Drawing solely on a 40-year-old memory, Kaspar says, of his dream of people climbing a mountain in fog, "And at the top was death." Can anybody give me that line in German? I remember the words "war der Tod," but nothing before that. (I don't speak German, but know enough to pick my way through simple texts.) Alternatively, does anybody know where (online) I can access a copy of the script in German?
Thanks for any help.
Hey there,
just came across your question after watching the film. It's a long time since you asked and maybe you already have the answer. If not and if you're still interested, here's the German text:
"Da habe ich das Meer gesehen. Ich habe einen Berg gesehen und viele Menschen, die sind auf den Berg aufgestiegen wie in einer Prozession. Da war viel Nebel. Ich konnte es nicht ganz klar sehen. Und oben, da war der Tod."
"Then I saw the ocean. I saw a mountain and many people ascending the mountain like a procession. There was a lot of fog. I couldn't see it quite clearly. And at the top, there was death."
Not quite sure why he starts with "ocean" but I'm positive that that's what he's saying. Maybe it's the ocean at the foot of the mountain of life. That would be a simple but powerful image. Why Herzog would have the actors also walk d o w n the mountain in the shot escapes me.
Cheers
Herzog explains in the audio commentary that those people weren't extras, they were people who were there walking up and down Croagh Patrick mountain in Ireland. Every Sunday people make a pilgrimage up the mountain to honor St Patrick. This also explains why the people are wearing modern '70s clothes if you look carefully.
The Wikipedia entry for this film also says this is archive footage that was used for this scene.