Werner Herzog Walker Dialogue with Roger Ebert

Read more: essays, articles, photography, ephemera, and related event history at walkerart.org/magazine/werner...
Director Werner Herzog and Roger Ebert, film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times, come together for a dialogue examining Herzog’s process and filmography.

[@J0hnC0ltrane]

Roger Ebert was the perfect interviewer. RIP Roger.

[@lumpofcoal2437]

In case someone missed the link in description, this was recorded in 1999.

[@olitomar]

The matrix has you

[@jude999]

For some reason, people rarely put the date on uploads.

[@Vingul]

@@jude999 I prefer to have it in the description as well, but it does say April 30., 1999 within the first ten seconds of the video to be fair.

[@polinamitrofanova6288]

I consider God's blessing that i have discovered the films of Werner Herzog. Thank you for this stream

[@davidmagen5024]

He is the greatest director alive.

[@ToxicTurtleIsMad]

Not even close.

[@nathanreiber6819]

​@@ToxicTurtleIsMadI dont think there's such thing as a "greatest director", however, there are moments of profound beauty, strangeness and absolute horror (all at once) in his films that no filmmaker has else ever come close to. His films have such a quiet intensity, underscored by such stoic placidity, so calm and confident yet so fierce. These things are uniquely his and really do make him great. I've never seen film with such instantaneously, effortlessly communicated urgency, it's not realism, it's real fantasy. Its a verissimilitude of the unreal. To say "not even closec is of course meaningless because there is no greatest director, but the dismissiveness is just moronic.

[@NondescriptMammal]

The most thought-provoking interview I have seen for a while, you couldn't ask for a more eloquent and interesting subject, nor a better interviewer

[@Funkywallot]

His Memoirs (every man for himself and god against all (2022) Is a must read. Every sentence is a kind of incantation . Painting a vivid magical world . Its dynamite.

[@bahhumbug9824]

Knowing how he is I wonder how much of it is fabricated BS so that, in his words, he can get to a deeper truth.

[@ajaypokharel911]

He is the most fearless man I have seen.

[@mortalclown3812]

What's vital is that he's emotionally fearless as well as the physical kind.

[@carlkamuti]

The best film critic in conversation with the greatest documentary filmmaker ever: what more could you ask for?

[@bahhumbug9824]

To see the clips they're talking about.

[@cheri238]

​@@bahhumbug9824 Mmmm

[@ryanellis4474]

Such a great exchange Thank you for posting this. I wish we could watch the clips that were cut out for KZbin copyright worries I will pray for America. Please pray for me. God Bless you.

[@mathemitnullplan]

this is one of the best sessions so far

[@kosmo_komputer]

Such a gift for sharing this, thank you Walker Art Center.

[@user-kk5kr5ys6i]

This interview took place in 1999.

[@prof.heinous191]

The power of the image - never mind the clips (who needs them) - well done Walker...

[@Ukedc259]

I always think whenever I see Herzog interviewed that he must tire of having to explain to people that he isn’t trying to be funny.

[@L.L.2045]

indeed

[@laurisklavins5368]

😂​@@L.L.2045

[@jude999]

A real man of Liberty. He gives me courage.

[@thomaskirkpatrick1134]

AMAZING INTERVIEW!!!

[@robertloader9826]

'Delirious exuberance, howling, vomiting, ecstatic fever dreams..' etc. God, I love Herzog, he really is the foremost hyperbolicist of our times! But that's the key to ecstatic truth right!? If you're going to watch one Herzog interview, this is the one.

[@JeffRebornNow]

When the camera first hits Herzog I swear he looks like Gene Hackman.

[@jevinday]

He does haha

[@romaasrani]

Thank you I could clearly hear everything Roger Ebert was saying...

[@AA-sn9lz]

It was actually audible, so if you're being sarcastic, Idk where you're coming from

[@williamrobinson7435]

Most illuminating!

[@liltick102]

“I can’t stand the concept of adventurism” He is seriously so mysterious... Like you have filmed every continent. What a director fr I actually have a sort of similar experience to Kaspar Hauser. I was only illegally confined in a terrible place without contact for 5 years / seeing the outside though.

[@sclogse1]

Makes you wonder if he could suspend that long enough to enjoy the first King Kong.

[@ToxicTurtleIsMad]

He doesnt like adventure for adventures sake. He is there to "loot" footage in his own words.

[@fellowcitizen]

Herzog should complete Satoshi Kon's unfinished film

[@ahoj1918]

I drove 2 hours to watch this film. Athens GA-Atlanta-GA

[@igblan]

Listen to movies in stereo. The dialogue track is always in the centre, unless the actor is offscreen. Don't match the stereo positioning of dialogue to the relative positions of the speakers.

[@jibbarich]

can you elaborate on your last sentence?

[@paulchapman3587]

@@jibbarich The post to which I was replying, and which provided context, seems to be missing. But the conventional, and least disorienting, way to mix, for example, dialogue between two characters who are on either side of the screen is to place the sound as if both characters were in the centre. Even the voice of a single character on one side of the screen should appear to come from the centre. Many "stereoized" remixes of classic movies originally recorded in mono make the mistake of trying to position the sound to match the position of the speaker. TCM used to do this a lot, although I haven't watched their output for many years. Of course, the poor saps who are given this monotonous task are usually not trained in movie sound conventions, and are probably just doing what they're told, or what seems "natural" to them.

[@ganglabesh]

awesome post!

not showing the clips makes no sense...

[@tintinsnowyful]

Fascinating interview. But frustrating as they didn't include the film clips they were referencing. So we can only guess what everyone was seeing.

[@sclogse1]

We'll, now there's a film about their relationship (K and H) and lots of bits of his work on youtube.

[@L.L.2045]

They can`t include it out of legal reasons.

[@k.c.r.5974]

The comedic stylings of Werner Herzog ladies and gentlemen! Give him a hand!! Next up lets welcome Louie Anderson folks...

[@ReichardtHelmut]

Can the clips be seen somewhere?

[@jevinday]

Does anyone have any idea what time this was filmed? This is wonderful

[@RajAdityaDas]

1999

[@bahhumbug9824]

Was that story about the Japanese soldier he mentions ever made?

[@lucidsister]

Yes, but as a novel - The Twilight World. A brief but good read!

[@simplestickman5513]

its about the picture, his picture, and than you dont show it..

[@mahzsom1]

I have a hard time reconciling Herzog's later work with what he said about the arctic explorers at 42:05. Maybe I am missing the point. Anyone has an idea why he said that?

[@matt.pma.kresnaputra5458]

well maybe he's not about achieving things, but rather just the experience of things. His docs are about grand things, but from what I understand, it was never about claiming it (like those racing to the north pole) just witnessing the beauty/horror of those things as they are which is the great thing in itself. He has earlier films about people with delusions of grandeur, and he sees it as sad (Aguirre, fitzcaraldo, stroszek, even Nosferatu).

[@johncarlson7338]

He did a film with Messner about climbing mountains called The Dark Glow of the Mountains and it wasn’t about getting to the summit, it was about why Messner climbs in the first place.

[@mahzsom1]

A year later, coming back to this interview and reading your answers again, I think I get it, thank you!

[@chrisrpm8728]

I think he’s against the kind of ‘sport’ of adventuring; the race, the competition…. He’s more interested in the personal, spiritual, emotional quest.

[@Harpin519]

Why no clips , ugh

[@TYSLYS]

For a Herzog dialogue , the frequency of adverts is ... well just too much, and where are the clips?

[@cheri238]

Bravo!! Bravo!!! Bravo!!!! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 🙏❤️🌏🌿🕊🎵🎶🎵🎶

[@sclogse1]

About a month ago I found a collection of comic books from Germany in a "junk" store and one had Kinsky on the cover from some Western TV show. Of course I bought it. A buck.

[@ToxicTurtleIsMad]

Thats a steal

[@individuationportal]

8:38 estatic truth 1:25:51 1:33:22

[@dubitataugustinus]

THANK YOU!!!

[@kenw.simpson1007]

I found it very difficult to understand what Herzog was saying.

[@melker-nn4md]

He’s a hard man to follow

[@kenw.simpson1007]

@@melker-nn4md Yes indeed.

[@totipark54]

a world without ads

[@williamrobinson7435]

It's certainly funny hearing Herzog speak of Kinski.. 🤣

[@ejrtok]

The crowd are frivolous. Too eager to laugh.

[@mikeFolco]

Now that is a very German thing to say.

[@adrianhutu]

Crowd were not ready for this maybe. It was tough for me too, I have too watch this again

[@MrLightspeed37]

This comment is best read aloud with a Bavarian accent.

[@JO-hp9te]

@@mikeFolco I think it would be different shown in Berlin..

[@clintcoppieters2173]

Cope.

[@Johnconno]

Did Herzog ever meet Joseph Beuys?

[@shieldsluck1969]

Germany is small like Montana. For sure he did.

[@Johnconno]

​@@shieldsluck1969I need to be certain. Montana isn't small.

[@shieldsluck1969]

@@Johnconno I can't validate that Beuys met Herzog, but cultural people move in cultural circles. With the (Montana) size comparison, I merely tried to suggest that it must have happened at some point in the 25 or so possible years because of the manageability of the space. 🙂

[@debodhwani1200]

32:00

[@olitomar]

Tourism is sin, walking is virtue.

[@_scabs6669]

Young Herzog sounds different

[@carlosbaja678]

he sounds like a literate arnold schwarzenegger

[@scottcates]

Compelling

[@bollockchop501]

Pete Townshend?

[@roccosims]

This is from 2013 FYI

[@i_dont_live_here]

We’ll be airborne 💀

[@McKlimm]

Too many commercials. It‘s to the point that it‘s unwatchable.

[@Vingul]

Install adblock on your computer, then watch (I know that adblock isn't available on phones but I assume you do have a computer).

[@charliesettles9519]

@@Vingul vmvmiktmvm

[@Vingul]

@@charliesettles9519 okay.

[@svefre85]

For mobile try Blokada

[@charleswinokoor6023]

I hear nervous, self-conscious mostly female laughter from the audience, as though they were not very familiar with his films. Herzog has a sense of humor, but it is dry and sardonic, and he never fishes for cheap laughs. It’s also worth noting that he’s able to describe things so well in a language that is not his native tongue. He has better command of the English language than most of today’s college students in the U.S. He says he’s crazy about Morris’s “Vernon, Florida.” I borrowed it from the library last year but couldn’t get past the first 15 minutes, but maybe I’ll give it another shot.

[@ruiresende84]

Oh, i love Herzog's films, some of them have become a part of me, without me knowing it. But i do think the man Herzog craves the laughs, or at least the attention. He created worlds in his films, but he has also created a character for himself, one of artist who will go to extremes to fullfill his vision (which he is), and the other of the uncompromising person who will always speak his mind no matter what others will think (which he is not always.. many times he will say exactly what he knows will cause a stirr, still calculated). But i do love his films

[@octopusexperiment1931]

You find so many sexist or slightly sexist comments underneath Werner Herzog interviews

[@ToxicTurtleIsMad]

​@@octopusexperiment1931a female cannot understand herzog.

[@MikeHunt-rw4gf]

Algorithm.

[@jmalmsten]

His views on "ecstatic truth", his self admitted fabrications in his anti-"accountant" documentaries. And how he talked about how he bounced insult ideas with Kinski when the actor wrote his memoirs... All that makes me wonder how much of his own professed back story is outright, shall we say, exaggerated? :D

[@turbojav]

Ironic that Herzog complains about the concept of "truth" in documentaries after he ignored the suffering of the indigenous population in his celebratory "Happy People: A Year in the Taiga". I say this as a massive Herzog fan.

[@titusmccarthy]

BEYOND The Valley of the Dolls was Ebert's greatest contribution to humanity but remember video games are NOT art.

[@BEKTATANIA]

What exactly is the problem with this audience, why are they laughing like that when there is no joke at all?

[@JCFoster]

They laugh because he says things that are funny.

[@oobrocks]

African Queen is great Except they used toy boats

[@TheRealCabe]

Consuming content, lots of content, all the content, makes you no more than a consumer, which is still a far cry from a creator of content.

[@pikiwiki]

Lynch

[@aaronhughes5913]

Is are a food eater does it make you a chef, if you are a film watcher does it make you a director., if you have to question either then your a blogger or an “ influencer “ and identify your self as a bellend 🙄

[@MS-in3sl]

Ebert keeps interrupting too much.

[@julianfrederick9082]

Yeah it’s called conversation

[@MS-in3sl]

@@julianfrederick9082 Ebert keeps interrupting too much, preventing conversation

[@olitomar]

He's allowed to. He's Roger fucking Ebert.

[@lialoria553]

Beautiful interview, but very stupid laughter.

[@PierLu_77]

He didn't mean to entertain the audience with funny stories though

[@unstartedartist]

this crowd is ridiculous - so annoying

[@Revelian1982]

What a bell end. 😂

[@wef666]

He is a wonderful genius but has no idea how to analyse himself.

[@jisiri]

Herzog's comments about slavery and cancel culture could only come from someone who had not been subjected to it. I am realllly disappointed in Lawrence. In Japanese and German culture, earlier in pass century, it was okay to subject others to horrors. Why did we make them pay? Cancel culture my ass STFU!

[@Vingul]

Seethe.