Portrait Werner Herzog (1986) User Reviews

Self Portrait of Werner Herzog is best seen by those who already know something of the man and his life

[dbborroughs · 6/10 · 27 July 2007]

Odd rambling self portrait by Werner Herzog on himself. Mixing brief biographical information with clips from his movies this is more a sketch than a real portrait, and even then its incomplete since he only touches a handful of films and never really gives full biographical details.The problem here is much of this film can be found in other films in other forms, the clips certainly can be seen in other films, but even a chunk of the biographical info can be found in other documentaries about the man (I Am My Films, My Best Friend, Burden of Dreams). The result is a film that is mostly going to be a loss to anyone coming to Herzog and his films with out some form of prior knowledge since the material doesn't have much context. That said anyone who is a fan and who loves his movies are going to be nicely diverted for its brief running time as we get a few bits of information concerning his life and learn of at least one unrealized project, a mountain film that was to be made with Klaus Kinski. Worth a look for fans, but anyone not knowing of Werner Herzog and his back catalog should stay away or risk being lost or worse bored.

Herzog on Herzog

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 21 May 2015]

I have to say I am quite a fan of Werner Herzog's movie, but i am an even bigger fan on the director himself. His voice is a joy to listen to, so I thought why not watch this half-hour documentary? And it was a good choice. Herzog basically tells us about his life in general, also as a boy and young man, for example on how he lived during the aftermath of World War II or what the Oktoberfest means to him. If you plan on getting into the works of Herzog, this documentary may be a good start as it includes many of the films he made until the 19802 and also gives the audience unique footage from his directorial efforts. So you can pick which movie may be the best choice for you to start. Skijumping? Spanish explorers looking for El Dorado? War? Volcanoes? Your pick to make. Another interesting part of this film is when he meets one of the most famous mountaineers of all time, Reinhold Messner, to discuss the possibility of an Alps movie starring Klaus Kinski. Today we know this was never made. And he interviews his longtime collaborator Lotte Eisner, which was particularly nice for me to watch as I love their film "Fata Morgana". But even without all these references to Herzog's work, this would have been worth a watch as (you know that if you know Herzog) he keeps telling exciting anecdotes from start to finish of this half hour. Recommended.

Good Self Look

[Michael_Elliott · 27 February 2008]

Portrait Werner Herzog (1986)

*** (out of 4)

Werner Herzog documentary about himself. Herzog narrates the film where he talks about his early childhood, his love of walking and his love of making movies. We get to see clips from various films including Signs of Life, Aguirre, the Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo among others. The most interesting thing in the film is hearing Herzog talking about his love of walking and how one time he walked from Munich to Paris. He also claims that most of his movie ideas come during these walks. There's really nothing too groundbreaking here and we don't really learn a whole lot but what's here is interesting if you're a fan of the director.