the most terrifying thing I've ever heard in my life"
She slept on it and decided to do something much wiser. She did not destroy it but separated herself from the tape, and she put it in a bank vault.
I don't want to go into too much detail because if you haven't seen this you should ASAP.
The film is legendary and is universally acclaimed by critics and film fans alike.
Film critic Roger Ebert, a longtime supporter of Herzog's work, awarded the film four out of four stars.
The film has a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes.
(if that means anything)
Metacritic reports an 87 out of 100 rating.
7.8 on IMDb / 4.1 on Letterboxd .
Rescue Dawn (2006)
Directed by Werner Herzog, Written by Werner Herzog, Produced by Steve Marlton
& Werner Herzog, Elton Brand, Harry Knapp, Nick N. Raslan, Music by Klaus Badelt & Ernst Reijseger, Cinematography by Peter Zeitlinger, Edited by Joe Bini,
Starring Christian Bale & Steve Zahn.
During the Vietnam War, German-born US pilot Dieter Dengler is shot down over Laos and taken prisoner. Tortured and starved, Dieter resolves to escape with fellow prisoners Duane and Gene. When they finally make their daring break into the jungle, the escapees discover that the dense, humid rainforest can be a terrifying prison in itself.
This is Herzog's dramatisation of Dieter Dengler's story of survival. Christian Bale is really on the top of his game three years before he disappeared up his own posterior on the set of "Terminator Salvation" Let's never forget that! He is brilliant in this.
As an artist Herzog is fascinated by the cruelties of man and nature so his interest in Dengler's story is very understandable.When he chose to make this dramatised cinematic version he had to underplay the suffering of the prisoners, removing some of the worst torture experienced by Dengler so the film could be rated PG-13 in America.
THe film was shot over 44 days on location in Thailand.
To prepare for their roles, the actors playing the prisoners spent months losing weight.
The film was then shot in reverse chronological order so the shots of the men being emaciated were filmed first then over the shoot the actors could gain weight.
This film includes the first use of digital visual effects by Herzog in his career, the shots of Dengler flying were created digitally but the crash was staged and filmed practically in live action.
The film premiered at The Toronto International Film Festival on the 9th of September 2006 and due to the usual messing around by movie executives over release dates and nonsense, It was originally scheduled to be released in the U.S. by MGM in December 2006 but it was moved to 2007 getting a limited release on the 4th of July then finally getting a wide release at the end of that month. It was finally released in Europe on the 23rd of November 2007.
The film generally received positive critical reviews because it is great.
The critical consensus is "Director Werner Herzog has once again made a compelling tale of man versus nature, and Christian Bale completely immerses himself in the role of Dieter Dengler."
Legendary film critic Roger Ebert wrote,
""In Rescue Dawn, filmed in the jungles of Thailand, there is never the slightest doubt we are in the jungle. No movie stars creeping behind potted shrubbery on a back lot. The screen always looks wet and green, and the actors push through the choking vegetation with difficulty. We can almost smell the rot and humidity."
After "Rescue Dawn" Herzog made "Encounters at the End of the World" (2007) which is a documentary about Antarctica and the people who choose to spend time there. This is the film that features the very famous scene where Herzog asks the expert about penguin sexuality and mental illness, and features the footage of a penguin marching away from the sea, going inland to its certain death.
At the 81st Academy Awards, this film was nominated for Best Documentary Feature but did not win.
He followed this up with a pretty curious entry in his filmography that when you see the title and cast you would not think... must be a Herzog film.
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009)
Directed by Werner Herzog, Written by William M. Finkelstein, Produced by Stephen Belafonte,
Randall Emmett, Avi Lerner, Alan Polsky, Gabe Polsky, Edward R. Pressman & John Thompson,
Music by Mark Isham, Cinematography by Peter Zeitlinger, Edited by Joe Bini, Starring
Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Jennifer Coolidge,
Val Kilmer, Brad Dourif, Alvin 'Xzibit' Joiner &
Fairuza Balk.
Terence McDonagh isn't doing so well. He has a nasty painkiller addiction, courtesy of an injury he sustained while rescuing a prisoner during Hurricane Katrina. Plus, there's his alcoholic father, boozy wife and prostitute girlfriend. And, he's just been saddled with a rookie partner. Now Terence must pull himself back from the edge of insanity to investigate a series of murders that has the city on edge.
Nicolas Cage as Lieutenant Terence McDonagh, the titular bad lieutenant
This film was not written by Herzog it was penned by William Finkelstein who is most well known for writing on hit TV series Law & Order and L.A. Law. The film was also not produced by Werner so it's safe to say he was more "A gun for hire" on this rather than this being a passion project but saying that the film is not bad at all. This film is 2009 Nic Cage falling firmly in the bracket of peak "Memefication" of the great "nouveau shamanic" acting juggernaut that he is.
The film is not a remake or sequel to the 1992 Abel Ferrara film "Bad Lieutenant." starring Harvey Keitel. Herzog insists that the film is not a remake, saying, "It only has a corrupt policeman as the central character and that's about it." and at the 81st Academy Awards, Herzog stated that he has never seen Ferrara's 1992 film, saying "I haven't seen it, so I can't compare it. It has nothing to do with it."
Abel Ferrara on the other hand came out of the gate being very angry about the film. After it was first announced, Ferrara was quoted "As far as remakes go, ... I wish these people die in Hell. I hope they're all in the same streetcar, and it blows up."
When asked later for his response Herzog stated that he does not know who Ferrara is, saying "I've never seen a film by him. I have no idea who he is."
Herzog also said "I would like to meet the man," and "I have a feeling that if we met and talked -- over a bottle of whisky, I should add -- I think we could straighten everything out."
In 2018 Ferrara said that he had eventually met Herzog and had made peace with him.
THe film was made in 2008 but the producers struggled to find a distributor for a wide release. The film had its world premiere at the 2009 Venice Film Festival, the 2009 Toronto Film Festival and the 2009 Telluride Film Festival. It was eventually released in America on the 20th of November 2009 and it was finally released in Europe in May 2010.
The film received largely positive reviews from critics.
The critical consensus reads: "Befitting its unorthodox origins, this Bad Lieutenant benefits from Werner Herzog's typically fearless direction and a delightfully unhinged Nicolas Cage in the title role."
The Guardian critic Xan Brooks called Cage's work in the film "surely his best performance in years".
Blogging about the film Roger Ebert declared: "Nicolas Cage is as good as anyone since Klaus Kinski is portraying a man whose head is exploding. It's a hypnotic performance."
The film is rated at 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, 6.6/10 on IMDb, 3.6/5 on Letterboxd
End of Part Five
