Woyzeck 1979 PG
When
6.00 pm, Fri 21 Jul 2017 (82 mins)Where
Gallery of Modern Art & Cinema A
About
I don't believe thereis a greater drama in the German language than Büchner's 'Woyzeck'; it's a work of such stunning actuality, like an undefused bomb. The first time I read it I felt as if a lightning bolt had shot through me. - Werner Herzog
Herzog's adaptation of one of the most renowned of all German plays – Georg Büchner's 'Woyzeck', written in 1836. The play was unfinished at the time of Büchner's death, with the surviving sections still unordered, leaving it to modern adapters to decide how to sequence the text's events.
The narrative revolves around Franz Woyzeck (Klaus Kinski), a hapless soldier in 19th Century Germany. To earn extra money for his mistress Marie (Eva Mattes) and their child, he carries out menial labour and subjects himself to medical experiments – which push his already fragile sanity to breaking point.
The film was shot quickly in the aftermath of the shoot for Herzog's Nosferatu the Vampyre 1979, which lends the action a forceful immediacy. Kinski is captivating in the eponymous role, while Mattes shines in the role of Marie, being awarded the trophy for Best Supporting Actress at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival. The film is a passionate adaptation of a classic text; Herzog successfully blends Büchner's study of power and morality with his own unique cinematic sensibilities.
PG | Low level violence, Adult themes
Production Credits
- Director: Werner Herzog
- Script: Werner Herzog
- Based on: the play by Georg Büchner
- Cinematographer: Jörg Schmidt-Reitwein
- Editor: Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus
- Print Source: Deutsche Kinemathek, Berlin
- Rights: Werner Herzog Film GmbH
- Year: 1979
- Runtime: 82 minutes
- Country: West Germany
- Language: German
- Subtitles: English
- Colour: Colour
- Shooting Format: 35mm
- Screening Format: 35mm