Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski: A Film Legacy
starring: Werner Herzog, Klaus Kinski, Isabelle Adjani, Bruno Ganz, Ruy Guerra
directed by: Werner Herzog
directed by: Werner Herzog
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The six-film Herzog/Kinski boxed set is a sleek compilation of a visionary cinematic collaboration. The history of cinema is dotted with great directors who have found an actor whose face, voice, and style capture that director's point of view: Josef Von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich; John Ford and John Wayne; Martin Scorsese and Robert DeNiro. In 1972, the German director Werner Herzog cast Polish actor Klaus Kinski in Aguirre, the Wrath of God--the result was perhaps the definitive film for both. Kinski had previously made almost 100 films, but his malevolent role--as a Spanish conquistador obsessed with finding gold--shot him into international stardom. Though Herzog and the volatile Kinski were at each other's throats through much of the filming, seven years later the director cast Kinski as the tortured vampire of Nosferatu, Phantom of the Night (a color remake of the silent horror classic) and the title character of Woyzeck, based on the classic expressionistic German play about a jealous, unstable soldier who murders his lover. Both films continued the Herzog-Kinski trademark of intense unflinching emotion and the palpable presence of the raw physical world.
In 1982, Fitzcarraldo carried this ethos to new heights as Kinski portrayed a man who, in order to bring grand opera to the depths of Peru, has a huge steamship hauled over a mountainside using ropes, pulleys, and human endurance. The mad ambition of the film matched that of its hero as Herzog repeatedly placed crew and actors at risk of their lives. Nonetheless, the love-hate relationship between the director and his star carried them into one last film, the uneven but still remarkable Cobra Verde, about a Brazilian bandit sent to Africa to reopen the slave trade. After Kinski's death in 1991, Herzog made a documentary, My Best Fiend, about their decades of collaboration; the result rivals their previous work as a testament to human extremity. --Bret Fetzer
The six-film Herzog/Kinski boxed set is a sleek compilation of a visionary cinematic collaboration. The history of cinema is dotted with great directors who have found an actor whose face, voice, and style capture that director's point of view: Josef Von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich; John Ford and John Wayne; Martin Scorsese and Robert DeNiro. In 1972, the German director Werner Herzog cast Polish actor Klaus Kinski in Aguirre, the Wrath of God--the result was perhaps the definitive film for both. Kinski had previously made almost 100 films, but his malevolent role--as a Spanish conquistador obsessed with finding gold--shot him into international stardom. Though Herzog and the volatile Kinski were at each other's throats through much of the filming, seven years later the director cast Kinski as the tortured vampire of Nosferatu, Phantom of the Night (a color remake of the silent horror classic) and the title character of Woyzeck, based on the classic expressionistic German play about a jealous, unstable soldier who murders his lover. Both films continued the Herzog-Kinski trademark of intense unflinching emotion and the palpable presence of the raw physical world.
In 1982, Fitzcarraldo carried this ethos to new heights as Kinski portrayed a man who, in order to bring grand opera to the depths of Peru, has a huge steamship hauled over a mountainside using ropes, pulleys, and human endurance. The mad ambition of the film matched that of its hero as Herzog repeatedly placed crew and actors at risk of their lives. Nonetheless, the love-hate relationship between the director and his star carried them into one last film, the uneven but still remarkable Cobra Verde, about a Brazilian bandit sent to Africa to reopen the slave trade. After Kinski's death in 1991, Herzog made a documentary, My Best Fiend, about their decades of collaboration; the result rivals their previous work as a testament to human extremity. --Bret Fetzer
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- A Few Good Movies
Aim for the Werner Herzog Collection instead. I deeply admire the work and breadth of Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski. Their best films together, in my opinion, are Aguirre: The Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo. The others are dispensable and forgettable. I'll give a rating for the movies included:
0 out of 4
Aguirre: The Wrath of God ***1/2
Fitzcarraldo ***1/2
Nosferatu **
Woyzeck **
Cobra Verde **
My Best Fiend ... Read More
Rating: - Herzog/Kinski DVD Box Set
I finished watching all of the DVDs in the Herzog/Kinski DVD collection, and I can say I was completely disappointed. I had only seen Aguirre before several years ago, and Herzog's My Best Fiend (the Kinski "documentary") and of course had heard all the hype and praise about Kinski. But I think Herzog's abortion-like camera/editing/sound work really ruins the films. Most of the DVDs have a running commentary and it is like taking a power drill to the head to hear Herzog drone on and on about his philosophy ... Read More
Rating: 
- Great Collection
The product was exactly as described, in wonderful condition, and a great value.It arrived quickly.Thanks!
Rating: - Awesome Set.
I have seen all these films and loved them. So I was extremely stoked that I got this set for 29 US Dollars (51 NZ dollars). A complete steal.
Rating: - WOW!
The quality of the DVDs is among the best.Picture and sound is great.I had only ever seen "Nosferatu" before getting the set."Fitzcaraldo" has become one of my favorite all time movies since getting the set.The documentary "My Best Fiend" is wonderful.
- A Few Good MoviesAim for the Werner Herzog Collection instead. I deeply admire the work and breadth of Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski. Their best films together, in my opinion, are Aguirre: The Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo. The others are dispensable and forgettable. I'll give a rating for the movies included:
0 out of 4
Aguirre: The Wrath of God ***1/2
Fitzcarraldo ***1/2
Nosferatu **
Woyzeck **
Cobra Verde **
My Best Fiend ... Read More
- Herzog/Kinski DVD Box SetI finished watching all of the DVDs in the Herzog/Kinski DVD collection, and I can say I was completely disappointed. I had only seen Aguirre before several years ago, and Herzog's My Best Fiend (the Kinski "documentary") and of course had heard all the hype and praise about Kinski. But I think Herzog's abortion-like camera/editing/sound work really ruins the films. Most of the DVDs have a running commentary and it is like taking a power drill to the head to hear Herzog drone on and on about his philosophy ... Read More
- Great CollectionThe product was exactly as described, in wonderful condition, and a great value.It arrived quickly.Thanks!
- Awesome Set. I have seen all these films and loved them. So I was extremely stoked that I got this set for 29 US Dollars (51 NZ dollars). A complete steal.
- WOW!The quality of the DVDs is among the best.Picture and sound is great.I had only ever seen "Nosferatu" before getting the set."Fitzcaraldo" has become one of my favorite all time movies since getting the set.The documentary "My Best Fiend" is wonderful.
