Research Project

Auteur Study - Werner Herzog

Annotated Catalogue –

 

Is Werner Herzog an obsessive filmmaker? 

Does Werner Herzog create films for; himself, others or for money? - Draft 

 

Item 1 - “Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe,” 1980

This short documentary directed by Les Blank focuses on a bet made by Herzog to his friend and independent film maker, Errol Morris. I chose this item as its’ appearance is much different to its message. This theme of “not judging a book by its’ cover” is a common presence in Werner Herzog’s life. The bet was made when Morris was lacking encouragement to finish his own film “Gates of Heaven,” and so as a form of encouragement Herzog promised Errol that if he managed to finish his film he would consume one of his very own shoes. This act of eating his own shoe symbolised his support of  his friend and more widely, independent cinema.

Item 2 - “Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes,” 1972 (Aguirre, Wrath of God)

Aguirre is also set in an extreme environment and is also in the style of a documentary. (Another trait of Herzog's work.) 

Item 3 - “Fitzcarraldo,” 1982

This film’s trivia is critical to representing Werner Herzog’s idiosyncrasy which is his actual auteur theme. Filming in such dangerous and extreme locations is one of Herzog’s techniques which he uses constantly with many of his pieces. In my presentation script, I will talk about how Herzog wanted a real ship to be lifted over a hill and that after completing this task, named himself the “Conquistador of the Useless.” This film is also key as it shows Werner’s friendship and relationship with Klaus Kinski.

Item 4 - "Grizzly Man," 2005

Grizzly Man is very useful in portraying Werner Herzog’s auteur behaviour. Again, it is filmed in another extreme environment and structures itself on an extreme narrative.

Item 5 - In Praise of Rapturous Truth 

A letter to Werner Herzog written by film critic Roger Ebert – This letter shows Herzog’s uses of non-fiction in his fictional documentaries. A contrasted effort only preserved by himself today. It also shows his auteur personality of affecting people’s lives and challenging his audiences. It is quoted that the letter is “to a man whose life and career have embodied a vision of the cinema that challenges moviegoers.” This item can be used predominantly for referencing Herzog’s truthful and realistic attitude to all his films as a director.

Interviews…

Item 6 - Interview of Werner Herzog by Jonathan Demme (2008)

http://www.movingimagesource.us/files/dialogues/3/91116_programs_transcript_pdf_304.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUFKrI8YqbM

Item 7 – Interview of Werner Herzog by Mark Kermode (BBC - 2006)

This interview is a crucial part of my research as it shows Werner Herzog being shot by an air rifle whilst talking about his career on the rooftops of LA. I will be exploring this act of violence and will be trying to find out why this occurred and to what connection this has to his film work. In the clip he shows to not take too much notice of the wound and continues with the interview confirming his apparent eccentricity. 

Item 8 - The Vulture Transcript - Werner Herzog on His Unique Career, Clowns, and Getting Punk'd by Mel Brooks by Steve Marsh

http://www.vulture.com/2014/07/werner-herzog-box-set-transcript.html

Item 9 - Auteur Study

http://kec-asa2filmmedia.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Auteur

Item 10 - Literature into Film: Theory and Practical Approaches by Linda Costanzo Cahir

An extract in this book relates closely to my research as it explores auteur theory and contextualises it. This book is useful due to connecting film to art and literature by discussing how film is studied in universities in the world today. I am able to quote from this book to explain exactly what auteur theory is and when it was introduced.

Newspaper Articles...

Item 11 - Werner Herzog on death, danger and the end of the world by Steve Rose 'The Guardian'

Documents his close to death experiences and he face death and danger without hesitation.

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/apr/14/werner-herzog-into-the-abyss

Item 12 – Loops along the River – Wide Angle – SOUNDINGS by Stuart Heaney

Dangerous locations etc.

Slumdog Millionaire

Budget -
$15 million
Being so costly, it needed its own distributor and so FOX Searchlight Pictures, distributed it to enable the movie to perform well at the box office (EU funded as well)
Stars-
Independent movies do not feature stars or celebrities as much as Hollywood productions. (Due to lack of money) Instead, they boost their movie with respected directors and critical reviews. Most independent trailers feature at least 3 reviews.
Danny Boyle
Danny Boyle is an extremely well respected director having directed many successful films over the last 20 years. Filmography includes; Trainspotting, 127 Hours and Slumdog Millionaire.
"I want my films to be life-affirming, even a film like Trainspotting (1996), which is very dark in many ways. I want people to leave the cinema feeling that something's been confirmed for them about life."
This, I believe is a viewpoint of many independent film makers/directors, contrasting with the film makers of Hollywood whose main purpose is to supply the demand for entertainment.
Genre -
Drama, Romance, Thriller
Being an independent film the director has artistic freedom over his choices of cinematography, narrative and of course genre.
Box Office -
$141,319,928

Main marketing poster - top shows awards won by film

Opening Weekend
UK 304 Screens -  £1.8 million
USA 10 Screens -  $360,000  (£220,000)
Italy 105 Screens - €250,000 (£200,000)
Production -
Fox Searchlight, Warner Bros.
The film also received funding by the EU (around €8 million)
Awards -
Oscar
Best Motion Picture
Best Director
Best Writing
Best Cinematography
Best Editing
Golden Globe
Best Motion Picture
Best Director
Best Screenplay
Best Original Score
BAFTA
Best Film
Best Screenplay
Best Cinematography
Best Editing
Best Sound
Issues surrounding Slumdog Millionaire
Child Actors still living in slums. Boyle criticised of unfair payment to the children in the film, however, stated that trust funds were set in place for them as well as their education being paid for.

How far do the American films you have studied for this topic express similar messages and values to one another?

 

As these films were over two decades apart from each other and mainly focused on the cultural life of their time, different messages were implied, however the general themes of both films are the same. Both Terrence Malick’s ‘Badlands,’ published in 1973, and Oliver Stone’s ‘Natural Born Killers,’ which was published 21 years later in 1994. The contrast between the two nevertheless, is the way their messages are exposed and given. Malick uses the subtlety of misé-en-scene to explore the themes of The American Dream and dysfunctional societies/families, whilst Stone’s use of gore, violence and massacre is given to provoke his message of the media glorifying murder in his audience.

                Both films focus on the input of the media at their times, the similarity of this was that both pairs of protagonists wanted to be remembered and famous. (As did everyone in society at the time of production.) The character of Kit was constructed from Charles Starkweather, the true serial killer on which the movie is based on, whose persona reflected that of James Dean. This theme of fame and the need for recognition is also shown in the opening sequence of NBK where after Mickey and Mallory are seen murdering the diners and waitress, Mallory tells the last survivor to remember who caused the deaths, ‘You tell them Mickey and Mallory did it,’ you hear her repeating to him. These dark, satirical messages that Stone presents so blatantly are a contrast to the ways that Malick’s light use of themes express his melancholic messages which are woven into his film.

The narrative voice of Holly throughout the film gives the audience a window into Kit’s personality towards people. His unsociable behaviour is seen not just through him, but through animals that he associates with throughout the film. This relationship of animal to human is also apparent in NBK. Oliver Stone uses snakes all the way through Natural Born Killers. It is obviously, at the very root of its implication, intended to portray Mickey and Mallory’s characters. This constant use of non-diegetic snake’s hisses, cartoon paintings, and the couples’ wedding rings is condescending and downright patronising to the viewer. There is however in all this directness a more meaningful message Stone is portraying. He wanted to ridicule the media in their persistent attempts of subliminal messages, he mocks the American government and their biased ways, but also through the consistent animal imagery there is in Natural Born Killers, he teases and torments the simple minds of society, the people who actually believe the media are his victims that he so wants to mock and this is why the film is so satirical.

Set apart from one another by over two decades, ‘Natural Born Killers’ and ‘Badlands’ may have different values in American culture and may focus on different narratives, but both films do indeed explore the impact that the media has on society and the way in which they control us.

What is the significance of setting and/or place in your chosen American Films?

From the very first shot of ‘Badlands’ we see Kit, the protagonist as a young male working as a garbage man. This particular occupation implies a very strong meaning to his persona. It suggests that right from the beginning Kit is regarded as trailer trash. On the other hand Holly is presented as being naïve and innocent living the so called ‘American Dream.’ This is portrayed through the mise-en-scene of the film with the white picket fence and the large house with a spacious garden. As Holly was living in the American Dream before Kit came along, it sparks the question of why she fell so far below of what she was before. Love for Kit would seem the obvious answer and so the importance of where she grew up and lived would therefore be meaningless and insignificant. Nonetheless, her relationship with her father was virtually non-existent and the lack of friends she had would also cause her to run away from home with the one who completed who she was as a person. In ‘Natural Born Killers,’ Mickey is seen to be working as a butcher which gives the idea of how much Mickey is linked with death, the murder of animals leads to the murders of many people. The difference in the relationships between ‘Badlands’ and ‘Natural Born Killers’ is that Kit is shown to be the immoral character with Holly acting as the innocent one, whereas, due to Mallory living with an abusive father, both Mickey and herself are shown to be the guilty protagonists.

                Genre theory states that films that fit into a specific genre will have repetition of certain themes throughout the film. This is extremely apparent with ‘Badlands’ and ‘Natural Born Killers.’ Death is the key theme which is portrayed throughout both films. From the moment we see Kit interact with the dead dog lying on the side of the road shows us of where his path may lead, as with Mickey’s appearance in Stone’s satire sitcom, where he is shown to be a butcher covered in blood. The contrast that is so prominent between NBK and Badlands are the places where each couple ends up travelling. We see Kit and Holly desert society and live in the woods just like wild animals, on the other end of the spectrum, Mickey and Mallory stay with society and yet still behave like wild animals. It is this reason why there are so many more killings in NBK than there are in Badlands due to only the mere fact of more people at Mickey’s and Mallory’s ‘pleasure.’

                I believe that Oliver Stone’s ‘Natural Born Killers’ is a way of stating that no matter where you are, what you are doing or how little it is, the media are there, they pick out the weakest and strongest and focus on their lives. For this reason, setting is not the key substance in why Mickey and Mallory behave the way they do after her father’s death. On the contrary Kit was almost destined to be immoral and ruthless due to his job and childish ways, and Holly was always to be cold and emotionless as a result of her lack of human interaction.

Do the Right Thing

Do the Right Thing is an independent film directed by Spike Lee. It covers the controversial issue of racism through the means of following a young man and his 'friends' in his Puerto Rican neighbourhood.

Budget -

$6 million - As an independent film, Do the Right Thing has a rather large budget for its production predominantly because of the size of the cast.

Stars - 

Spike Lee

Covers and portrays many controversial issues in his films including race relations, poverty, urban crime and other political issues.

Even though he is not the protagonist in the story he does play a crucial role in the movie. As well as a character in the film, he wrote, directed and produced it independently albeit with Universal Pictures acting as the movie's distributor.

Danny Aiello

Although starting his acting career at the age of 40, Danny Aiello has been made famous through a multitude of motion pictures. He has also partaken in television, music and theatrical productions.

Genre - 

Using the means of comedy to lighten this dramatical movie, Spike Lee made sure that this sub genre would attract a higher number of people to the film making it more profitable.

Box Office - 

$27,545,445

Over 4 times its budget, Do the Right Thing was an extremely successful movie with extremely good reviews. It won many awards from different film festivals mostly due to the cast and cinematography.

Production - 

Being an independent film Spike Lee was the sole producer of this movie, however he did manage to

negotiate deals with Universal Picture to distribute it across America and the United Kingdom. 

Certificate -

Because of the issues that Do the Right Thing covers as well as the nudity and violence, this film was certified as an 18 certificate.

Marketing - 

Released in 1989, Spike Lee did not have the means of social networking at his side along with many other film makers and so using this to market and advertise his movie was out of the question. Instead, he relied on the various posters that he had produced and his trailer that was advertised only in cinema screens.

British Film - Philomena

Stars -
Judi Dench, Steve Coogan
Written by Steve Coogan, directed by Stephen Frears and starring Judi Dench, Philomena is an all-round, typical British film.
Steve Coogan
Born 1965 - English actor, stand-up comedian, impressionist, writer and producer. First began his career as a comic and impressionist. 
Judi Dench
Born 1934 - English film, stage and television actress, occasional singer and author. She has become one of the best actresses in Britain since the war. 
Genre - Drama
For British Cinema, drama genres are a popular choice due to the many previous successful films in the industry's history. It is the reputation that the British public are proud of and so they would want to experience every moment of it. This includes TV Drama's like Doctor Who as well.
Box Office -
Philomena reached a domestic total of over £10,000,000
Production - 
PATHÈ Productions Ltd.

Certificate - 
This film's certificate is a 12A due to the infrequent strong language and moderate sex references throughout the movie. Although this particular certificate means that the audience for Philomena is restricted, the marketing, in the means of the trailer, portrays that the film is a more mature and sensible one for people who are much older than 12.
Marketing - 
Based on a true story, Philomena focuses on a journalist who meets a woman named Philomena Lee and together they go on an emotional journey trying to find her lost son. A large percentage of the marketing budget was spent on posters and billboards in and around multiplex cinemas which included a bright yellow background with variations of Steve Coogan and Dame Judi Dench as its main focal point. Some posters even focused on awards that the film had won at certain film festivals. e.g Venice Film Festival - Best Screenplay. Obviously, a trailer was produced and was presented to the public in cinemas, YouTube and in the comfort of their own home through the means of TV advertising. .
Awards -
Oscar
Nominated Best Motion Picture (Won by 12 Years a Slave)
Nominated Best Actress (Won by Cate Blanchett)
Nominated Best Original Score (Won by Gravity)
Golden Globe
Nominated Best Motion Picture
Nominated Best Actress
Nominated Best Screenplay
BAFTA
Best Adapted Screenplay
Nominated Best British Film (Won by Gravity)
Nominated Best Film (Won by 12 Years a Slave)
Nominated Best Leading Actress (Won by Cate Blanchett)

          

Iron Man 3

Budget -
$200 million - Due to CGI/Special Effects, Props such as 'Audi R8' etc. and modern technology. American Film Production Companies can take risks as they have multiple movies profiting all at once. If one of the film's flop, then the many others will hopefully equal that particular movie's loss.
Stars -
Roberto Downey Jr.
Started his career at age 5 and has now starred in over 70 productions both in film and TV (e.g Sherlock Holmes, Annie McBeal)
As a result of this, he is now popular with ALL age groups
Gwyneth Paltrow
Born into an already "film-successful" family (Father - producer/director, Mother - actress)
A celebrity from the very start (First film at the age of 17yrs old)
Attractive factor - Many young women look up to her as a role model
Genre -
A Superhero film with elements of romance, comedy and action.
The hybridity of the film attracts all audiences from a large age range. This increases the profit of the film making it more successful than any other film with a selective genre. The romance aspect would interest females whilst intriguing most males with the action included in the film. Accommodating these sub-genres into a predominant Superhero film helps to gain audience appeal.
Box office -
$1.25 billion + ($750 million in franchise)
Iron Man 3 profited so much that it came 5th place on the "All Time Worldwide Box Office" list. This was aided by the first instalment of Avengers Assemble being so successful as it introduced many more cinema-goers to the world of Iron Man which was released a year earlier than Iron Man 3 and also came 3rd in the ranking, only overtaken by Avatar and Titanic.
Production - 
Marvel Studios presented Iron Man 3 in association with Paramount Pictures (which has hosted all Iron Man movies in the past) but was also co-financed with a Chinese film production company "DMG Entertainment." Marvel made this decision predominantly for two reasons. It means that the film has more money to spend on the production and that DMG Entertainment along with Disney China will distribute Iron Man 3 in China which has an enormous audience resulting in enormous profits.
Certificate - 
Surprisingly, for such an action packed and violent movie, this film managed to scrape a PG certificate by the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification.) This allowed the maximum audience to see the film in cinema, allowing for the maximum profit to be gained.
Marketing - 
Any film company will undergo a series of marketing plans to spread the awareness of the specific movie in the means of posters and trailers alike. However, none had the dexterity and enormity like that of Marvels' S. H. I. E. L. D superheroes 'big' plan. If it weren't for The Avengers franchise or any of the other Marvel franchise, Iron Man 3 would not have been the success that it was. Being as it was one of the latest Marvel films, the audience would have therefore been at its biggest.
Issues surrounding Iron Man
Robert Downey Jr. was paid $50,000,000 for this movie
Although this may seem a lot of money, it was less than 5% of the total profit gained from the movie.
Awards -
Oscar
Nominated Best Achievement in Visual Effects (Won by Gravity)
BAFTA
Nominated Best Special Visual Effects (Won by Gravity)