Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010)

Director:

Werner Herzog

Writer:

Werner Herzog (written by)
(more)

Release Date:

25 March 2011 (Ireland)

Genre:

Documentary | History

Plot:

Werner Herzog gains exclusive access to film inside the Chauvet caves of Southern France, capturing the oldest known pictorial creations of humankind in their astonishing natural setting.

Plot Keywords:

Cave | Southern France | France | Narrated By Director | Archaeology

Awards:

8 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Werner Herzog	...	Himself / Narrator
Jean Clottes	...	Himself
Julien Monney	...	Himself
Jean-Michel Geneste	...	Himself
Michel Philippe	...	Himself
Gilles Tosello	...	Himself
Carole Fritz	...	Herself
Dominique Baffier	...	Herself
Valerie Feruglio	...	Herself
Nicholas Conard	...	Himself
Maria Malina	...	Herself
Wulf Hein	...	Himself
Maurice Maurin	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Charles Fathy	...	Interpreter (voice) (uncredited)
Volker Schlöndorff	...	Narrator (French version) (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Werner Herzog

Writing credits
Werner Herzog		(written by)
Judith Thurman		article (uncredited)

Produced by
Andrea Anderson	....	associate producer
Amy Briamonte	....	co-producer
Adrienne Ciuffo	....	producer
Phil Fairclough	....	co-producer
Dave Harding	....	executive producer: Creative Differences
Julian Hobbs	....	executive producer: History Films (as Julian P. Hobbs)
David McKillop	....	executive producer: History Films
Erik Nelson	....	producer
Molly Thompson	....	executive producer: History Films
Judith Thurman	....	co-producer
Alain Zenou	....	associate producer
Nicolas Zunino	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Ernst Reijseger

Cinematography by
Peter Zeitlinger		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Joe Bini
Maya Hawke

Production Management
Randall M. Boyd	....	supervising producer: post-production (as Randall Boyd)
Matteo Rivoli	....	unit manager

Sound Department
Michael Klinger	....	sound mixer: Post-production (as Mike Klinger)
Eric Spitzer	....	sound

Visual Effects by
Kaur Kallas	....	3d compositor
Van Ling	....	motion graphics
Cabinet Perazio	....	3d animator
José Péral	....	3d animator
James Stewart	....	3d mastering: Geneva Film Co.
Serge Valcke	....	3d animator
Eduard Vaseloo	....	3d compositor (as Eduard Vaselo)
Brad Wensley	....	artist: Quantel Pablo
Kennedy Zielke	....	3d mastering: Geneva Film Co.

Camera and Electrical Department
Dave Blackman	....	stereoscopic 3d consultant: Espirit Film
Kaspar Kallas	....	supervisor: 3D-system-design
Erik Söllner	....	assistant camera (as Erik Soellner)
Marc Valesella	....	still photographer
Chris Watts	....	stereographer
Jonathan Watts	....	3d rigs: British Technical Films

Editorial Department
Alex Bushe	....	assistant editor
Colin Hatton	....	post-production coordinator

Music Department
Sean Bergin	....	musician: flute
Harmen Fraanje	....	musician: organ, piano
Nederlands Kamerkoor	....	musicians
Ernst Reijseger	....	musician: violoncello
Stefan Winter	....	music producer
Peter Fuchs	....	score mixer (uncredited)

Other crew
Josh Braun	....	advisor: domestic distribution
Jérémy Coste	....	production assistant
Amy Grey	....	publicist: Dish Communications
Bill Hayes	....	accountant
Tabitha Jackson	....	commissioning editor: Channel 4
Hong La	....	accountant
Ashley Marriner	....	publicist: Dish Communications (as Asley Mariner)
Hamish Mykura	....	commissioning editor: Channel 4
David Perrin	....	production assistant
Cynthia Shapiro	....	business affairs
Marc H. Simon	....	distribution legal (uncredited)

Thanks
Dominique Baffier	....	special thanks
Éliette Brunel	....	dedicatee
Jean-Marie Chauvet	....	dedicatee
Jean Clottes	....	special thanks
Nicholas Conard	....	special thanks
Valérie Fergulio	....	special thanks
Carole Fritz	....	special thanks
Jean-Michel Geneste	....	special thanks
Christian Hillaire	....	dedicatee
Maria Malina	....	special thanks
Julien Monney	....	special thanks
Michel Philippe	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Creative Differences
• History Films
• Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication
• Arte France (co-production)
• Werner Herzog Filmproduktion (co-production)
• More4 (in association with)

Distributors

• Bitters End (2012) (Japan) (theatrical) (in association with)
• Canana Films (2012) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Imagine Films Distribution (2012) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Kinosmith (2011) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Metropolitan Filmexport (2011) (France) (theatrical)
• Star Sands (2012) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Sundance Selects (2011) (USA) (theatrical)
• Zeta Films (2011) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Against Gravity (2011) (Poland) (all media)
• Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (2010) (Germany) (all media)
• Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (2010) (Switzerland) (all media)
• Filmfreak Distributie (2013) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• IFC Films (2011) (USA) (all media)
• Pris Audiovisuais (2012) (Portugal) (all media)
• Rialto Distribution (2011) (Australia) (all media)
• Rialto Distribution (2011) (New Zealand) (all media)

Special Effects

• Geneva Film Co. (3d mastering)

Other Companies

• British Technical Films  3d rigs
• Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard  distribution legal services
• Dish Communications  publicity
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• Esprit Film  stereoscopic 3d consulting
• MSM Studios  music and sound post-production
• Tree Falls  post-production sound mixing

Also Known As:

Runtime:

90 min | Canada:95 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

Canada | USA | France | Germany | UK

Language:

English | German | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby | Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:U | Ireland:G | USA:G | Canada:G (Ontario) | Canada:G (Québec) | Singapore:G | Argentina:Atp | Portugal:M/6 (Qualidade) | Japan:G | Netherlands:AL | South Korea:All

Filming Locations:

Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc, Ardèche, France

Company:

Creative Differences

Quotes:

Werner Herzog:In a forbidden recess of the cave, there's a footprint of an eight-year-old boy next to the footprint of a wolf. Did a hungry wolf stalk the boy? Or did they walk together as friends? Or were their tracks made thousands of years apart? We'll never know.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Ebert Presents: At the Movies: Episode #1.25" (2011)

Herzog: the Indiana Jones of Documentarians

No one shoots 32,000 year-old cave paintings like Werner Herzog. First off, they're not allowed. The storied German filmmaker was recently granted unprecedented access to Chauvet caves in south France, which house the earliest known human paintings. Cave of Forgotten Dreams is the latest in his library of offbeat and mostly fascinating documentaries. Of course, Herzog's unique perspective is as much a draw as the subject matter itself — the man could make a movie about dirt and I'd be the first in line.

Fortunately, he's dealing with no such handicap here. The paintings that line Chauvet are beautiful, perfectly preserved, and enigmatic. But it's their technique that's most impressive. The conception that early man doodled only rudimentary stick figures and geometric animals is a fallacy, as the craft on display in Cave of Forgotten Dreams is staggering. So much so that early analysis doubted the authenticity of the drawings. Sealed beneath a thick layer of calcite, however, carbon dating proved them genuine.

In truth, there are no depictions of man on the walls of Chauvet. Instead, most panels appear an altar to the animal kingdom, with awesome recreations of bison, horses, lions, and now extinct wooly rhinos. Painted from memory in a dark recess of the cave, the images could only be seen by firelight. Art historians speculate that in those flickering flames, the drawings might have appeared to take life, which Herzog equates to a sort of "proto-cinema." Also of special interest to the director is a bison with a woman's body painted onto the curvature of a stalactite.

Complete with bizarre metaphors, inner musings, and tangential conversation, there can be no mistaking the author of Cave of Forgotten Dreams. At times, the filmmaker even seems aware that he's being Werner Herzog. Not every one of his digressions proves equally illuminating, but you can't really complain about Herzog being Herzog in a Herzog documentary.

Funded in part by the History Channel, his input is infinitely more valuable considering the sterile TV special this might have been. His knack for compelling autobiography proves one of the most intriguing aspects of the film, and rather than work around his crew and equipment, Herzog mines drama from their creative difficulties. The team was permitted inside for just a few brief hours per day, and restricted to two foot wide metal walkways once there. The many precautions and restrictions protect the integrity of the cave floor, and the still fresh footprints and animal remains that have survived there for so long.

Cave of Forgotten Dreams isn't Herzog's best work by any stretch of the imagination, but at almost 70, it's amazing he's still up for the Indiana Jones routine. From the Peruvian rainforest in his youth to Antarctica and now some light spelunking, Herzog is one of the most traveled filmmakers alive. That he can still churn out progressive, stimulating entertainment is a rarity among artists his age.

And as obtuse as it may be, Herzog's ideology is invaluable. Through his eyes, Chauvet cave is a wonder to behold; he captures the transcendent beauty of the paintings and ruminates on the lives of their anonymous creators. Though sometimes he overstates his own eccentricity, the through line of art as an essential human quality circumvents his digressions. Our ability to appreciate the creative output of a society millennia removed from our own is a powerful concept. Here's hoping folks from the year 34,000 appreciate Herzog as much as we do.