My Take
Werner Herzog is one of those filmmakers who makes you wonder if cinema was actually invented just for him. I've watched Aguirre, the Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo back to back before, and both times I came away convinced that this man operates on a completely different plane of obsession than any other director alive. His whole thing — dragging a real steamship over a real hill, working with Klaus Kinski when literally anyone else would have walked away — that's not moviemaking bravado, that's a genuine philosophy that the impossible is the only thing worth filming. His documentaries are just as unhinged in the best way; Grizzly Man remains one of the most quietly devastating films I've ever seen. Eighty-plus years old and he's still out there making things. The European Film Academy gave him a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019, and honestly that just scratches the surface of what he's contributed.
Overview
Werner Herzog (German: [ˈvɛʁnɐ ˈhɛʁtsoːk]; né Stipetić; born 5 September 1942) is a German filmmaker, actor, opera director, author and documentarian. Regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema, his films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with unusual talents in obscure fields, or individuals in conflict with nature.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Werner Herzog
- Name (Japanese)
- ヴェルナー・ヘルツォーク
- Reading
- ゔぇるなー・へるつぉーく
- Born
- September 5, 1942 (age 83)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Virgo / Horse
- Origin
- Munich, Upper Bavaria, Germany
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- film director / film producer / screenwriter / film editor / film actor
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
Awards & achievements
- 2012 Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
- Directors Guild of America Award
- 2000 Bayerischer Poetentaler
- 1979 Rauriser Literaturpreis
- 2019 European Film Academy Lifetime Achievement Award
- 2005 Alfred P. Sloan Prize
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.