Werner Herzog: ‘My older brother thinks
every film I’ve made is lousy and boring.’

Werner Herzog: 'I'm fascinated by trash TV. The poet must not avert his eyes'

At 77 and holed up in lockdown, the veteran director and latterday actor shows no signs of slowing down or accepting any limitations

by Xan Brooks
Friday 19 June 2020

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he digital world, what a fabulous place, Wener Herzog declares from his home in Los Angeles. Fraught with danger. Filled with possibility. It is thanks to digital that he can stream his films to audiences in Africa and Asia, despite the fact that the theatres are closed. It is thanks to digital that he can receive an email from a student in Missoula, Montana and respond to her question in less than a minute. It is thanks to digital that we are able to converse over Skype, peering into each other’s houses from a 5,000-mile distance. “So this is wonderful,” he cries. “Wonderful, wonderful!” Then the connection cuts out and I have to dial his number again.

Werner Herzog

Werner Herzog: 'I'm not a pundit. Don't push me into that corner'

The acclaimed film-maker talks about his latest project, a documented series of conversations with Mikhail Gorbachev, and his avoidance of certain labels

Charles Bramesco
New York, 2 May 2019

Director-documentarian-deity Werner Herzog has stared death in the face, blazed a path through madness, and charted the outermost limits of human experience. For a man of such stature, sitting down with one of the most significant public figures of the twentieth century was no biggie.

Werner Herzog: 'My fake selves have some unifying sensory organ'

The film director has hypnotised his casts and trailed grizzly bears. Now he’s plunging into cyberspace. He talks about growing up in remote Bavaria, internet evil – and what he thinks about Twerzogs and Wernerbots

Xan Brooks

28 October 2016

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he man sitting opposite could be a pugnacious newcomer pitching for a job. He lays out his credentials just in case I don’t know and recounts scenes from his films which I already know off by heart. He claims he performs a magic with cinema which no one else can. They should put him in a straitjacket, his work is that wild. Building to a climax, he says: “I want to throw my arm around your shoulder and take you to the realm of complete poetry and fantasy.” I think he’s speaking metaphorically. Then again, maybe not.