The stylized imagination in Werner Herzog's documentary cinema

Authors

  • Jéssica Frazão USP/UNIVILLE

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33871/19805071.2024.30.1.8812

Keywords:

Werner Herzog, Imagination, Ecstatic Truth, Documentary Film

Abstract

This research aims to analyze how the German director Werner Herzog uses imagination to compose his documentary mise-en-scène to build moments of sublimity in his narrative, called Ecstatic Truth. Methodologically, we use the picture and sound approach (iconic analysis), systematized by Aumont and Marie (2004) and applied to the documentaries The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner (1974) and The Dark Glow of the Mountains (1984). In both films, the protagonists engage in adventure sports that emphasize the importance of physical movement, a significant element in Herzog's narrative. From this debate, imaginative forms emerge in Herzog with constant use of rehearsal, repetition, and self-reflection, characteristics used for his characters to reach the Ecstatic Truth.

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References

AMES, Eric; HERZOG, Werner. Werner Herzog: Interviews. Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 2014.

AMES, Eric. Ferocious Reality: Documentary according to Werner Herzog. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2012.

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COOK, Roger. The Ironic Ecstasy of Werner Herzog: Embodied Vision in The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner. In: PRAGER, Brad. (Org). A Companion to Werner Herzog. Chichester (UK): Willey Blackwell, 2012.

CRONIN, Paul; HERZOG, Werner. Werner Herzog - A Guide for the Perplexed: Conversations with Paul Cronin. London: Faber & Faber, 2014.

DUERFAHRD, Lance. Tantrum Love: The Fiendship of Klaus Kinski and Werner Herzog. In: PRAGER, Brad. (Org). A Companion to Werner Herzog. Chichester (UK): Willey Blackwell, 2012.

FRAZÃO, Jéssica. A representação da realidade no cinema documentário: Verdade e Imaginação pelos cineastas do Novo Cinema Alemão. In: PENAFRIA, Manuela; et al. Revisitar a Teoria do Cinema. Teoria dos Cineastas. Vol. 3. Covilhã: Labcom, 2017.

HERZOG, Werner. The Minnesota Declaration - Truth and fact in documentary cinema "LESSONS OF DARKNESS" (1999). Disponível em: < https://www.wernerherzog.com/text-by-werner-herzog.html >. Acesso em: 12 fev. 2024.

HERZOG, Werner. Conquista do inútil. Trad. Renata Dias Mundt, São Paulo: Martins Fontes, 2013.

HERZOG, Werner. Caminhando no gelo. Trad. Lúcia Nagib. Rio de Janeiro: Paz e Terra, 1982.

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MACKENZIE, Scott. Film Manifestos and Global Cinema Cultures: a Critical Anthology. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2014.

NAGIB, Lúcia. Werner Herzog: o cinema como realidade. São Paulo, Estação Liberdade: 1991.

PEUCKER, Brigitte. Herzog and auteurism: Performing authenticity. In: PRAGER, Brad. (Org). A Companion to Werner Herzog. Chichester (UK): Willey Blackwell, 2012.

PRAGER, Brad. The cinema of Werner Herzog: aesthetic ecstasy and truth. London: Wallflower press, 2007.

WALLER, Gregory A. “The Great Ecstasy of the Woodsculptor Steiner": Herzog and the "Stylized" Documentary. Film Criticism. Vol. 5, No. 1. Fall, 1980.

WAUGH, Thomas. Acting to play oneself: Notes on performance in documentary. In: Right to Play Oneself: Looking Back on Documentary Film. Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press, 2011.

Referências audiovisuais

Fitzcarraldo, direção: Werner Herzog, Alemanha Ocidental, 1982.

Gasherbrum – A montanha luminosa, direção: Werner Herzog, Alemanha, 1984.

Meu melhor inimigo, direção: Werner Herzog, Alemanha, 1999.

O grande êxtase do Entalhador Steiner, direção: Werner Herzog, Alemanha, 1974.

O pequeno Dieter precisa voar, direção: Werner Herzog, Alemanha,1997.

Sinais de vida, direção: Werner Herzog, Alemanha Ocidental,1968.

Tokyo-Ga, direção: Wim Wenders, Alemanha Ocidental, Estados Unidos, 1985.

Visita ao inferno, direção: Werner Herzog, Áustria e Reino Unido, 2016.

Descrição da imagem de capa: Cartaz vertical, com imagem produzida a partir de colagens em tons azuis e dourados. Na imagem, uma mulher, vestindo uma túnica que cobre sua boca e nariz, está com a mão direita posicionada na frente do tronco. Ela segura entre os dedos da mão um elemento abstrato, que possui textura que se assemelha a linhas de costura. Do lado superior esquerdo do cartaz, em letras brancas sobre a imagem, se lê “Revista Científica da Faculdade de Artes do Paraná – jan. / jul. 2024”; ainda do lado esquerdo, mas ocupando toda a lateral da imagem, em letras brancas e amarelas, “Dossiê: História e Imaginação nas Artes”. Fim da Descrição.

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Published

2024-07-01

How to Cite

FRAZÃO, Jéssica. The stylized imagination in Werner Herzog’s documentary cinema. Revista Cientí­fica/FAP, Curitiba, v. 30, n. 1, p. 239–253, 2024. DOI: 10.33871/19805071.2024.30.1.8812. Disponível em: https://periodicos.unespar.edu.br/revistacientifica/article/view/8812. Acesso em: 21 nov. 2024.

Issue

Vol. 30 No. 1 (2024): History and Imagination in the Arts

Section

Dossiê Temático

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