Werner Herzog Ranked
by Grethiwha | created - 23 Aug 2016 | updated - 1 month ago | PublicNot yet seen:
Film Lesson (TV Mini-Series documentary) (4 episodes) (1991-1992)
The Transformation of the World Into Music (TV Movie documentary) (1996)
Christ and Demons in New Spain (2000 Years of Christianity) (TV Episode) (1999)
Ode to the Dawn of Man (Documentary short) (2011)
Theatre of Thought (Documentary) (2022)
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1. Heart of Glass (1976)
Not Rated | 94 min | Drama
The foreman of a small village glassworks dies without revealing the secret to the famous "Ruby Glass".
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Josef Bierbichler, Stefan Güttler, Clemens Scheitz, Volker Prechtel
Votes: 6,611
Perhaps my favourite movie of all time. I love every absurd line of dialogue, every bizarre gesture by the actors, and every beautiful frame and haunting piece of music in this perfect, perfect movie – which I'll readily admit, most people probably won't like.
2. Stroszek (1977)
Not Rated | 115 min | Comedy, Drama
In Berlin, an alcoholic man, recently released from prison, joins his elderly friend and a prostitute in a determined dream to leave Germany and seek a better life in Wisconsin.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Bruno S., Eva Mattes, Clemens Scheitz, Wilhelm von Homburg
Votes: 15,325
A socially dysfunctional former prisoner leaves Germany along with a prostitute and a senile old man to pursue the American dream in a mobile home in Wisconsin. It’s somehow both Herzog’s bleakest, and funniest film. Bruno S. is phenomenal, and the ending is probably the best I’ve ever seen.
3. Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)
Not Rated | 95 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
In the 16th century, the ruthless and insane Don Lope de Aguirre leads a Spanish expedition in search of El Dorado.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Klaus Kinski, Ruy Guerra, Helena Rojo, Del Negro
Votes: 62,309
An absurd trek through the jungle characterized by slow descent into madness and fever dreams. Magnificent, beautiful, haunting, hilarious, and filmmaking at its finest. Rightly considered, a masterpiece.
4. The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974)
Not Rated | 110 min | Biography, Drama, History
A young man named Kaspar Hauser suddenly appears in Nuremberg in 1828, barely able to talk or walk, and bearing a strange note.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Bruno S., Walter Ladengast, Brigitte Mira, Willy Semmelrogge
Votes: 18,906
The story of a man who spent the first 17 years of his life chained in a cellar, devoid of human contact. The way this character is written and portrayed, is phenomenal; an incredibly, beautifully-made film. And you have to laugh at the way the scribe character joyously reduces it all to bureaucratic procedure – best minor character ever.
5. Grizzly Man (2005)
R | 103 min | Documentary, Biography
A devastating and heart-rending take on grizzly bear activists Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard, who were killed in October of 2003 while living among grizzly bears in Alaska.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Timothy Treadwell, Amie Huguenard, Werner Herzog, Carol Dexter
Votes: 61,903 | Gross: $3.17M
Probably my favourite documentary ever.
6. The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans (2009)
R | 122 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Terence McDonagh is a drug- and gambling-addled detective in post-Katrina New Orleans investigating the killing of five Senegalese immigrants.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Russell M. Haeuser, Val Kilmer
Votes: 80,914 | Gross: $1.70M
Herzog and Nicolas Cage are a match made in heaven and this movie has both of them at their best – it's a tour-de-force of impressionistic acting and filmmaking, and absurdist humour. It has a lot in common with Stroszek.
7. Encounters at the End of the World (2007)
G | 99 min | Documentary
Film-maker Werner Herzog travels to the McMurdo Station in Antarctica, looking to capture the continent's beauty and investigate the characters living there.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Werner Herzog, Scott Rowland, Stefan Pashov, Doug MacAyeal
Votes: 19,257 | Gross: $0.94M
My first Herzog movie, and still one of his most stunning and beautiful documentaries, about Antarctica, but focussing on the people living there.
8. Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997)
Not Rated | 80 min | Documentary, Biography, Drama
German-American Dieter Dengler discusses his service as a U.S. naval pilot in the Vietnam War. Dengler also revisits the sites of his capture and eventual escape from the hands of the Viet Cong, recreating many events for the camera.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Dieter Dengler, Werner Herzog, Eugene Deatrick
Votes: 6,834
Easily one of Herzog’s very best documentaries, and Dieter Dengler is one of Herzog’s most fascinating subjects.
9. Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)
PG | 107 min | Drama, Horror
Count Dracula moves from Transylvania to Wismar, spreading the Black Plague across the land. Only a woman pure of heart can bring an end to his reign of horror.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Adjani, Bruno Ganz, Roland Topor
Votes: 40,547
Herzog’s remake of the Murnau film. A beautiful audio-visual experience – seriously atmospheric, and infused with a little bit of Herzog’s humour to boot. Easily trumps the original, in my opinion; an excellent film.
10. Fitzcarraldo (1982)
PG | 158 min | Adventure, Drama
The story of Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, an extremely determined man who intends to build an opera house in the middle of a jungle.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Klaus Kinski, Claudia Cardinale, José Lewgoy, Miguel Ángel Fuentes
Votes: 38,606
Herzog’s most ambitious film, and his most chaotic production. Sometimes the details of the production start to overshadow the film itself, but it’s still a special experience, watching that boat go up the mountain.
11. The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft (2022)
84 min | Documentary, History
Maurice and Katia Krafft dedicated their lives to exploring the world's volcanoes. Their legacy consists of groundbreaking footage of eruptions and their aftermath, composed in this visual stunning collage.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Harry Glicken, Werner Herzog, Katia Krafft, Maurice Krafft
Votes: 1,728
Though he would balk at the notion that his film shoots are dangerous, Herzog concedes that when he went to shoot an active volcano for La Soufrière in 1977, that was one time he and his cameraman really decided to "roll the dice" for a film. The Fire Within is about a volcanologist couple who risked their lives to film volcanoes like that for a living, and ended up paying the ultimate price. It is another Herzog documentary compiled from other peoples' footage in the style of "Happy People", "The Wild Blue Yonder", or "Grizzly Man", but none of the "found footage" in those films compares to the stunning beauty and artistry of the Kraffts' incredible 16mm celluloid photography, which Herzog effortlessly combines with his typical style of music choices to create some of his career-best montage work. The film is not just a mesmerizing celebration of the Kraffts' imagery, but of lives lived close to the edge – la "pura vida" – the Kraffts somehow representing the idealisation of Herzog's own filmmaking ethos. Essential.
12. Where the Green Ants Dream (1984)
R | 100 min | Drama
A geologist employed by an Australian mining company finds himself disputing the rights of some aborigines who believe their land to be sacred.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Bruce Spence, Wandjuk Marika, Roy Marika, Ray Barrett
Votes: 2,631
A highly underrated Herzog film! There’s a very funny dichotomy he presents throughout the film, between the culture and customs of the native Australian Aborigines and the ‘white people’, that’s also very interesting.
13. My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done (2009)
R | 91 min | Drama, Thriller
Inspired by a true crime, a man begins to experience mystifying events that lead him to slay his mother with a sword.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Michael Shannon, Willem Dafoe, Chloë Sevigny, Udo Kier
Votes: 10,713
On my first viewing I found this movie very strange and discomforting; I wasn't sure what to think about it. By my third viewing I found it flat-out hilarious. This movie is a gem of uncomfortable absurdist humour.
14. Lessons of Darkness (1992 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 54 min | Documentary, War
This film surveys the disaster of the Kuwaiti oil fields in flames, with little narration and scarcely any interviews. Hell on Earth is presented in such transcendent visions and music that one can only be fascinated by it.
Director: Werner Herzog | Star: Werner Herzog
Votes: 6,750
Herzog's most visually stunning film. It’s documentary footage of the Kuwait oil fires repurposed as a science fiction movie because, as Herzog says, nothing in that footage looks to have anything in common with our planet. It’s very similar in form to Fata Morgana and Into the Wild Blue Yonder, two of my least favourite Herzog films, but in this case I find the style simply sublime.
15. My Best Fiend (1999)
Not Rated | 95 min | Documentary, Biography
The love-hate relationship between Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski, the deep trust between the director and the actor, and their independently and simultaneously hatched plans to murder one another.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Werner Herzog, Klaus Kinski, Claudia Cardinale, Eva Mattes
Votes: 12,198 | Gross: $0.10M
A great, very funny look at the whole Kinski/Herzog rivalry, a must-see for those who've seen their five previous collaborations.
16. Rescue Dawn (2006)
PG-13 | 125 min | Adventure, Biography, War
A U.S. fighter pilot's epic struggle of survival after being shot down on a mission over Laos during the Vietnam War.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Christian Bale, Steve Zahn, Jeremy Davies, Zach Grenier
Votes: 110,818 | Gross: $5.49M
A feature adaptation of his own documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly, this movie's only flaw is it's showed up by his own documentary version. Still, this movie, filmed on location in the jungle, carries the same spirit as the movies he was making in the 70s.
17. The White Diamond (2004)
Not Rated | 88 min | Documentary
Engineers attempt daring journey above Guyanese rainforest canopy with airship prototype. Adventure fraught with risks, as previous expedition ended tragically. This is a unique story of exploring uncharted jungle from the air.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Werner Herzog, Graham Dorrington, Dieter Plage, Adrian de Schryver
Votes: 4,953
Another truly beautiful and remarkable documentary from the same period as Grizzly Man and Encounters at the End of the World.
18. Bells from the Deep: Faith and Superstition in Russia (1993)
60 min | Documentary
What is faith and religion to Russians after the fall of communism? We get the insight into the Russian Orthodox church as well as different folk and shamanic beliefs.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Werner Herzog, Anna Hitch, Vissarion, Yuri Yurievich Yurieff
Votes: 1,103
This documentary about superstitious rituals in Russia, Herzog confessed, he totally made up. What an audacious, absurdly funny, and underrated movie this is!
19. The Dark Glow of the Mountains (1984)
45 min | Documentary, Adventure
Film-maker Werner Herzog follows mountaineers Reinhold Messner and Hans Kammerlander as they attempt to climb the high altitude peaks of Gasherbrum II and Gasherbrum I all in one expedition, seeking to reveal their inner motivation.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Reinhold Messner, Hans Kammerlander, Werner Herzog
Votes: 1,063
In its combination of unbelievably beautiful images and music by Popul Vuh, this short-form documentary is reminiscent of some of Herzog's best work of the 70s, and its subject is quintessential Herzog.
20. La Soufrière (1977)
31 min | Documentary, Short, Biography
Herzog takes a film crew to the island of Guadeloupe when he hears that the volcano on the island is going to erupt. Everyone has left, except for one old man who refuses to leave. Herzog ... See full summary »
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Werner Herzog, Jörg Schmidt-Reitwein, Edward Lachman
Votes: 2,304
One of the best and most famous Herzog short films, known as being the one in which Herzog travelled to an abandoned city next to an active volcano that was expected to go off at any moment, and even scaled the volcano (dodging clouds of poisonous fumes on the way up).
21. Cobra Verde (1987)
Not Rated | 111 min | Adventure, Drama
During the 1800s, paroled Brazilian bandit Cobra Verde is sent to West Africa with a few troops to man an old Portuguese fort and to convince the local African ruler to resume the slave trade with Brazil.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Klaus Kinski, King Ampaw, José Lewgoy, Salvatore Basile
Votes: 8,430
Kinski in Africa. I find this film odd and kind of weak in terms of story not to mention dubbing, but it’s as visionary and epic a film as Herzog’s ever made, and full of his winning trademarks. It’s grown on me quite a bit.
22. Family Romance, LLC (2019)
Not Rated | 89 min | Drama
A man is hired to impersonate the missing father of a young girl.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Yuichi Ishii, Mahiro Tanimoto, Miki Fujimaki, Takashi Nakatani
Votes: 2,955
My love of Herzog, and of Japanese cinema converge, and the result is something special, a film I couldn't imagine being made by any domestic Japanese filmmaker, yet which touches on a lot of really interesting and universal themes, through uniquely Japanese cultural novelties. Filmed by Herzog himself as cinematographer, with a handheld camera, guerilla-style in locations where most Japanese directors would lament the difficulty in obtaining shooting permits, and using a lot of non-actors, essentially being themselves in a fictionalized story, there's a lot that's impressive about this production, and here Herzog's blurring of the line between fiction and reality really gets to the heart of what the story is actually about. About a rental family service. And fish at a robot hotel.
23. Wheel of Time (2003)
Not Rated | 80 min | Documentary
Wheel of Time is Werner Herzog's photographed look at the largest Buddhist ritual in Bodh Gaya, India.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: The Dalai Lama, Lama Lhundup Woeser, Takna Jigme Sangpo, Matthieu Ricard
Votes: 2,738
What fascinates Herzog never fails to fascinate me, and that is most true of the kinds of subjects and rituals he documents in this excellent film.
24. Julianes Sturz in den Dschungel (1999 TV Movie)
65 min | Documentary, Adventure, Biography
Werner Herzog returns to the South American jungle with Juliane Koepcke, the German woman who was the sole survivor of a plane crash there in 1971. They find the remains of the plane and recreate her journey out of the jungle.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Werner Herzog, Juliane Koepcke, Juan Zaplana Ramirez
Votes: 1,497
A plane – which Herzog very nearly was on – crashed in the jungle in the 1970s, and eleven days after the crash, one woman emerged from the jungle as the sole survivor. Like Little Dieter Needs to Fly, this documentary retraces her journey through the jungle, and like that film it is one of Herzog's best and most beautiful documentaries.
25. Salt and Fire (2016)
98 min | Thriller
A scientist blames the head of a large company for an ecological disaster in South America. But when a volcano begins to show signs of erupting, they must unite to avoid a disaster.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Veronica Ferres, Michael Shannon, Gael García Bernal, Volker Zack
Votes: 2,993
This is definitely one for the fans... I have no idea what I'd think of this movie if it was my introduction to Herzog, but as someone who's seen so many of his films, who's a massive admirer of Herzog and is so intimately familiar with his style and in tune with his interests and preoccupations... I kind of loved this movie. If you try to take the story at face value, yes, it's nonsense. I get what Herzog was going for, with his ridiculous fiction about expanding salt flats (remember Lessons of Darkness, or the mutant crocodiles at the end of Cave of Forgotten Dreams), but the real draw of this movie is all the little strange, beautiful, and often humourous moments along the way.
26. Fata Morgana (1971)
Not Rated | 79 min | Documentary, Drama
Footage shot in and around the Sahara Desert, accompanied only by a spoken creation myth and the songs of Leonard Cohen.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Lotte Eisner, Wolfgang Büttner, Manfred Eigendorf, Eugen Des Montagnes
Votes: 4,090
For the longest time, I thought this was the weakest of Herzog's feature films, but on rediscovering it recently, it is quite a unique and fascinating movie. Essentially, Herzog just edited together a bunch of travel footage he took crossing the Sahara, with some absurd narration, but there is a lot of footage that is captivatingly beautiful, or alien, or strange or absurd or funny.
27. Even Dwarfs Started Small (1970)
Not Rated | 96 min | Comedy, Drama
A group of dwarfs at a correctional facility erupt in anarchy.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Helmut Döring, Paul Glauer, Gisela Hertwig, Hertel Minkner
Votes: 6,292
This is Herzog's idea of horror, based on the premise of a world where everyone is a dwarf but everything is still built for normal-sized people. I have some problems with some of the animal stuff in this film, but it's nonetheless one of his most bizarre and funny films.
28. Scream of Stone (1991)
105 min | Drama
Two famous competitive climbers make a bet on who can climb Cerro Torre, one of the most dangerous mountains in Argentina and the world, first. As the day of the climb approaches, their increasing competitiveness becomes destructive.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Vittorio Mezzogiorno, Stefan Glowacz, Mathilda May, Al Waxman
Votes: 1,475
Starring a professional rock climber in one of the leading roles, this movie has some genuinely spectacular mountain-climbing scenes. Plus it features a characteristically lunatic performance by Brad Dourif, which is always a plus. It's really shameful that this movie is apparently only available on ancient fullscreen import DVDs, as it oughta be one of Herzog's more popular English-language features.
29. Nomad: In the Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin (2019)
Not Rated | 85 min | Documentary, Biography
A journey where the viewer can see Werner Herzog's creative and personal vision which was shared with iconic travel writer Bruce Chatwin, the prolific author of 'In Patagonia' and a champion of the nomadic life.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Werner Herzog, Bruce Chatwin, Karin Eberhard, Nicholas Shakespeare
Votes: 1,295
The rituals and cultural eccentricities that Herzog documents are always fascinating to me, and that is especially the case here, one of Herzog's most free-wheeling documentaries, which is all over the map – literally. A very personal film, exploring Herzog's friendship with and affinity for the British writer Bruce Chatwin.
30. Invincible (2001)
PG-13 | 133 min | Drama, War
A Jewish strongman performs in Berlin as the blond Aryan hero Siegfried.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Jouko Ahola, Tim Roth, Anna Gourari, Max Raabe
Votes: 4,543 | Gross: $0.08M
A polished WWII period piece, but still very uniquely Herzog in its sensibilities. This was a great movie, and a sort of comeback for Herzog: his first fiction feature film in 10 years.
31. Queen of the Desert (2015)
PG-13 | 128 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
A chronicle of Gertrude Bell's life, a traveler, writer, archaeologist, explorer, cartographer, and political attaché for the British Empire at the dawn of the twentieth century.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Nicole Kidman, James Franco, Robert Pattinson, Damian Lewis
Votes: 12,582
Like Invincible, this movie is immediately striking in its level of period detail and costumes usually reserved for more lavish Hollywood productions. And indeed in this one even Herzog's script feels like it was written by a professional Hollywood screenwriter, lacking perhaps in some of Herzog's usual eccentricity and humour, and featuring a strong romantic angle, for maybe the first time ever in a Herzog script. But at its core, this is a very interesting true story about, like most of Herzog's protagonists, a very driven and ambitious person. And of course it is all shot on location and the cinematography is fantastic.
32. Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010)
G | 90 min | Documentary, History
Werner Herzog gains exclusive access to film inside the Chauvet caves of Southern France and captures the oldest known pictorial creations of humanity.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Werner Herzog, Jean Clottes, Julien Monney, Jean-Michel Geneste
Votes: 17,794 | Gross: $5.23M
A solid recent documentary featuring fantastic footage of the Chauvet Cave art. It's unfortunate I never got to see this in 3D.
33. Glaube und Währung - Dr. Gene Scott, Fernsehprediger (1981 TV Movie)
44 min | Documentary
The documentary follows Gene Scott, famous televangelist involved with constant fights against FCC, who tried to shut down his TV show during the 1970's and 1980's, and even argues with his... See full summary »
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Jake Hess, Gene Scott, Werner Herzog
Votes: 902
A kind of hilarious portrait of a ridiculous television evangelist. One of his best shorts.
34. Into the Inferno (2016)
104 min | Documentary
An exploration of active volcanoes around the world.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Werner Herzog, Katia Krafft, Maurice Krafft, Clive Oppenheimer
Votes: 9,970
What starts off a bit of a retread of La Soufriere and Encounters at the End of the World ends up going in some quite interesting directions, including an unexpected detour into North Korea; one of Herzog's better documentaries of the last few years.
35. Meeting Gorbachev (2018)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary, Biography, History
The life of Mikhail Gorbachev, the eighth and final President of the Soviet Union in chronological order.
Directors: Werner Herzog, André Singer | Stars: Mikhail Gorbachev, Werner Herzog, André Singer, Leonid Brezhnev
Votes: 2,734 | Gross: $0.25M
Herzog interviews an 87-year old Mikhail Gorbachev, and, more broadly, narrates the history of the Soviet Union in this film, which, beyond being illuminating and educational – is filled with genuine charm and humour.
36. Echoes From a Somber Empire (1990)
91 min | Documentary
Documentary examining Bokassa's rule in the Central African Republic using the testimony of witnesses and visits to key sites.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Michael Goldsmith, Werner Herzog, Augustine Assemat, David Dacko
Votes: 728
A very sombre but fascinating documentary. I learned a lot about a horrible dictator I knew nothing about. I had a little trouble following some of the stories. And really it was more Michael Goldsmith's film than Herzog's. Herzog seemed to have a relatively hands-off approach to this one. He still started the film with crabs and ended it with a chimpanzee though, as he does. Overall, a must-see.
37. Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds (2020)
TV-PG | 97 min | Documentary
A documentary from Werner Herzog about meteors and comets and their influence on ancient religions and other cultural and physical impacts they've had on Earth.
Directors: Werner Herzog, Clive Oppenheimer | Stars: Werner Herzog, Clive Oppenheimer, Simon Schaffer, Jon Larsen
Votes: 3,672
Yet another great documentary spanning various cultures and I think every continent. Kind of the norm for Herzog now, and I'm not complaining. I think there's a lot of interesting information in this one.
38. The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner (1974)
45 min | Documentary, Biography, Sport
A study of the psychology of a champion ski-jumper, whose full-time occupation is carpentry.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Walter Steiner, Werner Herzog
Votes: 2,883
A great documentary short on a professional ski-jumper, something Herzog himself once aspired to being.
39. Into the Abyss (2011)
PG-13 | 107 min | Documentary, Crime, Drama
Conversations with death row inmate Michael Perry and those affected by his crime serve as an examination of why people - and the state - kill.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Werner Herzog, Richard Lopez, Michael Perry, Damon Hall
Votes: 17,354 | Gross: $0.22M
A very good, sad documentary, although it's so soberingly serious sometimes that it doesn't feel like a Herzog work.
40. On Death Row (2012– )
49 min | Documentary
An inside look at a maximum security prison in Texas featuring interviews with death row inmates.
Stars: Werner Herzog, Hank Skinner, Linda Carty, James Barnes
Votes: 1,316
Continuing from Into the Abyss, Herzog directs eight 44-minute films for TV, each profiling and interviewing a different death row inmate. Herzog's intentions here are much more somber than your typical true crime docuseries. The series pretty much runs the gamut of different stories and personalities that you could imagine on death row, presenting in a way a fuller picture than Into the Abyss did – though in fact he was supposed to do 4 more episodes, but dropped the subject matter when he started to have night terrors.
41. Happy People: A Year in the Taiga (2010)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary
A documentary depicting the life and work of the trappers of Bakhtia, a village in the heart of the Siberian Taiga, where daily life has changed little in over a century.
Directors: Werner Herzog, Dmitry Vasyukov | Stars: Werner Herzog, Gennady Soloviev, Anatoly Blumei, Gennady Tiganov
Votes: 8,929 | Gross: $0.34M
Another solid recent documentary, although it's actually edited together from another Russian TV documentary series.
42. Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World (2016)
PG-13 | 98 min | Documentary
Werner Herzog's exploration of the Internet and the connected world.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Elon Musk, Lawrence Krauss, Lucianne Walkowicz, Kevin Mitnick
Votes: 13,411 | Gross: $0.59M
Herzog enjoyed a sort of a renaissance in the 2000s as a documentary filmmaker thanks to stuff like Grizzly Man, but I have to say his documentaries are starting to become almost formulaic, and his 2010s ones lack the same punch his 2000s ones had, thus far without exception. That said, they're still good. Lo and Behold is an interesting exploration of its topic, with some laughs and some beautiful music; it met my expectations, and I'll be happy if he keeps making docs like this. It's just not on the same level as The White Diamond or even Wheel of Time.
43. Woyzeck (1979)
Not Rated | 82 min | Drama
Franz Woyzeck is a hapless, hopeless soldier, alone and powerless in society, assaulted from all sides by forces he can not control.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Klaus Kinski, Eva Mattes, Wolfgang Reichmann, Willy Semmelrogge
Votes: 10,533
The weakest of 5 films with Klaus Kinski, but nonetheless a good movie.
44. Signs of Life (1968)
Not Rated | 91 min | Drama
Three wounded soldiers are removed from battle and given the task of looking after a fortress in a small coastal town. However, the pressures of isolation begin to take their toll on the men.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Peter Brogle, Wolfgang Reichmann, Athina Zacharopoulou, Wolfgang von Ungern-Sternberg
Votes: 2,456
Herzog's first feature film is not on the level of his later features, but in its own right it is a very unique and remarkable debut.
45. Precautions Against Fanatics (1969)
12 min | Short, Drama
The film features several horse trainers and other track workers talking about their roles at the track, always eventually interrupted by an older man who claims to be the true authority, ... See full summary »
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Petar Radenkovic, Mario Adorf, Hans Tiedemann, Herbert Hisel
Votes: 861
Very funny early short film.
46. Herdsmen of the Sun (1989 TV Movie)
52 min | Documentary
Herzog's documentary of the Wodaabe people of the Sahara/Sahel region. Particular attention is given to the tribe's spectacular courtship rituals and 'beauty pageants', where eligible young... See full summary »
Director: Werner Herzog | Star: Werner Herzog
Votes: 842
Fascinating look at the spectacular rituals of the Wodaabe people.
47. Land of Silence and Darkness (1971)
Not Rated | 85 min | Documentary
Through examining Fini Straubinger, an old woman who has been deaf and blind since adolescence, and her work on behalf of other deaf and blind people, this film shows how the deaf and blind... See full summary »
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Fini Straubinger, M. Baaske, Elsa Fehrer, Heinrich Fleischmann
Votes: 3,201
Like "Into the Abyss", due to the seriousness of the subject matter, this movie inherently lacks the sense of humour that makes Herzog's movies special, but this is a very moving film.
48. The Flying Doctors of East Africa (1970 TV Movie)
45 min | Documentary
Film about the doctors that fly all over central Africa to bring medical help to the people living in the bush.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: James Kabale, Wilfried Klaus, Betty Miller, Karl Hans Röttcher
Votes: 511
Good documentary about medical volunteers in Africa. Though this was a very early Herzog doc, it contains many of Herzog's later trademarks.
49. Pilgrimage (2001)
18 min | Documentary, Short
Documentary film accompanied only by music, it alternates between shots of pilgrims near the tomb of Saint Sergei in Sergiyev Posad, Russia and pilgrims at the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico.
Director: Werner Herzog
Votes: 334
Documentary footage set to beautiful music, with no explanation. This is Werner Herzog filmmaking in its purest form.
50. The Wild Blue Yonder (2005)
Not Rated | 80 min | Sci-Fi
An alien narrates the story of his dying planet, his and his people's visits to Earth and Earth's man-made demise, while human astronauts attempt to find an alternate planet for surviving humans to live on.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Brad Dourif, Donald Williams, Ellen Baker, Franklin Chang-Diaz
Votes: 3,888
Herzog fashions a "science fiction" movie out of mostly stock footage of astronauts and underwater divers. The third in a loose trilogy of films in this style, with Fata Morgana and Lessons of Darkness. These are Herzog's slowest, least accessible movies, but there is beauty in them, and though I struggle with parts of The Wild Blue Yonder, it also kind of works for me, in part.
51. Jag Mandir (1991 TV Movie)
82 min | Documentary
In this surreal documentary legendary Werner Herzog shows us how on the suggestion of a saint, the king of Udaipur invites various artists, tribes from numerous cultures across india to celebrate life and ward off evil.
Directors: Werner Herzog, André Heller | Stars: Deb Das Baul, Marup Group, André Heller, Manipuri Jagoi
Votes: 232
Another TV documentary, like Wodaabe: Herdsmen of the Sun, documenting one of the most spectacular shows in human culture completely unknown to Western audiences. Herzog's narration is only sporadic, such as to explain that a puppet show forming a tiny part of the pre-festival procession, which he shows for 15 seconds, usually lasts for 600 hours.
52. How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck... (1976 TV Movie)
44 min | Documentary
Herzog examines the world championships for cattle auctioneers, his fascination with a language created by an economic system, and compares it to the lifestyle of the Amish, who live nearby.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Werner Herzog, Steve Liptay, Scott McKain, Ralph Wade
Votes: 1,324
Footage from an auctioneering championship... Which amuses me almost as much as it obviously amuses Herzog.
53. Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet (2002)
92 min | Drama
This series of vignettes offers ruminations on time, fate and other human mysteries. Each of the film's seven directors conjures a scenario that speaks to some facet of universal experience.
Directors: Kaige Chen, Víctor Erice, Werner Herzog, Jim Jarmusch, Aki Kaurismäki, Spike Lee, Wim Wenders | Stars: Markku Peltola, Kati Outinen, Marko Haavisto, Ana Sofia Liaño
Votes: 3,647
Herzog's segment of this eclectic omnibus film is a documentary about some indigenous Brazilians coming into contact for the first time with the modern world. Although very brief, it is quintessentially Herzogian subject matter.
54. Mit mir will niemand spielen (1976)
14 min | Short, Drama
A children with domestic issues and despised by his classmates develops a bond with one of them thanks to his speaking crow.
Director: Werner Herzog
Votes: 606
Herzog directs some kindergarteners here in this cute short fiction film.
55. Last Words (1968)
13 min | Short
The story of a solitary man who refuses to leave a Greek island (at one time a leper colony) is told by a strange variety of characters who don't have much to say except to repeat their ... See full summary »
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Lefteris Daskalakis, Antonis Papadakis
Votes: 976
Good, but somewhat forgettable early documentary.
56. Behinderte Zukunft (1971 TV Movie)
42 min | Documentary
Illuminating look at the way physically disabled people were dealt with in West Germany in the late 60's / early 70's.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Rolf Illig, Werner Herzog, Adolf Ratzka
Votes: 497
A documentary about physically disabled people in Germany at the time. It has the feeling of being (and is) a TV movie, but it's somewhat moving.
57. From One Second to the Next (2013)
34 min | Documentary, Short
Stories of serious traffic accidents caused by texting and driving are told by the perpetrators and surviving victims.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Valetta Bradford, Xzavier Davis-Bilbo, Aurie Parris, Chandler Gerber
Votes: 1,354
A short, sad documentary (which played in high schools), profiling a few texting-and-driving accidents.
58. Die beispiellose Verteidigung der Festung Deutschkreutz (1967)
15 min | Short
Four guys break into an old castle and find uniforms and military equipment. They then prepare to defend it from an imaginary enemy.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Peter Brumm, Georg Eska, Karl-Heinz Steffel, Wolfgang von Ungern-Sternberg
Votes: 840
Rough early short fiction film which prefigured his first feature "Signs of Life".
59. Gesualdo: Death for Five Voices (1995 TV Movie)
59 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
Works, legend and murders of Carlo Gesualdo, a notorious Italian composer and murderer from the 16th century.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Pasquale D'Onofrio, Salvatore Catorano, Angelo Carrabs, Milva
Votes: 777
Documentary about the Italian composer. One of his weaker feature-length-ish documentaries.
60. The Killers: Unstaged (2012 Video)
95 min | Music
Following the band The Killers on road to and on stage in the Bronx, New York, in a series of American Express sponsored music documentaries.
Director: Werner Herzog | Star: The Killers
Votes: 70
Besides directing films (and operas), Herzog also directed a rock concert for The Killers, apparently. This short documentary companion piece is as much Herzog's take on the edifice of Las Vegas as it is about the band. Check it out.
61. Huie's Sermon (1981 TV Movie)
40 min | Documentary
The reverend Huie L. Rogers delivers an intense and impassioned sermon at his church in Brooklyn.
Director: Werner Herzog | Star: Huie L. Rogers
Votes: 449
An impassioned (unedited) sermon that reaches the level of performance. Interesting.
62. Herakles (1962)
12 min | Short, Sport
Weight lifting men who compete to achieve individual bodily perfection through muscle building.
Director: Werner Herzog | Star: Reinhard Lichtenberg
Votes: 887
Bodybuilders + Jazz music + stock airstrike footage = ???
63. Ballad of the Little Soldier (1984)
Not Rated | 46 min | Documentary, War
The film focuses on a group of Miskito in Nicaragua who used child soldiers in their resistance against the Sandinistas.
Directors: Werner Herzog, Denis Reichle | Stars: Werner Herzog, Denis Reichle
Votes: 1,018
The subject is interesting, but as a film I find this pretty weak, far from Herzog's typical standard.
64. La Bohème (II) (2009)
4 min | Documentary, Short, Music
Part of a series of opera shorts by different directors. Herzog combines O Soave Fanciulla ("Oh you vision of beauty" from Puccini's La Boheme) with images of harsh life in Africa.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Peter Auty, Mary Plazas
Votes: 254
This four-and-a-half-minute-long movie flew by in what felt like 2 minutes! ...Of course there's nothing wrong with this movie for what it is – a handful of tableaux of African figures set to opera music – but this is easily Herzog's shortest movie and also obviously his least substantial.
65.
The French as Seen by... (1988– )
Episode:
Les Gaulois
(1988)
12 min | Comedy, Drama
Slim is a the ranch foreman, almost deaf. One morning, he and two cowhands see something come down a distant hill. They grab him, tie him up, and go through his suitcase, finally figuring ... See full summary »
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Claude Josse, Jean Clemente
Votes: 82
"The French as seen by Werner Herzog". This forgettable 11-minute short starts off with an amusing vignette making fun of French wine culture, then shifts to the football culture which by contrast Herzog obviously admires.
66. Portrait Werner Herzog (1986)
28 min | Documentary, Short
A self portrait documentary by Werner Herzog.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Werner Herzog, Reinhold Messner, Lotte Eisner, Paul Hittscher
Votes: 403
This is just Werner Herzog introducing himself and a few of his films – it doesn't really register as a Werner Herzog film unto itself.
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