Die beispiellose Verteidigung der Festung Deutschkreutz

A group of young men break into an old deserted castle and find some uniforms and become soldiers. On the soundtrack the narrator speaks of the history of the building and eventually talks of the necessity of war.

Clever look at how boys playing war may end up taking it too far. Its a bit one note and is probably a couple of minutes too long, however there are some intriguing moments such as the change that happens as the uniforms are put on or how the military mind is ultimately operating in an us or them mode. Its not the sort of thing that one need watch more than once, but its an okay time passer. Mostly its real interest lies with anyone who's a fan of director Werner Herzog. All others may not feel the need to see it.

Werner Herzog, a little before he made a name for himself, also made a short film called The Unprecedented Defence of the Fortress Deutschkreuz, and the title is the best part.

I guess it's going for a surreal anti-war thing, highlighting the absurdism of it all with some dry narration, but if Herzog was ever able to do a Catch-22 sort of thing, he didn't seem up to the task in 1967.

I'd say the only thing this has going for it, beyond its title, is the fact that it looks quite striking and it makes good use of its setting. There's something eerie, unintentional or otherwise, about the sparseness of everything paired with the black and white visuals.

But The Unprecedented Defence of the Fortress Deutschkreuz is otherwise a bit boring, pointless, and not really capable of provoking emotions beyond that sense of things being eerie and mildly off. At least it's short. Like, it's literally a short film (I didn't have time for anything else today. But I guess even a Werner Herzog misfire has some watchable qualities).

Unprecedented Defence of the Fortress Deutschkreutz, The (1966)

** (out of 4)

Herzog spoof of war and soldiers and the thoughts that creep into ones mind. There are a few funny jokes but again, nothing too interesting.

Last Words (1967)

** (out of 4)

Another Werner Herzog short, this one I'm guessing was meant to be some sort of spoof about people and their last words but none of it is all that funny.

Herakles (1960)

** (out of 4)

Werner Herzog's first film is about a young man who works out hoping to become very muscular one day. Nothing too interesting here.

Precautions About Fanatics (1969)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Herzog short is just one running gag about a fanatic at a race horse. A few laughs.

A gang of young men break into an abandoned castle, a place that was the site of an actual battle between Germans and Russians during World War II. They find military uniforms and weaponry there and proceed to don this gear and effectively become soldiers, setting up defences against attack by enemies unknown.

The Unprecedented Defence of the Fortress Deutschkreuz is a film director Werner Herzog made from the proceeds of a financial award he won for his screenplay for his later film, Signs of Life (1968). It's a very basic affair which has no synchronised sound and only a narrator. It's seemingly a satire on war, although I'm not sure if I really noticed to tell you the truth. It's definitely a very minor work from this German visionary though and will only be of interest to his fans most probably.