Werner Herzog on the Vileness of the Amazon Jungle

From "Burden of Dreams", a documentary about the making of Herzog's "Fitzcarraldo" -- both released in 1982.
00:00 Introduction
00:28 Monologue
01:29 Rainforest interlude
02:28 Monologue continues
Parts of this excerpt has been on YT since 2006, but this upload is in much better quality -- and hopefully it reaches some new viewers.
Tags:
nature hits back / full of obscenity / the birds don’t sing, they just screech in pain / misery / rotting away / harmony / overwhelming and collective murder / death / lack of order / even the stars in the sky here look like a mess / there is no harmony in the universe

[@Vingul]

Other Herzog videos here: kzbin.info/aero/PLizFH7ZFCtglpsC6hoBMd6ZBrUaLrMTB3&si=P7Q8l4Y9FlTwutk0

[@nord_anon4406]

What a very German man

[@Adrian_Estando]

I came in to the comments to mention that fact.😂

[@guest6398]

lol. I scrolled down to look for this comment. German philosophy in a nutshell: the agony and pointlessness of life.

[@Sygg-uj3ze]

​@@Adrian_EstandoWhy? It's all bs anyway.

[@Adrian_Estando]

@@Sygg-uj3ze - What is all BS? Life? Existence? Are you German too?😂😭

[@gregh4284]

I'm Norwegian and I agree.

[@Crichjo32]

These days directors and studios would just CGI the boat and the jungle. This guy actually went there, got a real steamboat stuck in mud, and faced the horrors of the jungle for real. Call him what you will, but he's got balls of titanium.

[@Vingul]

100%. At the time they would have just used models, but he knew it had to be done for real. Ignants in the comments calling the man «spoiled» or whatever may as well be saying that black is white and up is down.

[@chrissibersky4617]

I prefer a real strawberry in my mouth over an artificially flavored strawberry candy.

[@spivvo]

Just the kind of guy you need to cheer you up when the going gets a bit tough 😂

[@SamWilkinsonn]

What i used to tell my parents about school every morning when they woke me up and I didn’t wanna go

[@CLOCKCHASER2222]

😂

[@IngestedTransmitter]

Herzog's optimism is too saccharine for my taste

[@Sygg-uj3ze]

Hahahahahaahahahahahaaaaaaa.... oh Snarkles, how would my ribs heal poorly without you

[@Deguello23]

I kinda want to take him tubin'!

[@rebelbiscuit]

The utter chaos of the jungle must be like hell to the strict order of a German mind.

[@PeterKoperdan]

What chaos? Life is an icredibly high-level of order out of chaos of cosmic forces and elementary matter. 🤦‍♂️

[@LinuxUser00]

Order out of chaos necessarily implies that order IS chaos, given that there is unity or oneness, not duality or difference.@@PeterKoperdan

[@PeterKoperdan]

@@LinuxUser00 Order is chaos and chaos is order. Thanks for a meaningful contribution to this discussion 😂😂

[@LinuxUser00]

We're just agreeing with each other. No need to be rude about it.@@PeterKoperdan

[@thatbassguy9502]

​@PeterKoperdan Hes right you know. Our brains just haven't grasp ed the emptiness of both concepts yet

[@michaelcalles6824]

"I love it against my better judgment."

[@hansadler6716]

I'd be depressed too, if my 300 ton ship got stuck in the jungle.

[@anthony212459]

"There is harmony. The harmony of overwhelming and collective murder" 😂😂

[@victorgadamba5518]

that got me too. & "it's not that I don't love it, I love it against my better judgement"

[@anthony212459]

@@victorgadamba5518 The whole thing is a masterclass in german comedy. 😂

[@TheAbb0t]

This is Documentary Now peaks!

[@Sygg-uj3ze]

"Your rebuttal, E. Michael Jones?" (crickets, if he were honest)

[@alext2566]

That's life

[@TomUK7]

Whenever I listen to Herzog or watch one of his productions I never feel like I'm wasting time.

[@headzonsight7009]

This dude went to the Amazon just to have his entire core be rocked by it 😂 gotta love Herzog

[@samfilmkid]

Those birds are not singing, and they aren't screeching pain. They are catcalling us.

[@tinytanks]

we need werner herzong to narrate a nihilist nature documentary

[@Oceansta]

😆

[@danamania150]

Me when I go camping 😂

[@Adrian_Estando]

Hahahaha!1!😂

[@centralillinoisrailpix453]

Every sentence an indictment of the raw, natural world

[@MonsterKidCory]

This camping, lying upon the cold ground so that your body feels like a corpse within a gawdy nylon sarcophagus, the dull triumph of a fire which will never be comfortable, broiling one side of you and freezing the other while smoke inevitably stings in your eyes and gives you a foretaste of the sulphureous Hell, the smores... This camping is mankind de-evolving to the chaos which it worked so hard to escape.

[@flagal519]

He is a BRILLIANT movie-maker....a genius in his own right.

[@Vingul]

Absolutely, he's my favourite; only Tarkovsky is up there with Herzog in my book.

[@philbowflaggon8363]

Take that Attenborough!

[@PeterKoperdan]

😂😂😂

[@08bourquem]

for real

[@erastusturnipseed8318]

This is unironically hilarious.

[@Vingul]

Yeah, I've known this clip for quite a few years now and it still makes me laugh every time. Talk about being unreasonable. [EDIT: I wrote "UNREASONABLE" here, with HUMOROUS, not LITERAL intent, it being the result of me DIRECTLY translating a common EXPRESSION in my native Norwegian. I GET IT.]

[@uriahvoltairealt]

​@@Vingulidk if i was stuck in it I would see his views as reasonable

[@Vingul]

@@uriahvoltairealt it’s very understandable given the circumstances (endless problems making the film, his tenacity is really inspiring), but he doesn’t exactly seem like a man you could «reason with» here, lol..

[@Mrbfgray]

@@Vingul Makes total sense if you have any clue about the wilderness.

[@Vingul]

@@Mrbfgray I know.

[@terryaherne6186]

I might be wrong, but I suspect this is not his favourite holiday destination

[@lili8686z]

Well bunch of bugs, snakes, poisonous flowers, and hot af...I'd be annoyed too lol

[@plewlonehitknown4812]

"We have to become humble in this overwhelming misery and overwhelming growth... There is no harmony..." I feel those words deep in my heart. I almost feel comfortable in chaos and there is a huge interest to just go out and be poisoned by animals, while searching for food in some fucking forest or jungle. This world is beautiful and honest. Also sucks hard at the same time.

[@jamesmclellan5500]

I always enjoy a lighthearted view

[@PeterKoperdan]

A single tree is almost infinitely more complex and ordered “thing” than anything humans have ever created. Jungle is chaos to Herzog, but from the scientific perspective living organisms are the most highly ordered “chunks” of energy and matter in the universe. When you take into account the jungle as an ecosystem, its order and complexity is mind boggling. But I get that the dude was frustrated. It’s no easy task to buldoze your way through a jungle with a presumably small team of workers and limited finances.

[@hensonlaura]

Who the hell would dispute that, lol.

[@PeterKoperdan]

@@hensonlaura Werner Herzog

[@frankie3041]

Thankfully David Attenborough got the BBC nature documentary presenter job, not Werner Herzog!

[@1EliPrice]

If it wasn’t for the greatest generation he probably would have gotten it. Not going to lie though. I would have much rather enjoyed Werner’s narration.

[@jtothecc2421]

Nah. Ask any 3rd level biology teacher what they think of the students they get. Half of they are Attenborough inspired half wits who think nature is a Disney cartoon.

[@frankie3041]

@@1EliPrice Umm….

[@laxman90210]

Herzog did a great job with cave of forgotten dreams

[@1EliPrice]

Werner using the word base is the most based thing I’ve heard all year.

[@NyteShade76]

Sure sounds like he loved his time in the Amazon :D

[@parapoliticos52]

he is right. Most people, and by most i mean almost all, wont survive a week if they get lost in the Amazon. It's not the European pine woods or the Birch trees forests, where if you can hunt, you can survive. Everything can and will kill you in the amazon. From the water to the bugs.

[@Ruktiet]

That is total bullshit. You have no idea how nature works. There is food, water, chemical deterrents and shelter EVERYWHERE, and even more conveniently, it’s warm. It’s much harder to survive in the boreal forests of wild Europe due to the constant battle against hypothermia.

[@noahway13]

. I think that is one of the main reasons why Europeans evolved ahead of other people.( in a technological sense) . Who the hell could invent advanced things in this environment? ( Or in a blazing desert, etc) It is a constant struggle just to survive. I grew up in the American South. This video does not convey the whole 3D hellish effect of that environment. Like to hear the constant buzz, and feel the pain of mosquito bites. And imagine living your life, day and night, in a steam room.

[@Ruktiet]

It is mich easier to survive in an environment abundant with animals, edible fruit and plants where it is warm than it is in a very cold environment with nothing to eat except for the megafauna that roams the grasslands.@@noahway13

[@Ruktiet]

Btw your body desensitizes it’s immune reaction to mosquito bites so they barely bother you anymore@@noahway13

[@pinkpugginz]

​@@noahway13I thought something similar. But I was thinking of climate affecting people's ability to plan ahead. When it's warm all the time and there's always food right around you you don't need to plan for frigid temperature and create food stores So there's less incentive to do more.

[@trermiki9]

Ich liebe diesen Mann.

[@henerygreen578]

about time someone tells it like it is......... that dude is a hard ass much respect from me......

[@giuseppelogiurato5718]

What an ecclectic channel! Loving it so far, I'll probably subscribe!

[@IngestedTransmitter]

He'll probably be grateful

[@alexace5584]

There is still beauty. Not being a slave to the fuel pump, credit scores, living a simple life the way the universe intended.

[@ballisticcranberrypeat7777]

I like how his accent makes it sound like he’s saying “jungee”. That’s what I’m calling it from now on.

[@frankie3041]

In English we don’t often realise that we have two consonants in the middle of “jungle”, we have both ŋ and g, the ŋ being the same sound as the ending of “ring”. Germans don’t put the hard “g” into their equivalent word for “jungle” (i.e. Dschungel), they just have the ŋ.

[@bonbooty6611]

This is called projection. It’s his experience and there’s a truth to what he’s saying.

[@08bourquem]

I think A director sort of solves questions and an artist observes and perceives and based off of that that ASKS questions. What is done brilliantly is Directed his artistic vision. To first ask "Why is nature and Chaos so pervading here?" And then answer. And to answer further he explains that he is aware that you may feel that perception is coming from a place of hatred, but it's this obsession with it in contrast to Man's artificial world that he loves it so much. To love and want to return to that chaos and anarchy feels more natural than the artificial world of man. Yet still we cling to society and order, and have almost evolved away from the jungle into a more modern man... But is it natural? Then we are back to the artistic look. Where now WE are asking the questions, much like an artist does.

[@katipohl2431]

As a german biologist I see a high degree of order in the jungle even when human cognitive structures cannot understand the perfection of entropy and evolutionary biology.

[@Vingul]

You're right of course, and I'm sure Herzog would agree with you today -- I've heard him talk about it in retrospect. Anyway, these things were said in frustration; he spent several years trying to make the film, and all of the stuff he had to go through to realise the project is incredible. In addition to this documentary about it, there is Herzog's diary from the time, which has been released as "Conquest of the Useless"/Eroberung des Nutzlosen. I find it so good I've read it three times.

[@jakemitchell1671]

With all due respect, have you been to the Amazon and experienced what Herzog has seen? I'm sure his views are justified. He's an intelligent, thoughtful man.

[@TheKopakah]

@@jakemitchell1671 And at the time, a young and frustrated man

[@mattzx003]

r/iamsosmart

[@brucesmith1544]

you totally missed his point

[@tylerroseman3423]

I laughed out loud when he said the birds scream in pain

[@TroyArn]

"It's an unfinished country, it's still prehistorical. The only thing that is lacking is the dinosaurs here. It's like a curse weighing on an entire landscape, and whoever goes too deep into this has his share of that curse. So we are cursed with what we are doing here. It's a land that God, if he exists, has created in anger. It's the only land where creation is unfinished yet. Taking a close look at what's around us, there is some sort of a harmony. It is the harmony of overwhelming and collective murder. And we, in comparison to the articulate vileness and baseness and obscenity of all this change, we in comparison to that enormous articulation, we only sound and look like badly pronounced and half-finished sentences out of a stupid suburban novel, a cheap novel. And we have to become humble in front of this overwhelming misery and overwhelming fornication, overwhelming growth, and overwhelming lack of order. Even the stars appear in the sky look like a mess. There is no harmony in the universe. We have to get acquainted with this idea that there is no real harmony as we have conceived it. But when I say this, I say this all full of admiration for the jungle. It is not that I hate it, I love it. I love it very much, but I love it against my better judgment." ~Werner Herzog, re: the jungle

[@PecPur]

Remember we don't see reality we construct models of the world. You only see what you pay attention to. This man has given us a filter that we can choose to use or not.

[@Tattlebot]

There is strong reason to think that the animals are not suffering a great deal. First is that they are thriving and in an environment which they do well in psychologically. Humans have a similar setting, called by Darcia Narvaez the 'Evolved Nest'. Very few humans in premodern conditions have mental illnesses like depression. Second is that, even prey sometimes seem to delight in being chased. You can see in Planet Earth 3, fur seals delight in evading a charging great white. Even when being eaten, endorphin systems manage to eliminate pain, nor do the animals know they are dying. Misery lies primarily in thought, and animals, mostly lacking this mind, are not troubled. Some may say that the animals are in an enlightenment state.

[@johnw574]

​@@Tattlebot It's the neuroticism of a creature that is past the need to survive, everything is given to them. So they create artificial challenges for themselves. It's not that animals are enlightened, it's that some humans are lost and don't know what to do with themselves.

[@wellofinfinity]

Very very true glad to hear this said

[@bridgethings4225]

Well said

[@evolassunglasses4673]

Fascinating

[@WinterPhoenixForestKirin]

Holy sh!t. This guy is Based AF. His attitude sounds very Scandinavian, almost Finnish.

[@MrTsiolkovsky]

One of the worlds most truly based individuals. Human-type human build.

[@360Freaks]

He's German

[@cammo777]

and let me guess, the Ouze have torn it all down a la Avatar style

[@edcorrigan3156]

Dang!!! I was just beginning to feel good about myself.

[@zhenyalandyak8258]

Haha, the birds screech in pain xD God this man, really. The trees are in misery in their own fucking universe, you can't think of anything better. Yeah it's fucking rough there in this one belt around the globe that just has the damn near perfect conditions for life. Everyone and everything can thrive there. So everyone comes and tries. That's what a jungle is, an inexplicably complex clutter of relationships that follow a scheme that doesn't allow the human intellect to understand it's workings. It's so fucking fertile in these lands, the whole spot is like a witches brew of gene combinations.

[@mRGuitarShow1]

You're whole argument is not pertinent, perhaps it is even counter-productive on your part. Life is misery, a bug, a diabolical anomaly. The jungle is ground zero, it's the root of said evil.

[@bridgethings4225]

Everyone comes and tries. It's like new york. Concrete jungle indeed

[@miatika]

Every word from him is hilarious 😆

[@TheMswizzy]

it’s great for me it’s simultaneously hilarious and moving, very odd

[@bow_wow_wow]

I don't see it as hilarious. I see it as sad that so few people seem to have any idea what he's talking about. We are so comfortable in the little paradise we've built for ourselves.

[@miatika]

@@bow_wow_wow i can hear your sad violin music from here

[@gr6362]

I would like to edit this video to change “the Amazon” to “Amazon”, and change “the jungle” to “online retail” and it would still be absolutely appropriate. The murderous leviathan crushing the spirit and bodies of small businesses, leaving a trail of broken local merchants in its muddy wake.

[@ValHeartNDHeartSuqquNoHeartPat]

😂😂😂

[@raspberrytreacle]

Great film with Klaus kinski

[@michaelplevan]

He’s simply thinking like a German. That’s how we go about life.

[@landgabriel]

A very Germanic take on the world's lungs, however poignant.

[@jsrjsr]

Some notable germans would disagree tho. On another note, herzog was just salty, because nature didn't like boats moving on land.

[@Sunbeam21]

He’s honestly the most articulate man I’ve ever heard speak, and he’s not even a native English speaker

[@FLStelth]

...but did he enjoy his time in the jungle?

[@ABO-Destiny]

These are the people the world was fortunate to have among them. He speaks the truth

[@fam4449]

He should do an ayahuasca retreat in the Amazon. Will see things differently.

[@Sights-and-Sounds_777]

What else would he of been doing marooned there anyway, it sounds like he did shiploads of ayahuasca. And this epic rant was his conclusion 😅

[@ferrariscuderia4290]

I'm honestly surprised he left without having built an Autobahn network 😂 I love this guy!

[@CallsignJoNay]

Elon and Lex brought me here.

[@srb20012001]

Werner was just having a bad day.

[@kasperhenriksen4054]

Herzhog is like a weekly chronicle music reviewer. Except instead of constantly attending the national festivals and music venues and hating every band, he visists every last corner of nature and hates it

[@blakedextersmith]

I don’t anyone’s ever said to Werner to just cheer up a little

[@MH-sj9bg]

He speaks in poetry.

[@JR-ji5sx]

Its the only land where creation is perfect imo

[@happymaskedguy1943]

Ever been? I’m guessing not. The jungle is hell.

[@paintermontenegro4051]

Just be positive .Say yes to yourself

[@user-ro9cj7ri9j]

This almost killed me from laughter

[@WmWs]

Great channel.

[@Vingul]

Thank you!

[@petergedd9330]

This planet is so utterly beautiful and the human mind is so utterly asleep

[@duhbigcat1848]

Schopenhaurian

[@avenuex3731]

Not a surprising opinion from a man who tried to kill baby Grogu.

[@keefsmiff]

I might not go there now .. I was so looking forward to it

[@Brettwbeyer14]

I can understand why David Lynch is a fan of this guy

[@amirben7986]

that guy is a visionnary when he describe things

[@TheDarkFalcon]

Wait is he German or South African? His accent seemed to shift whilst he talked.

[@Vingul]

He's German, Bavarian. His accent has changed since those days, with much more of an American "R" etc.

[@burnsaga]

Did he ever get the ship out??

[@Vingul]

Yeah, he got it up to the top of the hill. Sheer willpower ;)

[@RevanHorner]

Maybe don't go there at all. Maybe bulldozing the Amazon isn't a good ida

[@stevoofd]

This is comedy gold

[@ka-boom2083]

This scene inspired Scavenger Reign TV show.

[@bow_wow_wow]

It's like none of you heard anything he said.

[@nickjohnson410]

Of course he brings up Kinski in the discussion...

[@anthony212459]

Bro needs to question his choices, not the Amazon. 😂

[@Adrian_Estando]

Exactly! A little soul searching on his part might help him.😂

[@Allie66686]

Lol yep, just now I watched that exact podcast, and now I’m here. It’s crazy how humans react in kind to certain things in life. Like if all things in that podcast that was discussed, it was the suggestion of Elon Musk that led us to this video.

[@Vingul]

He also linked directly to this Herzog clip on his twitter the other day, lol kzbin.info/www/bejne/fZCahZSVaciir5Ysi=dH8EpuywOuY1CSXM

[@itsdonaldo]

Debbie Downer has a big crush on this guy

[@cacogenicist]

What a cheery fellow

[@Im_No_Expert_72]

I think he was having a bad time maybe?😅

[@vulpespersona]

I'm totally mired now (can't you see) t-t-t-totally mired

[@ghtbl]

This is professional camera work doing storytelling.

[@frankie3041]

Reminds me of that song ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’ by New Order: "You know, you're a real ‘up’ person." 😂

[@eternalextrapolations]

Wow, that's a very poetic condemnation of the Amazon - its like an ode to the jungle! I know his name, I recognize his face, but as an older man. Where might I know him from? I seem to remember seeing him being interviewed by someone outdoors and he received a projectile in the hip or abdomen area, and yet he carried on with the v interview, apologizing that he had to cause a distraction by tending to the b lee ding!

[@Vingul]

I don't know, his cameo as a villain in Jack Reacher? Haha. There's so many things you might know him from. Probably his most well-known documentary is Grizzly man (not one of my favourites but good), maybe you've seen bits of that. I know the interview you're referring to, where he gets shot randomly with an air rifle. "It's not significant", classic Herzog!

[@eternalextrapolations]

@@Vingul Thanks for the suggestions. Maybe it was one of those. He looks so familiar, but I just can't place him from what I recognize him from. It must have been significant! He has a certain quiet resolve. Maybe it's a Germanic stoicism. How much of that stalwart attitude remains I don't know though.

[@Vingul]

​@@eternalextrapolations Hmm - this is a stab in the dark, but I did post a clip where he reads from the Poetic Edda, about half a year ago. You're hitting the nail on the head there, I really admire his tenacity. He'll do anything to convey his vision, the film he was working on here being a case in point. I don't think there are anyone like him left, certainly not in cinema anyway.

[@eternalextrapolations]

@@Vingul it could be, but I feel like there must have been something in popular culture relatively recently, where I know the face and name, yet I don't think it could have been Jack reacher. Maybe it was something to do with something ver boten, but I'll probably think of it when my subconscious works it out in due course. You know the way the answer sometimes is presented to you in a few days or weeks ... seemingly as a random thought pops into your head! Anyway, yes I think purposeful men with the courage of their convictions and the tenacity to carry out their vision must be extinct now, or something would have happened already in Europe to change tje course we're on.

[@liltick102]

You’re referring to the clip where he was interviewed by bbc or whatever and he was shot by an air rifle and was totally unfazed I think..

[@adityaroy9031]

I am here after listening to Elon and Lex Pod.

[@keithmccormack6248]

Vhen ist der paart ov der schow vhere ve dance?

[@i_dont_live_here]

There is no real harmony ❤

[@Bazed.]

Yes there is ❤️

[@happymaskedguy1943]

No there isn’t. There’s an incomprehensible amount of suffering in nature, and it’s only the naive who think otherwise.

[@Rockyzach88]

"The harmony of overwhelming and collective murder" lawl

[@Driftwoodgeorge]

Oh c'mon Werner!, it's not that bad, lots of people say the Amazon is beautiful almost like a paradise. Chill out, learn to flow with it, accept it, or go back to Duesseldorf !

[@Vingul]

Lots of people have a crazy conception of paradise.

[@anschn7166]

I think it all depends on your perspective. If you can visit the Amazon on your own terms for limited periods of time it can be like a paradise, but if you're exposed to its elements for longer periods of time you may start to see things differently. The first Europeans to enter tropical rainforests called them "green hell", as it was dark and scary, filled with diseases and creatures that can kill you. That being said, the Amazon (and other rainforests) are extremely valuable ecosystems in many ways that need to be protected at all cost.

[@gretashapiro4118]

Lol... He may say the same thing about Europe now. Importing the vileness of the jungles

[@zeddez1005]

Coo, Vingul. The algorithm suggested this video one year after its original posting date.

[@Vingul]

Nice one Zed! Good to see you here. This one really got a boost recently, over 10k+ in a few days.

[@traaxx]

Who found this after watching Lex Podcast with Elon Musk? haha

[@fredfredrickson5436]

Ugh, not I.

[@Adrian_Estando]

Yes, that interview reminded me to come watch this gem again.😂

[@stevee.7419]

Creepy algorithms, eh. I just heard him talking about this to Lex.

[@Rockyzach88]

Ahh fuck is that why it's on my feed? Day ruined.

[@blicket]

Just did!!! Lol nice to see you here too

[@98FIVE3]

John Malkovich

[@SpireUtd]

Not the type to cheer you up on a bus trip. I wonder what he thinks to Skegness beach?

[@MsMiguel70]

I wonder if he ever reviewed a Radisson.

[@dawood121derful]

Translation: “there are no sidewalks or ‘Starbucks’ here.”

[@Vingul]

Have you ever even heard of Herzog before? He's not a fan of mass consumer culture at all, and he spent many months if not years in the jungle making this film -- and it wasn't even the first troubled production he made deep in the Amazon.

[@Roonlovesfish3874]

The only misery I saw was man hunting nature, oh and the huge ship stuck in the mud

[@Vingul]

«Man hunting nature», lol. Man is part of nature. We hunt animals, like other animals hunt animals. Might seem miserable, but that is nature.

[@Mharad35]

A Glacier Eventually Farts

[@adamknowles1]

What an emo herzog would have been

[@chrismusso69]

This guy seems like a happy lad… 😅

[@TomRathborne]

I'm sure he would have said all this even if his boat wasn't stuck in the mud.

[@Vingul]

Quite possible. But then a thousand other things had gone awry as well.

[@Daneiladams555]

all of life is just trying to survive, it is a sort of beautiful mess that has a purpose to live and die

[@CastlesForEyes]

I never want to experience these types of jungle. NEVER!

[@ASMRMoto]

perfect example of you see what you want to see lol