Woyzeck

Plot synopsis:
The story of Woyzeck begins "in a small town, on a large, still pond." We are then introduced to Franz Woyzeck (Klaus Kinski) as he is performing a military drill in full uniform-running, pushups, etc. Immediately after, he is seen giving the Captain a shave (Wolfgang Reichmann). The Captain is thinking aloud to Woyzeck about what characterizes a "good person." He first comments that Woyzeck works too quickly, then criticizes Woyzeck for having a child without the church's blessing. Woyzeck defends himself by quoting Matthew 19:14 from The Bible. The Captain says then that he was referring to Woyzeck, not to his son. Woyzeck claims that poor people have no use for morals, and that their kind suffers in both this world and the next. "Even if poor people were to get into heaven, they would have to work the thunder." The Captain responds by telling Woyzeck that he has no virtue. Woyzeck explains that poor people have no virtue, and do only what comes naturally to them. The Captain complains about Woyzeck thinking too much and comments that he has a "hunted" disposition. He then explains that a good person does not behave as though he is being hunted. A good person is one of virtue. As the Captain stands to leave, he tells Woyzeck that he is a good person, but always seems so hunted. He dismisses him, telling him to go slowly. Woyzeck, however, leaves in a rush as usual.Next, we see him under a tree with his fellow soldier and friend, Andres (Paul Burian). The two are whittling sticks for the Captain as Woyzeck hears a noise. After looking around, he grabs Andres by the hand and the two crouch behind the tree branches. Andres asks Wozyeck if he can still hear the sound, and Woyzeck replies, "Still. Everything is still...as if the world were dead."In the next scene, Woyzeck's mistress, Marie (Eva Mattes), is watching a parade on the street below from her apartment window. As she stands there with her friend Margret (Irm Hermann) and her son, the band on the street approaches and the two women take notice of the attractive Drum Major (Josef Bierbichler). As the band passes their building, the Drum Major makes eye-contact with Marie and begins singing in an operatic style. Margret and Marie begin to discuss "what a man" he is-with the "paws of a lion." Margret comments about how the two noticed each other, saying that Marie looks at him as she looks at no other man, with glistening eyes. Marie becomes offended, and tells Margret that she should take her eyes to the Jew to have them polished, so they would glisten as well. Margret claims to be an honorable person, and claims that Marie "looks through leather pants." Moments later, Franz enters, carrying the sticks he was whittling, and Marie notices that he seems disturbed. She asks him if he was out collecting wood for the Captain again, and He explains to Marie that "it" was there again and it followed him. He tells her he cannot stay long because he must go to mass that evening. After he leaves, Marie comments that he seems absent, and Margret notices that he did not even acknowledge his son. Marie says that she believes his thoughts could drive him crazy. She then asks her son why he is so quiet, and if he is scared.Franz is then seen at the Doctor's (Willy Semmelrogge) office. The Doctor scolds Woyzeck for urinating on the wall outside "like a dog." Woyzeck explains that he was only answering the call of nature, but the Doctor tells him that mankind is free, and he has therefore committed an act of betrayal. The Doctor asks Woyzeck if he has been consistent in his peas-only diet. He tells him that they will add mutton to his diet the following week. The Doctor exclaims that they will revolutionize science, and asks Woyzeck for a urine sample. Woyzeck is unable to urinate, and begins telling of his apocalyptic visions to the Doctor. He says that a "frightful voice" spoke to him. He then says that the world will be completely dark when "nature is over." The Doctor comments on his beautiful fixed idea, and gives him a raise of an extra dime for the next week. Woyzeck stands, staring blankly into space.Next, we see Franz in his formal blue uniform with Marie and their son at the carnival. The two walk around, looking at the various attractions, Franz holding their son. The Drum Major is also their with a Lower Officer (Herbert Fux). Marie notices them as they stop near a man playing an organ grinder. She half-smiles at them, but says nothing to them or to Franz. They follow Woyzeck and his family into a show featuring a teachable horse. The man hosting the show draws their attention with a small monkey dressed as a soldier, claiming that he is the "lowest rank of soldier." He then invites them to see the horse, and the Drum Major and Lower Officer have a brief conversation about how attractive Marie is, saying that she is ideal for breeding young drum majors, as they follow her and Franz into the tent. The host presents an "astronomical horse" that can put any educated human to shame, and asks the horse a few questions. He asks first if there is a jackass present. The horse nods. He then asks the horse what 2x2 is, and the horse taps its hoof four times. Lastly, he says that the horse will tell the time, and asks the group for a watch so that he may verify the horse's guess. The Lower Officer offers his watch, and Marie asks to see it. He tells her that he is not going to give it to her, and she gets up to go to him. The Drum Major picks her up as she is walking over the benches, and lowers her down next to him, telling those around them, "This is a woman." Marie gazes into his eyes, giggling, and the next scene shows them alone in Marie's kitchen. Marie has him march around, and compliments his "bull-like chest" and "lion-like paws." She claims he is the epitome of manliness, and he tells her that she should see him on Sunday at the dance with his plume and gloves. He then begins touching her breasts while remarking what an amazing woman she is, and that they should make a brood of young drum majors together. She tells him to stop at first, but does not resist as he attempts to undress her a second time.There is an abrupt transition to the next scene in which Woyzeck is helping the Doctor with an experiment. The Doctor is attempting to demonstrate to a group of students how a cat reacts on instinct when dropped from a high window. The Doctor is lecturing a group of students on the street from a second story window, while Woyzeck is inattentively standing off to the left side of the screen. He commands Woyzeck to stand directly below the window as he throws the cat, and Woyzeck catches the cat. The cat deficates on Woyzeck, and he begins shaking uncontrollably. The Doctor has Woyzeck sit on a bench, and invites the students to feel his pulse and observe the various results of the pea-experiment as he explains the experiment to them. They notice his irregular pulse, and the Doctor tells him to wiggle his ears to demonstrate that he uses different muscle groups to do so. Woyzeck tells the doctor he is fainting, and the Doctor becomes upset. He explains to the audience that this is part of the "transformation to a donkey," and notices his hair loss.The story shifts back to Marie, who is sitting in front of her mirror with her son, admiring the shiny earrings the Drum Major gave her. She puts the boy to bed and sings him a lullaby before returning to the mirror to admire her earrings once more, saying how nice they will be for the dance. As she sits there, she compares her life to the lives of wealthier women. The boy wakes up, and Marie puts him back to sleep. Franz enters quietly and startles Marie as she is bent over the child's bed. She immediately covers her earrings, and Franz asks about them. Marie claims to have found them, and defends herself by saying that she is "only human." Franz tells her it is okay, gives her his pay for the day, and leaves. Marie says "God bless you" to him, and is left crying, claiming that she is a bad person and saying that she could stab herself.In the following scene, The Captain is walking down the sidewalk. The Doctor rushes past, and the Captain tries to stop him. The Doctor claims to be in a hurry, but the Captain tells him that good people are never in a hurry. Once the Doctor stops, the Captain explains that he feels melancholy. The Doctor observes the Captain is bloated and fat with a thick neck. He concludes that he has suffered a stroke, is already half-paralyzed, and will be a vegetable within four weeks. He will, however, make a fine subject for medical research. The Captain tells the Doctor to stop scaring him, and begins to imagine the sight of his own funeral. Just then, Woyzeck walks by, and the Captain invites him to stay and converse. He says that Woyzeck runs through life like a razor, and should be careful, lest he cut somebody. He asks Woyzeck if he has found any hair in his soup recently...particularly the hair of a drum major. Woyzeck turns pale and the Doctor begins making observations about his irregular pulse, angry facial expressions, and body tension. Woyzeck begins rambling about how cold hell is. He comments on the nice weather, saying that the sky is solid and gray. He says that it is so solid, one could drive a peg into it and hang himself from it. He finally leaves in a hurry, and the Doctor follows. The Captain is left saying that he does not like the fact that people confuse him. He says that a good man pays attention, loves his life, and has no courage. He says that he only joined the military to affirm his love of life, then walks away, laughing.When Woyzeck arrives at home, Marie is scrubbing the floor. As Franz approaches her, she freezes, and he picks her up slowly by the arm. As she stands, he looks at her, and says, "Ah, it's still you." She tells him that he is scaring her, and he begins to question her about the Drum Major. Franz asks how he touched her and where he stood. as he is doing so, he immitates the Drum Major's actions, standing closely to Marie, and groping her. He then places his head on Marie's shoulder and tells her that he wishes he were the Drum Major. The two begin to argue, and Franz raises his arm to hit Marie. She tells him she would rather have a knife in her body than be touched by his hand. Franz walks away from Marie, saying that there should be a sign on her.Franz then goes to talk with Andres. He sits nervously on a stool in an office as Andres is writing in a book. Woyzeck goes to the window, and tells Andres that they are dancing. Andres casually tells him that they are at The White Horse, and Woyzeck decides to go to Marie while she is at the dance. He arrives to find Marie dancing with the Drum Major and saying "Don't stop, don't stop." Franz thinks aloud outside, saying that they fornicate before his eyes like flies on his hand. He quickly runs away as a drunk sitting next to him wakes up. The man stands and delivers a soliloquy about a man thinking about the purpose of life. He says that everyone has been created by God. He says that soldiers were created to kill their own kind, and therefore, everything of the earth is evil. He ends by saying, "Let us piss a cross, so that a Jew dies." We then see Woyzeck running through a field, saying to himself "Don't stop, don't stop." He throws himself on the ground, listening to the earth, which is telling him to "stab dead." He slowly stands, thinking about it. He runs away, again reciting, "Don't stop, don't stop.In the next scene, Woyzeck is seated in a bar, with the Drum Major sitting behind him. The Drum Major begins bragging about how much of a man he is. He addresses Woyzeck, threatening to knock his nose into his ass. He approaches Woyzeck, insisting that he drink, because a man must drink. He grabs Woyzeck by the face, and attempts to pour the drink into his mouth. Woyzeck refuses and hits the Drum Major on the cheek. The Drum Major grabs Woyzeck, and squeezes the air out of Woyzeck before releasing him. He pats Woyzeck on the head, and sits back down. Woyzeck leaves the bar saying "One thing at a time."Woyzeck lies awake that night in the barracks, hallucinating. He hears voices in his head saying, "Don't stop, don't stop!" and "Stab, stab!" He awakens Andres, asking if he can hear it. Andres tells him to let them dance, and goes back to sleep. Franz says that he has a pain between his eyes like a knife, and Andres tells him to go back to sleep. Franz lies awake, shaking. Marie also sits awake in her kitchen reading from John 8 in the Bible. She reads the passage in which Jesus forgives the prostitute of her sins, and asks the Lord to not look at her. She comments that Franz did not come home that night or the night before.The next day, Woyzeck asks Andres if he had heard the voices the night before. After Andres says no, Woyzeck says that "She was a special girl," and hurries away and purchases a knife from a Jewish merchant. The merchant tells him that the knife is in good condition and straight. He brags that it is cheap, and would bring an "economic death." Woyzeck then returns to the barracks and gives his belongings away to Andres. He empties out a chest near his bed, giving him a ring, a crucifix, and other religious relics. Franz sits on the chest, and reads his birth certificate aloud. Andres remarks that Woyzeck does not look well, and should go to the infirmary. The scene then transitions to Marie, who sits, and tells a story to a group of children. She tells of a child who was completely alone in the world. The child went to the moon, but found it to be a piece of rotted wood. Then, the child went to the sun, which was only a wilted sunflower. The child then went to the stars, but found that they were only small golden bugs. Finally, the child returned to the earth, but found that it was only an overturned cauldron. The child sat, and began to cry. At the end of the story, Franz approaches Marie, and tells her it is time to go.The two walk down to the pond, and Marie tells Franz she wants to go home. Franz asks Marie how long they have been together, and how long she thinks their relationship will last. He then remarks that she has the breath of a whore. Marie notices how red the moon is, and also that Franz seems to be up to something. At that moment, he pulls out the knife and stabs her. She screams, and he stares into her eyes. Once she is on the ground, he continues to stab her. Franz sits, staring at her and weeping, and then panics and runs back toward the town. He runs into a bar, where he sits and talks with a woman. She sits on his lap, and he notices that she is also hot, like Marie. He tells her that she, too, will be cold in the end. Franz asks the woman to sing, and she notices the blood on his sleeve, and draws attention to it. Woyzeck claims that he cut himself, and wiped it off. The bartender notices that it covers his arm up to the elbow.Woyzeck runs away, and returns to the pond. Wanting to hide the evidence, he searches frantically for the knife. He pauses, and bends over Marie, touching her hair. He then finds the knife, and throws it into the water. Thinking it will be too easy to find, he goes into the stream to throw it into deeper water, and notices stains on his clothing. He goes even deeper into the water, trying to wash the blood off. The scene then shifts to the next day. Officials are investigating the scene of Marie's death. The film ends here, as the original was left unfinished at Georg Büchner's death.

Tags: insanity, violence, murder

Review:
I seriously need to re-watch *all* of Herzog's films, but in the flicker of memory this is my favorite.For me, the static camera-work fits the hothouse atmosphere of Buchner's play perfectly.
Klaus Kinski, as the title character, is driven insane by military routine and scientific over-analysis, and apparently the role had an irreversible effect on the already psychologically unstable actor.
Also, like his previous picture Nosferatu, it is another link between the German New Wave and the German Expressionist movement of the 1920s, as it shares that movement's obsessions with psychological analysis and social entrapment.In filming Woyzeck, Herzog creates an unusual mixture of obviously real locations and rather static, theatrical direction, with few cuts or camera moves.
Also worth a mention here are the excellent supporting performances from Eva Mattes and Josef Bierbichler, European actors who deserve far more recognition.Because of its theatrical origins Woyzeck is perhaps the one Herzog film in which the narrative takes precedence over the look of the thing.
If you find the following review annoying, and you feel as if you wasted time reading it - BY ALL MEANS - avoid seeing this film, you simply won't enjoy it.Another Herzog-Kinski masterwork, Woyzeck is one of the weirdest films of the 1970s.
Unlike some of the less surreal Herzog-Kinski collaborations, the amount of attention you pay to this film does not necessarily correspond to the amount of sense you will be able to make of it.
Such is the beauty of Herzog's artistic method - nothing is straightforward, much is hideous and beautiful, and in a peculiar metaphysical and aesthetic sense, it all makes perfect sense.Klaus Kinski gives a signature performance and the rest of the cast, though excellent, is barely noticeable with Kinski's intensity in the foreground.
Though less accessible than many of Kinski's more popular works (Aguirre, Fitzcarraldo, Nosferatu), this is nevertheless a unique and brilliant blend of one of the greatest actor-director teams of all time..
Its one of the best films by Werner Herzog that isn't as notorious as films like Fitzcarraldo(1982), Aguirre:The Wrath of God(1974), and The Mystery of Kaspar Hausar(1975).There is a murder in the movie that's worthy of the shower scene in Psycho(1960).
Klaus Kinski did such a great job at his realistic portrayal that the actor almost ended up like the main character..
This movie is far from perfect, but there are a few scenes here and there that are absolutly hair-raising : Kinski in a state of total exaustion at the begining, the scene in the woods when he starts to hear voices and the unbeleivable murder scene consisting of two shots disguised as one that last about 5 minutes in slow motion (it has to be seens to be beleived).
The Left Elbow Index considers seven specific elements of a film on a scale of 10 to 1, with 10 being highest, to help in deciding if a film is worth watching: acting, sets, dialogue, plot, character, continuity, and artistry.
I am a fan of Herzog so I'll cut to the chase---- There is a scene in the film where a cat is thrown out of a second story window--- right into the arms of Kinski--- after he catches the cat I believe he becomes hypnotized.
Kinski starts to shake and convulse (granted he is an excellent actor) but the fact that Herzog is always dealing with hypnotizing people and chickens (Heart of Glass, Even Dwarfs Started Small) i believe that he knew something about Kinski and his love for animals--- or maybe his hate for animals--- in any case he has strong feelings attached to these innocent creatures--- and I believe that Herzog exploits this to hypnotize Kinski.When I watched it (again) I did so without the subtitles, I wanted to concentrate on the imagery and the shots.
The sets are made and there is usually just one shot in a scene and from a direction that makes me feel like part of a theater audience--- granted some of these sets are on a location where there is little that needs to be done to get the imagery across.It also contains one of the best death scenes in film history..
For years, folks have gone practically insane extolling the virtues of the collaboration between director Werner Herzog and the actor Klaus Kinski.
It felt to me as a waste of time, as I had hoped to watch Woyzeck THE MOVIE, not another run of a theater play.
"Woyzeck" is a rather unusual and atypical installment in class-director Werner Herzog and class-actor Klaus Kinski's cinematic collaborations.
Other mutual accomplishments like "Aguirre, Wrath of God", "Cobra Verde" and "Fitzcarraldo" thrived on spectacular premises and featured massive set pieces, whereas "Woyzeck" is a rudimentary simple stage play adaptation relying on a solid script and another flawless acting performance by Klaus Kinski.
In the earliest scenes of the film, Woyzeck is a pitiable little servant but near the end  and during one massively disturbing sequence in particular  he's a petrifying madman with a legitimately maniacal glaze in his eyes.
Kinski was a demigod and an extraordinary acting genius, and only Werner Herzog was a competent enough director to 'exploit' him the fullest.
The use of music in a conspicuously sparing yet powerful and constructive way as a tool to drive both plot and emotion is a classic hallmark of Herzog's work that other directors would do well to employ instead of the modern tendency to add a complete musical background or pop music product placement throughout a film.
As "Beautiful a murder as you could hope for," remarks the Policeman in the final scene of Herzog's Woyzeck .
While most "murder films" focus on plot and atmosphere rather than character (i.e. Hitchcock's Psycho), Woyzeck takes us slowly and elegantly into the protagonist's psyche in such a way that the final murder scene is an explosion of cinematic poetry.
And yet Herzog's adaptation is not merely a filmed play.The acting, directing and cinematography are beautifully coordinated.
Kinsky's brilliant performance as Woyzeck makes us believe that there is no other actor that could pull off the role with such vigor and passion, and of course, in such a frighteningly convincing way.
There are a few scenes here that aren't brilliant, but this is a very good Herzog film.7/10..
Unfortunately, I saw it before I watched the film.After loving nearly every minute of the previous Herzog-Kinski collaborations, I was excited to dig my teeth into this one since I had the DVD laying around.Unfortunately, it turned out to be a step down in nearly every category.It's based on a stage play, so naturally, it feels more staged than its predecessors, and thus, it felt visually lacking for the most part.
I almost feel bad for revisiting Nosferatu in such close approximation as watching Woyzeck for the first time, because it only served to illuminate just how much worse the latter is.Kinski's presence in Aguirre and Nosferatu was extremely powerful; unforgettable, dare I say.
The final shot is of his dead wife covered up and about to be put into a coffin, with apparently some words from the play up on the screen.This has went on for too long, so I'm going to end this by saying that although this has become my least favorite feature length Herzog film, it had enough strengths for me to consider it above average, which says a lot about how much I admire Herzog as a director.
Despite being perhaps the shortest film length-wise of director Werner Herzog and actor (and one of his more frequent collaborators) Klaus Kinski, visually and thematically one may find 'Woyzeck' one of their least accessible.
Then again, some familiarity with the story/play does help, as was the case with me through the Berg opera 'Wozzeck'.Admittedly, for Herzog, 'Woyzeck' is somewhat weird and can be very disturbing and tense (like the story should be, particularly in the climactic moments), anyone looking for "entertainment" or "feel-good" (though research on the film and play should be enough to say not to expect either) are best looking elsewhere.
This is particularly true in the truly harrowing murder scene, with some of the most ingenious use of slow motion in film from personal perspective, all the climactic moments benefit but particularly this scene.The music, in mood and style, enhances the nerve-shredding intensity of the climactic scenes in particular.
The use of the lovely Marcello Adagio accompanying the murder could easily have come across as a big gimmick in how it was arranged to fit the images, however as it was once again crucial in mirroring the state of mind of the titular character it proved effective.Regarding the dialogue, there are many memorable lines that stays with one for a while, and the story has many dramatically riveting moments in particularly the final third, is rich in static but tense atmosphere and is interesting thematically.
Eva Mattes comes off best in support as sultry and feisty Marie, while Wolfgang Reichmann has fun with the Captain.Overall, not the best Herzog/Kinski film but a very good and under-appreciated one.
Franz Woyzeck (Klaus Kinski) is a hapless, hopeless soldier, alone and powerless in society, assaulted from all sides by forces he can not control.Filming for "Woyzeck" in Telč, Czechoslovakia, began just five days after work on Herzog's "Nosferatu the Vampyre" had ended.
This does not surprise me in the slightest given the huge body of work that Herzog has put out.This film really begins and ends with Klaus Kinski, one of the strangest actors who ever lived.
Klaus Kinski plays a soldier in a small German town who is constantly abused, both physically and psychologically.
Woyzeck, Herzog's interpretation of Büchner's dramatic fragment is not as similar,nor as good as his films that follow, notably Fitzcaraldo and Aguire: the wrath of God.
It is as if Herzog wanted to make a play and not a film, so faithful is he to Büchner, the dialogue has a theatrical quality, every line attempts to put the inner turmoil into words, the lack of camera movement enhancing the pervasive theatrical quality, we are almost seated in an auditorium watching from a distance as the drama unfolds.
I won't call it their best collaboration but it is a very interesting one.What really makes this movie is Klaus Kinski and his character.
Admitedly, I also felt that way at times but luckily the movie slowly but steadily manages to suck you in to its world and the main character's mind, making this movie a very compelling and effective one.I had really no idea what to expect from this movie beforehand but as it turned out it was one great and intriguing little movie to watch, greatly directed by Werner Herzog and acted out by Klaus Kinski!8/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/.
'Woyzeck' was a slow-moving but interesting film about a German soldier trying to control his nerves before he loses his mind.
Herzog cast Klaus Kinski as a conquistador in "Aguirre, the Wrath of God" and as Count Dracula in "Nosferatu the Vampyre" (probably the best adaptation of "Dracula" ever).
The next collaboration between Herzog and Kinski was "Woyzeck", based on Georg Büchner's plays.
Herzog later cast Kinski in "Fitzcarraldo" (which drew controversy for creating on the set the same conditions depicted in the movie).Anyway, a really good one..
What gives the scene a realistic touch is the fact the soldier was really kicking and physically abusing the actor because Klaus Kinski had told him to do it.
One thing positive about the direction of Werner Herzog here is he brings out the best acting in Klaus Kinski.
The main character in Woyzeck(1979) has many things in common with other main characters from the Herzog-Kinski collaborations.
Sets the mood and behavior for the main character played by Klaus Kinski.
One of the best musical scores in a Werner Herzog feature film.
the most heart-wrenching piece of film Herzog/Kinski did (or, at least, that I have seen yet).
Don't get me wrong, I thought Aguirre was a great movie, Fitzcarraldo was a wildly mad genius of an epic, and Nosferatu was a very respectable take on the legend, but watching Woyzeck is like getting an immense, harsh, and assuredly charged rush of poetic madness from a filmmaker and star who know exactly what they're doing.
But here is a case where the sense of forbidding fatalism is at an incredible high, and looking at Klaus Kinski's face at times is like looking into the soul of a truly tortured, insane form of a human being.What's interesting, and even quite tragic to an extent, in seeing the tale of Woyzeck is that he is basically an underling, who is fed a strict diet of peas and the occasional mutton, and is totally subservient to his fairly whacked out superior officers.
I didn't even notice how few cuts there are supposed to be (less than 30), but it gives the audience much more time to really feel and be enveloped by these characters, particularly Woyzeck and Marie.There have already been some great, powerhouse scenes- some with the tension stacked up incredibly, like when Woyzeck is stuck without an explanation, aside from crazy philosophy, as to why he urinated on a wall, or when Woyzeck makes the full-on accusation to Marie about the affair, with full Kinski-body-gyrations included- by the time the climax comes around.
At first we see the actual murder happen, with the film's main music title playing over slow-motion and Kinski with a face that would make Joe Pesci cringe.
But the power of director's aesthetic choice, which is spellbinding and fully dramatic, and Kinski's performance make it something comparable to Dreyer and Falconetti in Joan of Arc.While I would have recommended Woyzeck anyway, especially if you're just getting into Herzog's work, this scene alone makes it almost mandatory for many movie-buffs to seek it out.
Compared with the other films they made together in the Andes, the Amazon and West Africa this Herzog/Kinski version of 'Woyzeck' seems very small-scale indeed.
This ability to become new with every iteration has caused the work to become one of the most performed German plays ever and, as it is here from Werner Herzog, an often confusing yet captivating piece of art.Shot very theatrically, from the use of multiple static setupsdon't be surprised to view a scene from an unmoving position while the actors come close to the lens, distorting somewhat, before they move back into frameto the bombastic acting.
Even from the opening credits, watching Kinski's Woyzeck do push-ups while constantly being kicked for way too long, we experience some fantastic acting as a result.
I loved it and from what I have seen is not one of the most accessible films of Werner Herzog however I recommend Woyzeck to any film lover out there..
Such is the case in Werner Herzog's 1979 film Woyzeck, starring his friend and bane Klaus Kinski.
Not surprisingly, for a stagey film, the tale is claustrophobic, and was shot in just eighteen days, in 1978, in Czechoslovakia, less than a week after Herzog wrapped on his film Nosferatu, Phantom Of The Night, the remake of the F.W. Murnau silent film horror classic.The tale is a simple one, about a German soldier, Friedrich Johann Franz Woyzeck (Kinski), in the early 19th Century, who slowly goes mad and kills his faithless lover Marie (Eva Mattes), possibly an ex-prostitute, who is having sex with another military man.
Kinski's performance, as usual, is riveting, and even though nowhere near as mesmerizing as his titanic performance in Aguirre: The Wrath Of God, it is nonetheless brilliant.The most commented upon scene is the one where Woyzeck murders his lover near a pond.
It's the kind of odd thing that happens in reality that rarely occurs in film, and Kinski's portrayal of his reaction to it is every bit as wonderful as the murder scene.
Woyzeck is probably the most obscure of the celebrated Werner Herzog / Klaus Kinski collaborations.
All of this contributes to Woyzeck's ultimate descent into violent madness.The film is quite theatrical with most scenes consisting of single unbroken takes that last for several minutes at a time with no edits.
Nevertheless, Woyzeck is yet another impressive Herzog/Kinski collaboration and should offer something interesting to fans of either of these two men..
It is probably the most known version of the famous Georg Büchner play and the reason is probably that it was Werner Herzog who adapted Büchner's work for his movie here.
Kinski is always perfect for aggressive and violent characters and people may say Woyzeck was too nice early on here, but I don't think that.
Woyzeck was the third collaboration between filmmaker Werner Herzog and actor Klaus Kinski, following their initial brushes with madness on the masterpiece Aguirre, Wrath of God and their later re-imagining of Murnau's Nosferatu.
Throughout the film, Herzog has his camera remain fixed to Kinski's Woyzeck as he stalks around the bars, barbers and town-square, with a look of absolute torture etched into his face.
Here, Herzog is foreshadowing a later scene in the film, as well as visually illustrating the emotional distance and isolation that Woyzeck has to the other men in the bar.
In the second bar scene, which takes place after the film's most devastating sequence, a bloody and beleaguered Woyzeck goes to the bar in a state of emotional abandon, and is surrounded by a large group of patrons who are suspicious of the red stains on his uniform.Here, Herzog has the supporting-actors stand like statues, composed as if posing for a painting, whilst Kinski (all pent up emotion and staring eyes...
For me, Woyzeck is one of Herzog's greatest cinematic experiments, as relevant as Aguirre, Kasper Hauser and Stroszeck, and is easily the best performance Kinski has ever delivered.
Later I saw "Nosferatu", wich was way too conventional a vampire film to really interest me.Now here's "Woyzeck", another Herzog movie and another disappointment.
And the Klaus Kinski acting wich is always superb and almost unbelievable in all these films.SAY NO MORE