Thomas Mauch

Zug

Thomas Mauch, Christian Wagner

Poetic documentary about the deconstruction of a railroad track in South Germany.

Burden of Dreams

Les Blank

Candace Laughlin, Werner Herzog

The Amazon rain forest, 1979. The crew of Fitzcarraldo (1982), a film directed by German director Werner Herzog, soon finds itself with problems related to casting, tribal struggles and accidents, among many other setbacks; but nothing compared to dragging a huge steamboat up a mountain, while Herzog embraces the path of a certain madness to make his vision come true.

Mein liebster Feind

Werner Herzog

Werner Herzog, Klaus Kinski

A film that describes the love-hate relationship between Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski, the deep trust between the director and the actor, and their independently and simultaneously hatched plans to murder one another.

Heldentod - Der Tunnel und die Lüge

Britta Wauer

Rainer Albertz, Michael Baade

It was the biggest escape in the history of the Berlin Wall: in one historic night of October 1964, 57 East-Berliners try their luck through a tunnel into West Berlin. Just before the last few reach the other side, the East German border guards notice the escape and open fire. Remarkably, all the refugees and their escape agents make it out of the tunnel unscathed, but one border guard is dead: 21-year-old officer Egon Schultz.

Location Africa

Steff Gruber

Werner Herzog, Peter Berling

Making-of documentary that covers "Cobra Verde," Herzog's last film with Kinski before Kinski's death. This is the documentary that registers the behind the scenes moments of "Cobra Verde", the last project that united director Werner Herzog to actor Klaus Kinski. The notorious and infamous relation between the two filled Cinema theatres with masterpieces, but also filled pages of Cinema History with mutual declarations of both love and hate.

Werner Herzog: Filmemacher

Werner Herzog

Werner Herzog, Reinhold Messner

An autobiographical short film by Werner Herzog made in 1986. Herzog tells stories about his life and career. The film contains excerpts and commentary on several Herzog films, including Signs of Life, Heart of Glass, Fata Morgana, Aguirre, the Wrath of God, The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner, Fitzcarraldo, and the Les Blank documentary Burden of Dreams. Notable is footage of a conversation between Herzog and his mentor Lotte Eisner, a photographer. In another section, he talks with mountaineer Reinhold Messner, in which they discuss a potential film project in the Himalayas to star Klaus Kinski.

Maria von den Sternen

Thomas Mauch

Heikko Deutschmann, Robert Duessler

Katja Junge plays the title role in this West German romantic drama, directed by noted cinematographer Thomas Mauch. Maria is just as girl who can't say "Nein," thus she goes through several lovers before the plot proper gets underway. When Maria finally falls in love for real, it is with repressed astronomer Robert Duessler. Afraid to make physical contact, Duessler prefers to gaze at Maria from a distance through his telescope. Not surprisingly, the film's title translates to Mary of the Stars.