Werner Herzog

Werner Herzog: A Guide for the Perplexed

Conversations with Paul Cronin

A comprehensive collection of interviews between filmmaker Werner Herzog and writer Paul Cronin. Herzog reflects on his prolific career, discussing his unique creative philosophy, unconventional production methods, and views on the 'ecstatic truth' of cinema. This expanded volume serves as an idiosyncratic guide to artistry and self-reliance.

Of Walking in Ice

Munich–Paris, 23 November–14 December 1974

In 1974, upon learning that his mentor Lotte Eisner was dying in Paris, Werner Herzog walked from Munich to her bedside in an act of faith. This diary documents his three-week solo journey through winter storms and the desolate landscapes of central Europe. The narrative blends physical hardship with philosophical musings and hallucinatory observations on the human spirit.

Scenarios

Aguirre, the Wrath of God; Every Man for Himself and God Against All; Land of Silence and Darkness; Fitzcarraldo

A collection of Werner Herzog's early film scripts written as 'urtexts'—vivid prose pieces rather than traditional technical screenplays. These scenarios reveal the filmmaker's original poetic visions for his most iconic works and highlight the divergence between his written imagination and the final cinematic results.

The Twilight World

A Novel

Werner Herzog reimagines the true story of Hiroo Onoda, a Japanese soldier who continued to defend a small island in the Philippines for twenty-nine years after World War II. Part historical fiction and part philosophical meditation, the narrative explores the nature of time, duty, and the boundaries between reality and illusion.

Every Man for Himself and God Against All

A Memoir

A memoir by filmmaker Werner Herzog reflecting on his life and storied career. He recounts a rustic childhood in post-war Bavaria, his early fascination with cinema, and the arduous production of legendary films such as Fitzcarraldo and Aguirre, the Wrath of God.

The Future of Truth

Legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog examines the nature of truth in an age of deepfakes and artificial intelligence. He distinguishes between 'accountant's truth'—mere facts—and the 'ecstatic truth' found through art and poetic imagination. Through a series of historical anecdotes and personal reflections, Herzog argues for an incessant striving toward meaning in a post-truth world.