Low rating? - Woyzeck (1979) Discussion

Um, it's not that low. It's also not a good movie.

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I agree that 7.2 (its rating as of this date) is not low. But not a good movie? You are in disagreement with practically everyone who knows anything. That's a peculiar statement to make with no reasoning to back it up, considering that, by all other opinions, it's a modern classic.

Go argue with these guys:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080149/externalreviews

"Mr. Herzog is a poet for whom neither Marx nor Freud supplies all the answers. He cherishes as well as guards the mystery at the heart of Woyzeck."
- Vincent Canby, NY Times

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[–] kkhsiivonen 15 years ago

I would definately rate it higher, but I can see how alot of people wouldn't like it that much. Afterall you can't expect people who have voted Dark Knight and Gladiator among best films ever, to actually understand a good movie when they see it :-)

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[–] theconservativeliberal 14 years ago

you, sir, are an ass.

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[–] monamask 8 years ago

But it's true.

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[–] trvolk 14 years ago

As a German Lit major, I read Woyzeck through three times and made countless references to various sections during class and for my junior thesis. Herzog gutted the play and its main character, excising many of Woyzeck's lines and much of what made Buechner's play fragment so influential on future expressionists.

I gave it a 6, and not just for its butchery of the original play. Woyzeck by far is the worst of the Kinski/Herzog collaborations. Not only is Kinksi's portrayal one-dimensional, the acting of the entire cast ranges from sterotypical to caricature. Was Herzog ever present on the set?

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[–] gilbert_gumphrey 14 years ago

i would only give it a 5. i bought the Herzog/Kinski DVD set and so far, this is the only disappointing one i've seen. it just wasn't...i dunno, ALIVE, like the other ones were. i never had the feeling that Herzog urgently and passionatley HAD to tell this story. in fact, it's a rather dull story, shot with little excitement or energy. i was bored.
the murder scene and Kinski, though, were fantastic.
cheers
KZ

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[–] steerpike_2002 14 years ago

I would agree with the comment above. I saw "Woyzeck" for the first time yesterday, and it is the last of the 5 Herzog/Kinski collaborations that I've seen - all within the last 8 or 9 days. Unlike all of the other films, this one seemed to be largely going through the motions. I didn't feel like I was really given the chance to get to know any of the major characters, and Woyzeck's madness was something that wasn't portrayed nearly enough. That being said, some of the scenes were remarkable, as I've come to expect from Herzog. The first scene with the doctor stood out for me, as did the murder scene, naturally. Other scenes simply fell flat, including both scenes with Andres, and the whole definitely did not feel like more than the sum of its parts. That's why I gave this film 6/10

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[–] don-lope-de-aguirre 12 years ago

7.1 is rather low for this film (it is imo better than "Fitzcarraldo" and "Cobra Verde") but I can surely understand it's rating on the imdb.

The film is more like a play than the cinemathic Aguirre or Fitzcarraldo with their rain forrst location.
And I think the film suffers the most through dubbing or subtitles.

Kinski gives his best lead role and Buechner's language/dialogue is awesome.

For me it's easily a 9 or 10.

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[–] 12 years ago

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[–] r-taylor13-848-416837 12 years ago

I agree, I looked at its score before watching the film, and I ended up being astounded by it, as I am with basically every Herzog film. It should definitely not be a lowly seven, I end up giving them all about a nine or ten, and this was no exception.

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[–] snookafly2000 10 years ago

Kinski and Mattes both do an excellent job, especially during the second half of the film. My big issues were with the dialogue and "jumps." If you are going to make a film using poetic theater dialogue, you can't gut portions said dialogue and retain the same level of meaning or understanding.

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