Poll: Werner Herzog's Madness

Results of 515 votes:

1. 1.
   

   Fitzcarraldo (1982)

    

   In one scene in Fitzcarraldo (1982), the eponymous character gets a ship transported over an isthmus in order for it to reach another river. Herzog refused to shoot it with a mockup, and insisted on a…
2. 2.
   

   Salvatore Cascio and Philippe Noiret in Cinema Paradiso (1988)

    

   Until around the age of 11, Herzog hadn't seen any film and in fact wasn't even aware of cinema. (Neither did he experience flushing toilets or telephones). Today he claims to only watch some 3 films …
3. 3.
   

   Klaus Kinski, Daniel Ades, and Ruy Guerra in Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)

    

   Budgetary and other restraints in Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972) caused various problems. Herzog stole a camera out of the Munich Film Museum, wrote the screenplay while being on a bus ride with a s…
4. 4.
   

   Werner Herzog in Grizzly Man (2005)

    

   During an interview on Grizzly Man (2005), an unkown shooter opened fire on Herzog and a journalist. Herzog was hit, stated calmly that "Someone is shooting at us", and intended to continue …
5. 5.
   

   Tom Cruise in Jack Reacher (2012)

    

   When shooting Jack Reacher (2012), the makers were looking for someone whose sheer terrifying look would mark him as a villain upon first appearance. After they hadn't found any regular actor, directo…
6. 6.
   

   Klaus Kinski in Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)

    

   Despite his notorious fits of rage, serious mutual death threats, and the fact that native Indians on set offered the director to kill the choleric for him, Herzog made five pictures with Klaus Kinsk…
7. 7.
   

   Werner Herzog

    

   When his friend, the film critic Lotte Eisner was bed-ridden in Paris in the winter of 1974, Herzog walked there from Munich by foot. He claimed to have had the strong belief that only this footwalk w…
8. 8.
   

   Heart of Glass (1976)

    

   In Heart of Glass (1976), almost all of the actors are under hypnosis; this leads to peculiar performances.
9. 9.
   

   Gates of Heaven (1978)

    

   Herzog once bet that he would eat his shoe if film student Errol Morris managed to finish his debut, Gates of Heaven (1978). The result can be seen in the documentary short, Werner Herzog Eats His Sho…
10. 10.
    

    Jason Robards c. 1978

     

    When Jason Robards had to abandon playing the leading role in "Fitzcarraldo" due to illness - after 40 percent of shooting was finished - it was decided to do everything all over again, now …
11. 11.
    

    The Fall of the Berlin Wall (1990)

     

    In 1984, when former chancellor Willy Brandt expressed doubt towards a German reunification, Herzog made a walk around Germany, from Southern Bavaria to the Danish border, "because it was clear n…