Heart of Glass (1976)

The foreman of a small village glassworks dies without revealing the secret to the famous "Ruby Glass".

Director:

Werner Herzog

Writers:

Herbert Achternbusch (based on a screenplay by), Herbert Achternbusch (scenario)

Stars:

Josef Bierbichler, Stefan Güttler, Clemens Scheitz

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Josef Bierbichler	...	Hias
Stefan Güttler	...	Huttenbesitzer
Clemens Scheitz	...	Adalbert
Volker Prechtel	...	Wudy
Sonja Skiba	...	Ludmilla
Brunhilde Klöckner	...	Paulin
Wolf Albrecht
Thomas Binkley
Janos Fischer
Wilhelm Friedrich
Edith Gratz
Alois Hruschka
Egmont Hugel
Sterling Jones
Karl Kaufmann

Storyline

A small village is renowned for its "Ruby Glass" glass blowing works. When the foreman of the works dies suddenly without revealing the secret of the Ruby Glass, the town slides into a deep depression, and the owner of the glassworks becomes obssessed with the lost secret.

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Plot Keywords:

surrealism | experimental film | yellowstone national park | new german cinema | mountain | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The majority of the actors (with the exception of Hias and the glass blowers) were actually hypnotized by Werner Herzog and perform under hypnosis on screen.

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Connections

Referenced in Sneak Previews: Take 2: The Best Films of the '70s (1979)

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Soundtracks

Ondas do mar de Vigo
(from Siete canciones de amigo) (uncredited)
Written by Martim Codax
Performed by Studio der frühen Musik
Played during the final scene when the boat sets out to sea.

User Reviews

*** out of ****

Herzog's film about a small village that goes insane after their glassblower dies without revealing the secret to his ruby glass is pretentious yet interesting. The acting is strange - not good, not bad, just strange. The highlight of the movie is its brilliant visuals and cinematography. There is a lot to think about here, but Herzog never really makes it clear what he wants the viewer to think about. It's this confusion and lack of coherency that causes the movie to suffer. Overall, a decent effort and a good experiment but can't stand up to his other works, which offer some of the same themes in a better package.

Details

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

17 December 1976 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Heart of Glass

Filming Locations:

Bavaria, Germany

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,874

Company Credits

Production Co:

Werner Herzog Filmproduktion, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor) (uncredited)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1