The Cinema of Werner Herzog: Aesthetic Ecstasy and Truth

by Brad Prager

Overview

Werner Herzog is renowned for pushing the boundaries of conventional cinema, especially those between the fictional and the factual, the fantastic and the real. The Cinema of Werner Herzog: Aesthetic Ecstasy and Truth is the first study in twenty years devoted entirely to an analysis of Herzog's work. It explores the director's continuing search for what he has described as 'ecstatic truth,' drawing on over thirty-five films, from the epics Aguirre: Wrath of God (1972) and Fitzcarraldo (1982) to innovative documentaries like Fata Morgana (1971), Lessons of Darkness (1992), and Grizzly Man (2005). Special attention is paid to Herzog's signature style of cinematic composition, his "romantic" influences, and his fascination with madmen, colonialism, and war.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781905674176
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	11/19/2007
Series:	Directors' Cuts
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Brad Prager is assistant professor of film studies and German studies at the University of Missouri-Columbia, and the author of Writing Images: Aesthetic Vision and German Romanticism.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction: Framing Werner Herzog
1. Madness on a Grand Scale
2. Madness on a Minor Scale
3. Mountains and Fog
4. Faith
5. War and Trauma
6. An Image of Africa
Conclusion: Cinematic Poesis
Filmography
Sources and Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

An essential introduction to one of the world's greatest and most idiosyncratic filmmakers.

Film Ireland