The Cinema of Werner Herzog: Aesthetic Ecstasy and Truth

The Cinema of Werner Herzog is the first study in twenty years devoted entirely to the analysis of the work of the enfant terrible of New German Cinema. Werner Herzog is renowned for pushing the boundaries of conventional cinema - the lines between the fictional and the factual, the fantastic and the real - and this volume explores the director's continuing search for what he has described as 'ecstatic truth'. The study includes analysis of over 35 films from this prolific director, from epic works with Klaus Kinski such as Aguirre: Wrath of God (1975) and Fitzcarraldo (1982) to groundbreaking documentaries such as Fata Morgana (1972), Lessons of Darkness (1992) and Grizzly Man (2006), as well as many films such as Bells from the Deep (1993) and Wings of Hope (2000) which receive serious critical attention for the very first time. Special attention is paid to Herzog's signature style of cinematic composition, his 'romantic' influences, and his fascination with colonialism and war.