The Twilight Worlds of Werner Herzog: A Retrospective

ABOUT THE SERIES:

The American Cinematheque is proud to present this 20-film retrospective for one of cinema’s most inimitable and visionary auteurs, Werner Herzog. The filmmaker joins us in person at the Aero Theatre and Los Feliz 3 for a weekend of special introductions, Q&As and book signings, as we explore some of his most influential films and documentaries, and celebrate the release of his new novel, The Twilight World.

A pioneer of the New German cinema movement, Herzog began his filmmaking career in 1962, and has since directed over 20 feature films and 30 documentaries, many of which have been hailed as some of the greatest films ever made. With his unwavering interest in the indefinable borders between obsession and madness, dreams and nightmares, and nature’s beauty and its cruel indifference, his cinema is truly a one-of-a-kind oeuvre that exists in what feels like a liminal, twilight-like state, where the natural world and human consciousness collide. His work is also instantly recognizable for its unbridled intensity, which emerges not only through his sobering worldview, but also in his approach to the actual craft of filmmaking. For example, in some of his most famous narrative works, one cannot help but observe in awe at the impressive feats of the productions of AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD and FITZCARRALDO, where the real crew faces the same dangers as the fictional protagonists, or in HEART OF GLASS, where the dreamy state of the cast’s consciousness is the result of actual hypnotism. The filmmaker joins us to the discuss these films, as well as his beloved features THE ENIGMA OF KASPAR HAUSER and NOSFERATU THE VAMPYRE and his unforgettable documentaries FATA MORGANA, LESSONS OF DARKNESS, and CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS in this deep dive into his remarkable cinematic process.

Although most known as a filmmaker, Werner Herzog has also excelled in other arts and mediums, including opera and theatre directing, acting, teaching, and perhaps most notably, writing. In fact, for decades, Herzog has proclaimed that his prose and poetry will be remembered long after his films, demonstrating just how much he values literature and the writing process. Through the years, he has published essays on film, diaries, interviews, poetry, but not until 2022 has he attempted a novel. The new book, entitled The Twilight World, tells the incredible story of Hiroo Onoda, a Japanese soldier who defended a small island in the Philippines for twenty-nine years after the end of World War II. After meeting Onoda in the late 1990s, Herzog delivers this fascinating tale through his hypnotic and meditative writing style. The filmmaker joins us for book signings with each screening during the opening weekend of our retrospective, courtesy of Skylight Books and the Larry Edmunds Bookshop.

Following Werner Herzog’s appearances, our retrospective continues at the Los Feliz 3 throughout July, with ‘Werner Wednesdays’ which includes EVEN DWARFS STARTED SMALL, STROSZEK, WOYZECK, WHERE THE GREEN ANTS DREAM, and COBRA VERDE (plus a special weekend screening of BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS), as well as a ‘Herzog Documentary Sunday’ series with MY BEST FIEND, LAND OF SILENCE AND DARKNESS, LITTLE DIETER NEEDS TO FLY, BALLAD OF THE LITTLE SOLDIER, GRIZZLY MAN, and INTO THE INFERNO. Many of our screenings are the Los Angeles premieres of the new restorations, courtesy of the American Genre Film Archive and Shout! Factory.