Film director, screenwriter, and producer, born in Sachrang, SE Germany. He made numerous shorts in the 1960s, and became recognized as a leading member of the New Cinema in Germany with his features Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes (1973, Aguirre, Wrath of God) and the story of Kaspar Hauser (1975). His treatment of Nosferatu, the Vampyre (1979) reflected the German silent film Expressionists of the 1920s, but his general themes are metaphysical in character, often with remoteness in time or location, as in Where the Green Ants Dream (1984). Later films include Scream of Stone (1991), The White Diamond (2004), and Grizzly Man (2005).
Werner Herzog (born Werner Stipetić on September 5, 1942) is a German film director, screenwriter, actor, and opera director.
Early life
Herzog was born Werner Stipetić (IPA pronunciation: [stɪpɛtɪtʃ]) in Munich to a Yugoslavian father and German mother, and grew up in a remote village in Bavaria. About this, Herzog recalled, "I knew at that moment that I would be a film director and that I would direct Kinski".
The same year, Herzog was told to sing in front of his class at school and he adamantly refused.
In the early 1960s Herzog worked night shifts as a welder in a steel factory to help fund his first films.
Herzog has been married several times and has had children with several different women. In 1995 Herzog moved to the United States after having met Lena Pisetski (now Herzog) whom he married in 1999.
Films and criticism
Herzog's films have received considerable critical acclaim and achieved popularity on the art house circuit.
Herzog directed five films starring the German actor Klaus Kinski: Aguirre: The Wrath of God, Nosferatu, Woyzeck, Fitzcarraldo, and Cobra Verde.
Trivia
Herzog shot his first film, Signs of Life, on the Greek island of Kos where his Grandfather, Rudolph Herzog, worked as an archeologist and discovered the Asclepius. This story was the subject of a documentary by Les Blank called Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe (1980). Herzog has expressed that this film grew "out of control" during filming, and that he would never publicly release it and that he was considering destroying the negatives before his death. While filming Aguirre, the Wrath of God, Herzog rested his arm on a tree and mistakenly pulled down a branch that was the home of thousands of fire ants. Herzog had a cameo appearance in the 1998 film What Dreams May Come as a soul in Hell. Werner Herzog was location scouting for Aguirre, Wrath of God and his reservation on this flight was cancelled due to overbooking. The incident inspired Herzog to film Wings of Hope together with Koepcke. On January 26, 2006, Herzog helped to rescue actor Joaquin Phoenix when his car overturned after a brake malfunction on a winding road in Laurel Canyon, CA, near Herzog's home. And he said, 'No, you're not.'" It is often rumoured that Herzog filmed Kinski at gunpoint in Aguirre, Wrath of God because he had made attempts to leave the set. His own version of these events can be seen in "My Best Fiend" and read in the interview book "Herzog on Herzog" - in which he states that Kinski threatened to leave the set and he informed the volatile actor that if he did, he would have eight bullets in his head before he reached the first bend in the river. On 3 February 2006, it was reported that Herzog was shot by a crazed fan during a BBC interview. Herzog was chatting with Mark Kermode about his documentary Grizzly Man, when a sniper opened fire with an air rifle. Herzog said afterwards, "It was not a significant bullet. Has played over 20 films at the Telluride Film Festival over the years. -- Werner Herzog"I do not believe in the Cinema verite. -- Werner Herzog
"I try to understand the ocean beneath the thin laver of ice that is civilization. -- Werner Herzog
(In response to being shot by a sniper with an air rifle during a BBC interview) "It is not a significant bullet. I am not afraid" -- Werner Herzog
"What would an ocean be without a monster lurking in the dark. -- Werner Herzog
Awards
Herzog and his films have won and been nominated for many awards over the years. Most notably, Herzog won the best director award for Fitzcarraldo at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival.
Grizzly Man, directed by Herzog, won the Alfred P. Sloan Prize at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival
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