Playing with the Fire of Creation – Werner Herzog

Abstract

The paper is a critical survey on how the self-analysis of the struggle between artist and creator, at the border between fiction and reality, is made in
“Herzog on Herzog”, edited by Paul Cronin. I used content analysis as a method of research and that of breaking down the very roots of Werner Herzog's ideology on the act of creation. In addition to the above-mentioned book, further materials were included on which the same method of analysis was applied: 4 interviews with the unstoppable director, 6 films and one essay written by Herzog – “On the Absolute, the Sublime, and Ecstatic Truth”. The chosen interviews seemed to be the most relevant for the subject, and the films chosen for analysis are: “Fitzcarraldo”, “Grizzly Man”, “My Best Fiend”, “Fata Morgana”, “Into the Inferno” and “Encounters at the End of the World”. I have chosen the last five as they are narrated by the director himself and, thus, his opinions on the limits that human nature is daring to break seem even more pertinent. For “Fata Morgana”, I analyzed the original film as well as a version commented by the director himself. One idea seems to obsess the author: how far do you push the limits but especially what for?