Werner Herzog

Werner Herzog
Herzog in September 2009
Born
Werner Stipetić

(1942-09-05) 5 September 1942 (age 82)
Munich, German Reich
Occupations
  • Filmmaker
  • actor
  • opera director
  • author
Years active1961–present
Spouses
Martje Grohmann
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(m. 1967; div. 1985)​
Christine Maria Ebenberger
​
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(m. 1987; div. 1997)​
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(m. 1999)​
Children3
RelativesLucki Stipetić (half-brother)
Werner Herzog's voice
Recorded March 2012 from the BBC Radio 4 programme Start the Week
WebsiteWernerHerzog.com
Signature

Werner Herzog (German: [ˈvɛʁnɐ ˈhɛʁtsoːk]; né Stipetić; born 5 September 1942) is a German filmmaker, actor, opera director, and author. Regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema, his films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams,[1] people with unusual talents in obscure fields, or individuals in conflict with nature.[2] His style involves avoiding storyboards, emphasizing improvisation, and placing his cast and crew into real situations mirroring those in the film they are working on.

In 1961, when Herzog was 19, he started work on his first film Herakles. He has since produced, written, and directed over 60 films and documentaries such as Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972), The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974), Heart of Glass (1976), Stroszek (1977), Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979), Fitzcarraldo (1982), Cobra Verde (1987), Lessons of Darkness (1992), Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997), My Best Fiend (1999), Invincible (2001), Grizzly Man (2005), Encounters at the End of the World (2007), Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009), and Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010). He has also published over 12 books of prose and directed many operas.

French filmmaker François Truffaut once called Herzog "the most important film director alive".[3] American film critic Roger Ebert said that Herzog "has never created a single film that is compromised, shameful, made for pragmatic reasons, or uninteresting. Even his failures are spectacular".[4] He was named one of the world's 100 most influential people by Time in 2009.[5]

  1. ^ "40 Great Actor & Director Partnerships: Klaus Kinski & Werner Herzog". Empire. Archived from the original on 17 October 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2010.
  2. ^ Mahmud, Jamil (30 September 2009). "Werner Herzog and his film language". The Daily Star. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2010.
  3. ^ Cronin, Paul; Werner Herzog (2002). Herzog on Herzog. London: Faber and Faber. pp. vii–viii. ISBN 978-0-571-20708-4. truffaut.
  4. ^ Ebert, Roger (2017). Awake in the Dark: The Best of Roger Ebert (2nd ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. xxiv–xxv. ISBN 978-0-226-46105-2. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  5. ^ Ebert, Roger (30 April 2009). "The 2009 TIME 100". Time Magazine. Archived from the original on 16 May 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2009.