Instant Entertainment: Werner Herzog Edition
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<p>Legendary German filmmaker Werner Herzog's career has taken him from directing Klaus Kinski in the jungles of Peru (<em>Fitzcarraldo</em>) to following scientists researching the frozen Antarctic tundra (<em>Encounters At The End Of The World</em>). He's known for an almost manic intensity and a keen eye for stunning imagery, and he imbues every one of his films with a deeply personal touch. We <a href="http://gothamist.com/2008/06/17/werner_herzog_director.php">interviewed</a> him a few years back, but were inspired to revisit his career after catching a screening of his latest documentary, <em><a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/cave_of_forgotten_dreams/">Cave of Forgotten Dreams</a></em> last week. Netflix Instant has a lot of Herzog available at the moment, and you can click through for our picks: one of his own, plus a documentary about the director himself that sheds some light on the man behind the madness.</p><p>We also hear reports of YouTube <a href="http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/20110425/movies-youve-heard-of-coming-to-youtube-will-you-rent-them/">launching</a> a video rental service, so soon there might be even more places for you get your Herzog fix. </p>
Encounters At The End Of The World (available here), in which Herzog layers up and follows a team of researchers at the National Science Foundation's polar headquarters on Ross Island, Antarctica. Few filmmakers have ever been able to catch footage like thisâthink remote ice tunnels, underwater caves, and giant Arctic volcanoes. It's a quietly haunting, gorgeously shot glimpse into one of the most mysterious places on Earth.
Burden of Dreams (available here) is not actually a Herzog filmâit's a documentary about Herzog from filmmaker Les Blank, who accompanied Herzog and his crew deep into the Amazon during the chaos-filled filming of Herzog's epic Fitzcarraldo. It paints a fascinating portrait of a man obsessed with "shooting things no one has ever seen," at any cost, no matter how extreme (i.e., hiring Amazonian natives to pull of 320-ton steamship over a small mountain).