MovieChat Forums > The Wild Blue Yonder (2007) Discussion > One of Herzog's Failures

One of Herzog's Failures

posted 17 years ago by Edward_de_Vere
18 replies | jump to latest

I'm normally an admirer of Herzog's work (if it weren't for the terrible dubbing, "Aguirre" would probably rank as one of my favorite movies). All of his films have their flaws, many of them tend to drag or have obvious plot holes, but most are worth watching.

This one seems to be an exception. Some of the Antarctic submarine footage was interesting, the music added some atmosphere, and Brad Dourif could ham it up and be amusing in moments, but that's about it. That's not enough to make a "science fiction fantasy" work at any level. The worst part of the movie was the interminable stock footage from the space shuttle. Perhaps the film would have worked better as a short, since anything of substance could have been condensed down to a half hour.

[–] bcannondesign 17 years ago

Maybe if you accepted it as an allegory you would find less flaws.

[–] mk_82 17 years ago

I wouldn't call this a failure, but I agree that the footage of the astronauts gets very tedious. It's simply not very interesting in my opinion. The underwater arctic footage is pretty amazing stuff, though.

[–] taurusred 17 years ago

I agree completely. I was literally falling asleep during that astronaut footage. It was cool, but it just went on and on and freaking ON and ON to the point of silliness.

[–] Edward_de_Vere 17 years ago

Even at that level, the space shuttle footage could have been shortened by at least fourfold without any loss of content.

As I said, I normally admire Herzog's artistry, but that doesn't mean that everything he produces is a flawless masterpiece. This one should have spent a lot more time in the editing room.

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] Edward_de_Vere 17 years ago

Four hour footage of paint drying or a dish of water freezing could also be used as a metaphor for the tedium of life, but it wouldn't make for much of a cinematic experience.

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] rootbeerking12 17 years ago

I would hardly compare dishwashing or paint drying to The Wild Blue Yonder...or any of Herzog's films for that matter

This is easily one of the most fascinating mvoies I've ever seen. Sure it may seem tedious to some folks, possibly boring. To me however, it was quite the opposite. I wanted so much more when it ended. Herzog's brilliance never ceases to amaze me. The whole project was so innovative: combining space travel footage with underwater footage, real life with fantasy. It's truly remarkable. People criticize his films for seeming unfinished and raw. Almost hollow. That's why I think his films are so painfully real. Life is unfinished and raw and hollow and "edited poorly."

It's a cautionary film, really.

[–] Hobgoblin5271 17 years ago

I had really high hopes for this film, since I found "Lessons of Darkness" to be such a great experience. My hope was that he would capitalize upon the strengths of "Lessons" (and "Fata Morgana" for that matter) to make a really phenomenal film. I'm not sure what happened, but this is the weakest Herzog film I've ever seen. I actually did fall asleep during the NASA footage, only to re-awaken, and find the footage still playing...

Yawn.

[–] rootbeerking12 17 years ago

Understandable to some extent I suppose...

Brad Dourif is laughable at times.

Though I truly admire Herzog's technique, especially in this film. For such a cluttered personality, his films are always so tight and strong.

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] Edward_de_Vere 17 years ago

Kinski was dubbed in both German and English (there are some threads about this on the messageboard for "Aguirre", and I think it says so in the trivia).

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] eve_campbell 16 years ago

"I don't care what the allegories are"

...that basically sums it up, no need to quote any other genius comments. Go watch "American Pie" or "americas craziest car chases".
Funny though how people come to a message board to comment on something they didnt even understand in the first place (and are dumb enough to even admit it!)
Who do you think comes here to read this kind of opinion?
It`s like going to a physics forum and saying:"I dont care what Einstein found out, the math is just too boring for me!" Do you think anyone would care about that comment? hahaha, so utterly useless, it`s actually almost genius again!

[–] no1ninja 16 years ago

The funny thing is one can appreciate Einstein's work without doing his math.

Even Einstein hated the math.

You are so much smarter than other people eve_campbell, go to the mirror and take a bow... the fools you are surrounded by.

[–] Hobgoblin5271 16 years ago

Wow..that was kind of harsh. Answer one thing, eve_campbell, can you *honestly* say that this movie is Herzog's best? One of his strongest? How about in the top 10? If so you haven't seen many Herzog films. Nobody on this thread was slamming Werner, in fact I think you will find much adoration for the man as a film maker and artist. All folks were saying is that this particular film did not work. You don't have to insult people's intelligence for expressing a commonly shared opinion (and let's face it, the majority of opinions about this film are in line with this thread.)

It doesn't detract from Herzog's genius to produce a stinker. And it shouldn't relegate me to watching "americas craziest car chases" or whatever you called it because I don't think this film is as good as Stroszek, Herz aus Glas, or any of the other wonderful pieces of art this man has made.

[–] jaimie_burguoix 16 years ago

Well I loved the film, I think it was brilliant
and i don't suppose it was really intended to be a sci fi fantasy
I got bored at various times; well not actually bored, more like not-vigilante, in a state of amost-sleep-dream - and I guess that's part of the experience, the alienation inherant to travel through space, the pointlessness of the whole story, I think it worked pretty well
The footage was beautiful, not only the submarine images but also the astronauts, the long takes were beautiful, alienating yes but that was part of it i guess
also the fact that it proved no point at all, brad dourif was brilliant
well definitely weird but also strangely awesome and funny
i saw it along with 'la jetee', nice experience

[–] trcer1 13 years ago

This was an epic failure. An artistic existential attempt that failed miserably.