Herzog's Life Advice

Robin Holland's great portrait of German film director, producer, screenwriter, author, actor and opera director Werner Herzog

Twenty-Four Pieces of Life Advice from Werner Herzog, some of them pretty well applicable to photography too. Just three plucked from the list as a sample for you:

8. There is never an excuse not to finish a film.

20. A badge of honor is to fail a film theory class.

24. Get used to the bear behind you.

According to BAM, "Herzog never saw films or television as a child and made his first phone call at the age of 17."

Mike
(Thanks to David Lobato, and to Robin for sending me the full file of her portrait of Werner)

Original contents copyright 2015 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

TOP's links!

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Roy: "The newly revised edition of conversations with Werner Herzog is published as Werner Herzog: A Guide for the Perplexed: Conversations with Paul Cronin. It's absolutely outstanding and nothing at all like any other book by any cinema 'auteur' I've read previously. Just like his films really. Although I've been watching them ever since Aguirre, Wrath of God was first released I was amazed to see just how many he's actually made. His reflections cover a huge range of subjects and he has something interesting to say about everything he touches on. Brilliant."

Comments

[Bob Rosinsky]

I have yet to watch a Herzog film that hasn't expanded my worldview. I think he is among the greatest of great film directors. His works explore issues Hollywood generally eschews. Rainer Werner Fassbinder, another great German film maker (a contemporary of Herzog), made significant contributions to cinema too. Unfortunately, he lived hard and fast; he died too soon.

Three amazing Herzog films: 1)Nosferatu (The Vampyre / Phantom Der Nacht); 2)Stroszek; 3.The Enigma of Kasper Hauser.

Four amazing Fassbinder films: 1) The Marriage of Maria Braun; 2)Veronica Voss; 3)Lola. His 15+ hour TV mini-series, Berlin Alexanderplatz, is a masterpiece.

All of the abovementioned films are available on DVD at netflix.

[hugh crawford]

"20. A badge of honor is to fail a film theory class."

I didn't fail the class but I managed to get P. Adams Sitney pissed off enough that he threw the chalkboard erasers at me. This impressed the hell out of the rest of the film department.

I highly recommend Les Blank's films "Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe", and "Burden of Dreams"

[Stan B.]

If you see only one Herzog film in your life (it may save your own- or someone else's).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BqFkRwdFZ0

[Shaun]

This looks good, and worth picking up. I like Herzog's work, recently watched "Encounters at the End of the World" filmed while participating in the Antarctic Artist and Writers Program, run by the National Science Foundation in Antarctica. I was particularly interested in that film because it looks like I will be participating in the AAWP program next year! Very excited about this.

[Arg]

That image of Herzog definitely reminds me of Geoffrey Rush, e.g.
http://www.beststarsofyear.com/images/geoffrey-rush-03.jpg

[richardplondon]

Arg: that image of Geoffrey Rush
definitely reminds me of Richard E Grant, e.g.
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01865/richardegrant_1865308c.jpg

[Patrick Dodds]

There is a great book just out - Werner Herzog: A Guide for the Perplexed - Conversations with Paul Cronin. He's a wonderful example of a human being living life on his terms. And that is a real, live grizzly behind him on the book cover, not a photoshop job.

[scott kirkpatrick]

Difficult to find, but unforgettable -- Herzog's early films from the days of his fascination with the Amazon: "Aguirre, the Wrath of God", and "Fitzcarraldo".

And you know, you don't have outrun the bear...

scortt

[Gregory William]

Yep, he's one of the greats of cinema. I adore his movies but the one that simply blew my mind was Wild Blue Yonder. Brad Dourif's performance is epic.

[Ante]

25. It's not a significant bullet.

[Ed]

I think I print 17 and hang it over my monitor! In chocolate letter printface!

Greet, Ed.

[Carl Siracusa]

Nice shot. Would have been even better in B&W.

http://sircarl.smugmug.com/Misc/i-hFv89Bs/0/O/Holland%20Herzog%20TP.jpg

[Bernard]

What about #2?
"There is nothing wrong with spending a night in jail if it means getting the shot you need."
;)