MY BEST FIEND (DVD/WS/WERNER HERZOG COLLECTION) DVD

My Best Fiend
To say the working relationship between director Werner Herzog and actor Klaus Kinski was often stormy strains the boundaries of understatement. Kinski's tirades against Herzog are the stuff of legend -- Kinski's scabrous autobiography All I Need is Love features a number of venomous rants against the director far too foul to recount here, while Herzog had to threaten Kinski with murder to get him to complete his work on Aguirre, The Wrath Of God. However, the collaboration between these two men, no matter how combative, resulted in the finest, most memorable work of either's career, including Aguirre, Nosferatu, Woyzeck and Fitzcarraldo, before Kinski's death in 1991 ended the partnership. Mein Leibster Feind/My Best Fiend is a documentary by Herzog about his work with Kinski, and portrays the actor with a large degree of affection while making no secret of his volatile nature (an actor displays a scar on his head from a wound Kinski inflicted with a sword, while an outtake from Fitzcarraldo shows him terrorizing a member of the crew). Despite their remarkable differences, Herzog sums up their working relationship with admirable conclusion: "We complemented one another. I needed him and he needed me." Mein Leibster Feind/My Best Fiend was produced for European television, though it did receive a screening (out of competition) at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Cast Werner Herzog as Narrator

Crew Herbert Golder - First Assistant Director Werner Herzog - Director Joe Bini - Editor Christine Ruppert - Executive Producer Andre Singer - Executive Producer Peter Zeitlinger - Cinematographer Lucki Stipetic - Producer Eric Spitzer - Sound/Sound Designer

My Best Fiend
Werner Herzog's documentary is a thoughtful and clever examination by the director of his longstanding friendship and creative partnership with the late Klaus Kinski. It's not a biography, and there's little information about Kinski's life outside of Herzog's purview. There's a brief, but fascinating clip of Kinski on stage during his "Jesus Tour," wherein the actor traveled through Germany, ranting at his audiences, claiming to be the "new Jesus." Herzog claims that Kinski was a madman, and there's ample evidence of the actor's mental imbalance in outtakes as he throws lengthy tantrums and is seen smashing another actor over the head with a sword. But Herzog also shows Kinski's power as an actor, contrasting a clip of Jason Robards playing Fitzcarraldo with a clip of the raving Kinski playing the same scene after he replaced Robards. Herzog also interviews Claudia Cardinale and Eva Mattes, who worked with Kinski on Herzog's films and remember him as a gentle and sensitive man. Herzog is a skilled documentarian, and is himself a fascinating subject, as had already been proven in Les Blank's excellent account of the making of Fitzcarraldo, Burden of Dreams. He's softened a bit since those days, but his fierce intellect shines through. Some may wish that the film included more clips of Kinski, as the footage there is of him -- raving, performing, and playing with a butterfly -- is incredible, while Herzog's stories are even more astounding. The director takes credit for a lot of the actor's work, describing how he essentially tricked Kinski into giving him just the performance he wanted, and at one point even claiming he helped Kinski come up with the horrible insults he throws at Herzog in his autobiography. One wishes Kinski were still around to let Herzog have it one more time. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
 

Telluride Film Festival, Film Presented (nominated)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, Ger Subtitle Options: English Sound Processing: 2: PCM stereo 5.1: 5 full-range channels. Includes 3 for the front speakers, 2 surround channels for rear speakers, & 1 low-frequency effects (LFE) channel to carry deep bass effects Additional Features: Widescreen presentation (1.77:1), enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs Theatrical trailer Languages: English, German with optional English subtitles DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1: Alternate Wide-Screen MPAA Rating: NR DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 100 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- Widescreen 0. Chapter Selections 1. Program Start/Jesus [2:27] 2. Main Titles [:42] 3. The Return [7:16] 4. River Of Destiny [1:30] 5. Aguirre [8:26] 6. Turbulence [3:38] 7. Traces Of The Past [4:54] 8. Hell Breaks Loose [6:01] 9. A Coward, Thank God [4:41] 10. Collaborators [1:52] 11. Woyzeck [:41] 12. Eva Mattes [6:23] 13. Quiet Moments [2:47] 14. Rage [3:49] 15. Center Of Attention [5:03] 16. The Chasm [6:05] 17. Two Critical Masses [5:48] 18. The Spiral [4:45] 19. Changing Roles [3:41] 20. The Burden [3:10] 21. Claudia Cardinale [4:18] 22. Frozen Moments [2:59] 23. Cobra Verde [:50] 24. The Comet [3:54] 25. Butterfly [1:57] 26. End Credits [1:01]