Herzog on Herzog Book

If you are hoping to gain some deep insight into the process by which famous directors plan their storyboards and ensure that they have adequate coverage of their angles from this book, save your money and buy a different one.

If you want to discover more about Herzog's private live, you should look elsewhere.

If though, like me, you are captivated by the power of Herzog's films, the poetry of his landscapes, the direct and fearless assault he makes on subjects as diverse as the aftermath of the Gulf War, Sky-Fliers, Death Row, the McMurdo research station, and want to know a more about his ideas and his work, then this book is invaluable.

This book is an expanded and revised version of Cronin's earlier "Herzog on Herzog" (Faber & Faber, 2003). It consists of a series of interviews between Cronin and Herzog, edited by them both, that took place over the 10 years to 2012. Cronin prompts; Herzog explains, elucidates, reformulates, expounds, recaps and explains again.

Herzog's philosophy is clearly stated throughout. Simply put, he believes that real life is everything, and it is through intimate and committed contact with real life that we discover true understanding and meaning.

The quote from its pages that brought me to this book was: "The best advice I can offer to those heading into the world of film is not to wait for the system to finance your projects and for others to decide your fate. If you can't afford to make a million-dollar film, raise $10,000 and produce it yourself. That's all you need to make a feature film these days. Beware of useless, bottom-rung secretarial jobs in film-production companies. Instead, so long as you are able-bodied, head out to where the real world is. Roll up your sleeves and work as a bouncer in a sex club or a warden in a lunatic asylum or a machine operator in a slaughterhouse. Drive a taxi for six months and you'll have enough money to make a film. Walk on foot, learn languages and a craft or trade that has nothing to do with cinema."

There is a vast amount of fascinating material in this book about the adventures he endured making his films, but what left the most indelible impression on me was rather the strength of his passion for all the incredible situations and people that he has noticed over the years. Situations and people from the real world that a thousand others could have noticed, but didn't. Situations and people for which he had the vision and perseverance to capture on film and to transform with his unique insight and provide us with understanding and meaning through his films.

An essential book for anyone who lives, or wishes to live, in the real world.