Julianes Sturz in den Dschungel (TV Movie 1999) ⭐ 7.5 | Documentary, Adventure, Biography (original) (raw)

To understand the genius of Werner Herzog, one need look no further than this quirky documentary.

By sheer stroke of luck, I attended a talk by Beat Presser (a photographer collaborator of Herzog's in the seminal Fitzcarraldo). The talk was entitled, "Werner At Work", where we'd see Beat's exclusive footage of Herzog during his filming sessions of Cobra Verde, Invincible and yes, Wings of Hope.

During one presentation, we saw the footage Beat shot of Herzog filming the "Wings of hope" woman. She was seen wandering around the Zoology Museum where she worked. The woman merely she strolled along the shelves of animal specimens. She's also trying her earnest best to follow the subtle nudges from the man behind the camera. In Beat's footage, those shots were actually very matter of fact. Its just the woman, trailed by Herzog, a camera man and a sound guy. But Herzog's midas touch (read: embellishment) transformed those shot footage into a re-enactment of the woman's "dream sequence' in the final take of Wings of Hope. Wow. I couldn't stop laughing.

Herzog is such a zany genius. I love the guy. Love him!!!