In German director Werner Herzog’s second documentary this year, his characteristic weltschmerz returns in somber form. Into the Abyss: A Tale of Death, a Tale of Life is as moving an argument against the death penalty as any, though unlike Incendiary, another recent documentary about a Texas capital crime, there are no political bromides or [...]
Werner Herzog has never shied away from baring his opinions directly to his documentaries' subjects or their audiences. In 2007's Encounters at the End of the World, he openly questions arctic researchers about their presence at the South Pole, clearly disdainful of the reach of industrialized society. So it is no surprise that in his [...]
Famed documentarian Werner Herzog has built a prolific career via his wild-eyed curiosity, bringing an infectious enthusiasm to otherwise didactic and peculiar topics. Happy People is technically not his film—this 90-minute version is condensed from Russian director Dmitry Vasyukov's four-hour, made-for-TV documentary—but the indelible narration ensures this intriguing look at professional Syberian fur-trappers is unmistakeably a Herzog Project.
The happiness of the title refers [...]
The funny little frog to the right can mean only one thing: The Environmental Film Festival is back. Now in its 19th year, the festival has become a massive understaking, where 150 films from 40 different countries–most for free—screen at museums, embassies, libraries, universities, and movie theaters throughout the District. This year's programming is particularly diverse, including countless screeds against our continued mishandling of fossil fuels, the winner of the 2010 [...]
Good morning! I need a haircuit! But I won't be getting one from this guy! Any recommendations, readers?
Here are some things I might do this weekend!
- That mind-fucking Ramin Bahrani short starring the disembodied voice of Werner Herzog as a morose plastic bag? It's showing this weekend as part of the Environmental Film Festival. RiYL: Easy [...]
Good morning! Want to start your day with a mind-fuck? OK!
You can now watch Ramin Bahrani's 2009 short "Plastic Bag" (no relation to this blog's former name) for free, which you most certainly should do, since it stars the voice of Werner Herzog as an emotionally needy plastic bag. Seriously.
Last year, when I interviewed Bahrani—whose [...]
in which the author discusses five books he'd read, and probably will read, since he doesn't like the Olympics, and not much else is on TV.
1. The Devil Gets His Due: The Uncollected Essays of Leslie Fiedler, by Leslie Fiedler, edited by Samuele F. S. Pardini.
Leslie Fiedler was an American postmodern-y academic who wrote a [...]
In which the author discusses five books he'd read, if time permitted.
1. After the Ice: Life, Death, and Geopolitics in the New Arctic, by Alun Anderson
Well, well, well...some people at Thanksgiving dinner were really convinced—really, audibly, obnoxiously convinced—that Climategate proves this whole global warming thing is a vast conspiracy. After all, a few scientists' decisions [...]
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans: Watch Werner Herzog and Nicolas Cage turn Harvey Keitel's 1992 tortured cop into a whooping clown. Entertaining for the wrong reasons, and occasionally flat-out bizarre.
William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe: What compelled the titular lawyer to defend alleged killers, terrorists, and rapists? This doc by Kunstler's daughters gives [...]
