“Every man for himself, and God against all”: the march of an enthusiast

Great directors are full of eccentrics and originals, but Werner Herzog is one of a kind. On the eve of the ninth decade, he is still cheerful, fresh, active. And even the book of memoirs is cut off in the middle of a sentence, obviously believing that summing up is premature. Winner of Cannes, Venice, Berlin and other various film awards, Herzog continues to actively shoot today, and also acts in film himself – he plays colorful villains in a big Hollywood movie. He was recently featured in the Tom Cruise action movie Jack Reacher and in the Star Wars series The Mandalorian. Those who watch cartoons in the original have probably heard Herzog’s recognizable voice with a strong German accent – in The Penguins of Madagascar, The Simpsons and Rick and Morty.

Of course, over the years, Herzog has become somewhat calmer – at least, he delivers wild headlines to the press less and less. 40-50 years ago everything was different. For example, he once argued with his friend, the great documentarian Errol Morris, who had been working on his debut film Heaven’s Gate (1978) for years, that if he did finish it, Herzog would dine on a shoe. Morris filmed and Herzog had lunch. The process was documented in the short Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe (1980).