Synopses & Reviews
An invaluable set of career-length interviews with the German genius hailed by François Truffaut as “the most important film director alive”Most of what weve heard about Werner Herzog is untrue. The sheer number of false rumors and downright lies disseminated about the man and his films is truly astonishing. Yet Herzogs body of work is one of the most important in postwar European cinema.
His international breakthrough came in 1973 with Aguirre, The Wrath of God, in which Klaus Kinski played a crazed Conquistador. For The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser, Herzog cast in the lead a man who had spent most of his life institutionalized, and two years later he hypnotized his entire cast to make Heart of Glass. He rushed to an explosive volcanic Caribbean island to film La Soufrière, paid homage to F. W. Murnau in a terrifying remake of Nosferatu, and in 1982 dragged a boat over a mountain in the Amazon jungle for Fitzcarraldo. More recently, Herzog has made extraordinary "documentary" films such as Little Dieter Needs to Fly. His place in cinema history is assured, and Paul Cronins volume of dialogues provides a forum for Herzogs fascinating views on the things, ideas, and people that have preoccupied him for so many years.
This revised edition features new interviews discussing Herzogs films up to From One Second to the Next (2013), as well as additional text from Herzog, his collaborator Herbert Golder, physicist Lawrence Krauss, and filmmaker Harmony Korine.
Review
Praise for Werner Herzog: A Guide for the Perplexed “[A] magnificent volume of interviews. . . This book presents an opportunity to enjoy extended musings from one of the most fascinating minds to which we are fortunate enough to have collective access. . . Reading [Herzog] expounding on his myriad interests and obsessions, in tones that are full and fluent without ever crossing into pretentiousness or obscurity, is a tonic for the brain.” —Hannah McGill, The Independent “Extraordinary . . . the book is so full of marvelous passages that one could go on quoting forever . . . What is remarkable about A Guide for the Perplexed . . . is the access it provides to the furious inner excitement of one of the great artists . . . of our time.” —Francine Prose, Prospect “This month, Faber published A Guide for the Perplexed, a compendium of conversations between Herzog and the writer Paul Cronin . . . Im putting my neck out and saying its the best book Ive read all year.” —Nathalie Olah, Vice“A spectacular read . . . offering a rare glimpse of one of the most ravenously imaginative minds of our time.” —Maria Popova, Brain Pickings“The heftiest and most fascinating one-stop guide that the Herzog fan, or even newcomer, could possibly ask for.” —Seven Magazine
Synopsis
This edition of Herzog on Herzog presents a completely new set of interviews in which Werner Herzog discusses his career from its very beginnings to his most recent productions. Herzog was once hailed by Francois Truffaut as the most important director alive. Famous for his frequent collaborations with mercurial actor Klaus Kinski - including the epics Aguirre, the Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo, and the terrifying Nosferatu - and more recently with documentaries such as Grizzly Man, Cave of Forgotten Dreams and Into the Abyss, Herzog has built a body of work that is one of the most vital in post-war German cinema.
About the Author
Paul Cronin is a writer and filmmaker. He edited
Roman Polanski: Interviews and writes for numerous publications, including
Sight and Sound.