Encounters at the End of the World

It's quite easy to admire Werner Herzog from a distance. As a filmmaker and explorer he's often so far removed from everyday life that in the end he comes off as extremely grounded. Yet Werner Herzog is one restless dude. Here's a guy who was one of the last men standing on an island that was near complete volcanic destruction just so he could capture that moment before eruption on film (LA SOUFRIERE). If there's a boat in the middle of a jungle that needs to be drug over a mountain (FITZCARRALDO), look no further than Herzog to get the job done. 

Has hypnotized his actors? (check)

Able to tame the histrionic actor Klaus Kinski? (check)

Has made films in Antarctica, the Kuwaiti Desert, on the Amazon River, in Wisconsin? (check)

Made a movie mostly starring midgets? (check)

Was quoted as saying "Space Travel is unfinished business for me." (check)

What better director to kick off a series titled "STRANGERS IN A STRANGE LAND" than with Werner Herzog. God Bless the man. You could devote the entire series to any of his films. Herzog never got his full due as documentarian until 2005's acclaimed GRIZZLY MAN, and riding on the coat-tails of that fame, he took his cameras the furthest south they'd ever been for ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD, which we'll be showing on March 25th.  And what a wonderful film it is. In the treasure trove of a book Herzog on Herzog, Werner emphasizes more than once that "If we don't develop adequate images, we will die out like dinosaurs." I can't think of another film of Herzogs' that takes those words any more seriously than ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD. 

For those interested in exploring other work of Herzog's, I would personally recommend the following film titles, books, and documentaries about him:

Films:

AGUIRRE, WRAITH OF GOD

THE GREAT ECSTASY OF WOODCARVER STEINER

STROSZEK

LITTLE DIETER NEEDS TO FLY

Text:

Of Walking in Ice by Werner Herzog

Herzog on Herzog edited by Paul Cronin

Documentary:

BURDEN OF DREAMS by Les Blank