Producer

Sensationalism aside, I think Werner Herzog is a producer who has been brave enough to take risks where other production companies and film schools haven’t dared to venture. Herzog has brought his unique use of the film medium to bear on numerous genres be it drama or documentary. His aim has consistently been to seek truth where he believes he might find it with little regard for whether critics respect him or if audiences will pay to watch him. Herzog seems to believe pushing the boundaries of film, rather than adhering to the technique of cinema verite, enables the imagination to express a viewpoint that might otherwise be missed. Ignoring conventional attitudes toward film, Herzog recalls a purity of form in the way that he melds narrative and cinematography. Always inventive, Herzog pushes himself to explore new genres, irrespective of his proven strengths. In this sense, he epitomizes the auteur theory of cinema where the film is a personal expression of its creator.
Possessing enormous tenacity in getting his movies made, Herzog goes to heroic extremes to make his films even if it means driving his crew into the jungle to face near starvation and disease as happened during the making of Aguirre, Wrath of God. Herzog’s desire to bring to life grand themes is evident in every movie that he makes, regardless of whether it is a feature film or a documentary. His single-minded purposefulness and intensity is powerful for uncovering in a variety of locations and forms, the essential truths about man’s nature.