Woyzeck (1979)

Director:

Werner Herzog

Writers:

Georg Büchner (play) and
Werner Herzog (writer)

Release Date:

24 August 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Franz Woyzeck (Kinski) is a hapless, hopeless soldier, alone and powerless in society, assaulted from all sides by forces he cannot control.

Plot Keywords:

Soldier | One Word Title | Uniform | Brutality | Character Study

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Klaus Kinski	...	Woyzeck
Eva Mattes	...	Marie
Wolfgang Reichmann	...	Captain
Willy Semmelrogge	...	Doctor
Josef Bierbichler	...	Drum Major
Paul Burian	...	Andres
Volker Prechtel	...	Handwerksbursche (as Volker Prechtl)
Dieter Augustin	...	Marktschreier
Irm Hermann	...	Margret
Wolfgang Bächler	...	Jew
Rosemarie Heinikel		(as Rosy-Rosy Heinikel)
Herbert Fux	...	Unteroffizier
Thomas Mettke
Maria Mettke

Directed by
Werner Herzog

Writing credits
Georg Büchner		(play)
Werner Herzog		writer

Cinematography by
Jörg Schmidt-Reitwein

Film Editing by
Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus

Set Decoration by
Henning von Gierke

Costume Design by
Gisela Storch

Production Management
Walter Saxer	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mirko Tichacek	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Jean Fontaine	....	sound assistant
Harald Maury	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Claude Chiarini	....	still photographer
Mike Gast	....	second cinematographer

Other crew
Anja Schmidt-Zäringer	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Werner Herzog Filmproduktion
• Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF)

Distributors

• Europa Filmes (Brazil) (VHS)
• New Yorker Films (USA) (subtitled)
• Palace Video (1983) (UK) (VHS)
• Palace Video (1983) (UK) (video) (Betamax)
• Ripley's Home Video (2005) (Italy) (DVD)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2006) (Australia) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

Colombia:74 min | Hong Kong:81 min | USA:82 min

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Australia:PG | Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Telc, Czech Republic

Company:

Werner Herzog Filmproduktion

Trivia:

The entire 80-minute film was shot with only 27 cuts.

Goofs:

Continuity: As a barber, Woyzeck smears some foam on the Captain's forehead, but when the camera changes, the foam's gone.

Quotes:

Marie:[to her man during a fight] I'd rather have a knife in my body than your hand on me.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The South Bank Show: Werner Herzog (#5.25)" (1982)

Left Elbow Index

The Left Elbow Index considers seven specific elements of a film on a scale of 10 to 1, with 10 being highest, to help in deciding if a film is worth watching: acting, sets, dialogue, plot, character, continuity, and artistry. The acting in this film is superb and thereby rates a 10. Klaus Kinski is exceptional, so much so that it unlikely anyone else could do nearly as well in this role. He is simply stunning. In this regard, it is beyond Shakespearian. Werner Herzog, in his well publicized love-hate relation with Kinski, claims people like Brando are just kintergarten compared to Kinski--no faint praise, indeed. The sets is this film seem carefully planned and constructed. They are appropriate and uncontrived, whether indoors or out, therefore a 9. Dialogue rates a 10 in that it is at times appropriately ironic, profound, or normal. It all cases one listens to every word. The film is replete with dozens of unforgettable lines, like: "Death should be cheap but it should not be free" (by the pawnbroker selling the knife) and "When she got to the moon she found it was made of rotted wood" (by Marie). The Index believes that the plot is an 8, mostly because there seems to be some misleading action. Perhaps this is related to Woyzeck's mental state. It seems unlikely that a sane person could follow his trail. Character development rates a 10, whether related to major or to minor characters. Continuity (an 8) results in a consistent view of the action. For example, the role of the military, morality for the poor, the idea that the poor will work in heaven, and other ideas never escape the intellectual frame of the film. Consistent costuming lends to this. Herzog's background in history and the humanities certainly provides an easy 10 rating for artistry. His use of light and dark rivals that of the THE POTATO EATERS, the kitchen scene with Marie reminds one of GIRL SITTING BY THE WINDOW, and there are other traditional allusions. Herzog says he made the film in just eighteen days, and edited the cuts in just four days. He claims that is how it should be, that it was perfect. Perfect, of course, is an imperfect word. I'm not certain I would claim this film is perfect: however, it is exceptional enough for me to put it on my "see often" list. The Index gives it a 9.3---a bonus for dealing with the absurdity of human existence pushes it closer to a 10. I strongly recommend this film.