Herz aus Glas

  • 94'
  • West Germany
  • 1976
It may be strange to conclude that this film by Werner Herzog is an outsider in his imposing oeuvre, because is not every Herzog film unique? But Herz aus Glas (1976) is really very special - ­ Herzog himself has stated that he also doesn’t exactly know how to describe this work, which is filled with sombre images borrowed from German Romanticism. He shot his variation on the genre of the German Heimatfilm on location in Bavaria, a few miles from his birthplace. The story concerns a village community where the chief glass-blower dies at the end of the nineteenth century and takes a secret to the grave: how to make ruby-red glass. The clairvoyant Hias has to find out the secret. When this seer announces the Apocalypse, the inhabitants panic. Herzog hypnotised most of his actors - with the exception of Josef Bierbichler (Hias) - before he shot their scenes.
  • 94'
  • West Germany
  • 1976
Director
Werner Herzog
Country of production
West Germany
Year
1976
Festival Edition
IFFR 2011
Length
94'
Medium
35mm
International title
Heart of Glass
Language
German
Producer
Werner Herzog
Production Company
Werner Herzog Film Gmbh
Sales
Werner Herzog Film Gmbh
Screenplay
Herbert Achternbusch, Werner Herzog
Cinematography
Jörg Schmidt-Reitwein
Editor
Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus
Production Design
Cornelius Siegel, Henning von Gierke
Sound Design
Haymo Heyder, Peter van Anft
Music
Popol Vuh
Cast
Josef Bierbichler, Stefan Güttler
Director
Werner Herzog
Country of production
West Germany
Year
1976
Festival Edition
IFFR 2011
Length
94'
Medium
35mm
International title
Heart of Glass
Language
German
Producer
Werner Herzog
Production Company
Werner Herzog Film Gmbh
Sales
Werner Herzog Film Gmbh
Screenplay
Herbert Achternbusch, Werner Herzog
Cinematography
Jörg Schmidt-Reitwein
Editor
Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus
Production Design
Cornelius Siegel, Henning von Gierke
Sound Design
Haymo Heyder, Peter van Anft
Music
Popol Vuh
Cast
Josef Bierbichler, Stefan Güttler