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The Mandalorian

Metalocalypse


            Famed filmmaker Werner Herzog probably felt a deep kinship towards aviation pilot and documentary subject, Dieter Dengler. They both share common themes of man versus nature, and an overwhelming obsession that encapsulates their lives. Herzog relates Denglers story with stock footage, re-creations (not by other actors portraying Dengler, but Dengler himself revisiting locations), sketches, interviews, and his signature narration to share the life and experiences of an extraordinary man.On a cloudy day, Dieter Dengler walks into a tattoo parlor. He admires a portrait of horses streaming out of flames, led by death on a chariot. The retired air force pilot relates that this is the vision he saw in the jungles of Laos. However, "Death didn't want me" he says, as he relates his incredible story of survival.Dieter drives a winding path to his mountain home - his convertible top always up - even on the sunniest of days. He relates that he is often haunted by his friend Dwayne Martin. Dengler was shot over Laos in 1966, the crux of his travels from Germany, to the United States, to Vietnam, and back to the States.In Herzog's first chapter, the director discusses Dengler, the man in detail. Dengler currently lives in San Francisco, and as Dengler welcomes Herzog into his home, one can see the impact that captivity has had on his life. Dengler has a door ritual, in which he opens and closes each door twice to symbolizes the freedom of opening it without obstruction. His house is decorated with paintings of open doors, and the architecture is very open and wide. Dengler built his home on the top of a mountain, where he can look out over the entire city, emulating the height of flight. Aviation paraphernalia adorn his rooms.The quality of life in the jungle has had another obvious impact on Dengler's life. The kitchen, refrigerator, and cabinet are packed with excess food. He has even stored emergency provisions (such as 1000 pounds of rice) in his basement admitting, "I'll probably never need any of this food, but I can sleep so much better knowing that its down there." Newsreel footage from a press conference following Denglers rescue relate his early dreams to own and operate a restaurant, so as to never be hungry.The next segment follows Denglers dream to become a pilot. Dengler returns to his rural birth village of Wildberg, Germany, and he relates his first experience with a fighter plane. During World War II, as American and British fighters strafed his village, he caught a glimpse of a dive bomber with his cockpit open - he could see the pilot's black goggles and his eyes: "I knew from that moment on, I want to be a pilot. I want to be a flier. From that moment on, little Dieter needed to fly."Dengler takes Herzog through the many awards that decorate his expansive house. He has a Purple Heart, a Navy Cross, a Distinguished Service Medal, and a Sword of Loyola, next to the last photograph of his plane before it was shot down. Despite the awards, he denies being a hero, "Only people who are dead are heroes."Herzog shows us newsreel footage of post-war Germany, people licking trash can lids and boiling wallpaper for the nutrients in the glue. Dengler relates that some people would spend hours watching a sausage when it first appeared in the store window, because no one could afford it. Dieter worked as an apprentice for a clock maker, preparing him for the discipline of the armed forces, and the brutality of his capture. He built church bells as a blacksmith, and at age eighteen, he took the first ship he could to America. In Manhattan, he joined the air force to become a pilot, was shipped to San Antonio, and found himself peeling potatoes. He realized he needed an education to realize his dream, so he moved to California - going to school at night, and working in the day. He succeeded, joined the Navy, and was shipped to Vietnam as a pilot and a soldier.Dieter never felt like he was a soldier, however. He was just a boy who had realized his dreams - the people below seemed unreal. Dieter described how he felt being shot down in his plane- struck by lightning. Sitting behind an aquarium, Dieter describes how he had no time to be afraid. Death seemed much like the jellyfish floating behind him.In a third segment labeled, "Punishment", older Dieter is in a Laotian village recounting his capture. Standing around him are Laotians who flank him as he tells of his experience. After an initial escape, Dieter is put through tortures by his captors, such as being suspended upside down in a well, and being dragged by a water buffalo while the village children laugh and kick him. After he refused to sign a document condemning U.S. involvment in Vietnam, he was cut repeatedly, and had bamboo shards slit under his fingernails and into his body. Dieter extracts courage by the memory of his grandfather, the only dissenter in a town that otherwise voted 100% for Adolf Hitler. Just as his grandfather was mocked and beaten, Dieter was able to survive. Dieter agrees to re-enact some of the moments to try to chase away his demons. As he is being tied up by the young Laotian captors, he gets a funny feeling: "Uh-oh. This feels a little too close to home."Herzog pokes fun at the survival school of the 1960's by showing stock footage of how "movie survival" seemed like a breeze compared to reality. Much more than the instructional videos, Dieter learned from his captors various useful scenarios, such as how to quickly build a fire. One of his most vivid memories was his encounter with the Vietcong. They arrived to take him prisoner, and during a stop in a village, a villager stole Dieter's wedding ring. As Dieter left the village with the Vietcong, he became increasingly irritable. The Vietcong found out what he meant, and returned to the village. On arrival, they beat the thief to a pulp and cut off his finger with a machete. As Dengler relates this story in a Laotian hut, it is he who comforts a Laotian stand in. He hugs the man, and whispers to him, "just a movie. Dont worry about it."The Vietcong drops him at a prison camp, where there are four Thais, and two Americans. Dieter realizes he must escape immediately, but is persuaded to wait for the monsoons, or there will be no rain (or drinking water). The prisoners starve eating rats, and old rice. They were shot at while using the restroom. Throughout the ordeal, Dieter dreams of the ocean, and the Navy returning to rescue him. The decision to escape is made when the Thais overheard a plot to kill them in the jungle to make the murders look like an escape attempt.Dieter stands near a bamboo compound, using diagrams to explain his escape attempt: while the guards gather to eat, the prisoners would escape, commandeer the weapons, and trap their captors in the prison. They had reasoned to the best of their ability the location of each man and each gun. However, a serious miscalculation leads to chaos. Dieter is forced to use a submachine gun to kill six of his captors. The other two escape to alert the Vietcong. The other prisoners escape with all of the shoes - Dieter never saw them again. His only fellow escapee was American Dwayne Martin. When they reach the river, they built a raft in hopes that it would lead them to the Mekong. The Mekong leads to Thailand, which leads to freedom.In present day, Dieter talks about his friend Dwayne sitting next to the Mekong. After their raft had crashed in a waterfall, Dieter and Dwayne had found the sole of a tennis shoe which they alternated. As they crawled through a trail, they stumbled upon a young boy and a village. As they bowed to the inhabitants, a man swung a machete at Dieter, missing the former POW, and cutting Dwayne Martin in the meat of his upper leg. The villager then beheads Dwayne. In a fit of fury, Dieter grabs the shoe sole, and flees into the jungle. Distraught, Dieter realizes that his only company is a black bear. Dieter notes the irony that his only friend was a scavenger waiting to eat him. When Dieter arrived home, he filed for early retirement, and served as a civilian test pilot, getting into four more crashes - death still did not want Dieter Dengler.The final segment, titled "Redemption", begins with Dengler admiring a thirty pound turkey, he has invited his original rescuer Eugene Deatrick to his home for Thanksgiving. The old pilot Deatrick relates how he saw Dieter waving a parachute wildly next to two "s" shapes to create an SOS. Deatrick radioed a helicopter to pick up the POW, where he did not get a warm reception - a soldier in the helicopter initially thought Dieter could be a Vietcong suicide bomber, and tackled him to the floor.While Dieter was recovering in Da Nang, he desperately wanted to return to his ship. His friends snuck him out of the hospital and back on board, where he had an emotional reunion in the hanger with the 4,000 man crew of his carrier. He recollects that in the early days of his recovery, the only place he could sleep soundly was in the cockpit of a plane. A final two minute crane and panning shot shows Dieter Dengler walking through rows and rows of airplanes: a pilot's heaven.The postscript reveals that Dieter Dengler passed away February Seventh of 2001. He was buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery. In his honor, F-14's flew over his funeral.
    

Little Dieter Needs to Fly

Lessons of Darkness


            Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald (Klaus Kinski), called Fitzcarraldo by the local natives in the South American rubber capital where he lives, has a dream to create an exotic opera house so that the music of Caruso, and Pucinni, and Wagner can be brought to the wilderness. As he and his girlfriend Molly (Claudia Cardinale), the madam of the top brothel in the city, run to see a local opera performance, Fitzcarraldo manages to get the attention of a local financier Don Aquilino (José Lewgoy) and gets to create a plan to finance his dream. Using Molly's money Fitzcarraldo buys a boat and goes up the Amazon River to a jungle inhabited by Indians intent on killing any white men who enter. Becoming awed and subdued by Fitzcarraldo in his white suit and the music of Caruso, the Indians accept the blond entrepreneur as a god and do his bidding. At this juncture of the Amazon the river is separated from another of its legs by a few miles of mountains so the Indians are enlisted to drag the 180-ton ship from the river and over the mountains to the other leg in order to facilitate rubber transportation. During the task Indians are used as slaves, with the ultimate goal of building the opera house. As trees are felled and mountains are dynamited Fitzcarraldo struggles to realize his obsessive dream to bring opera music to the jungle.
    

Fitzcarraldo

On Death Row

Burden of Dreams


            Opening titles lay out the background of the story. After the conquest and plundering of the Inca Empire by Spain, natives invented the legend of El Dorado, supposedly situated in the headwaters of the Amazon. In 1560 a Spanish expedition set off from Peru. This is the story of the expedition based on the surviving diary of the monk Gaspar de Carvajal.As the film opens a narrator informs us that it is the 25th of December. The expedition has just passed the final peak of the Andes Mountains and is afforded its first glimpse at the jungle. We see hundreds descending into the Amazonian jungle- Spaniards in full armor, ladies in courtly dress, a monk, and hundreds of enslaved Indians carrying food, cannons, sedans and other supplies. The expedition reaches the bottom of the mountains. While many rest, Don Lope de Aguirre (Klaus Kinski) and Gonzalo Pizarro (Alejandro Repullés) stand looking at the river and discuss what faces them. Aguirre maintains that no one can conquer that river, but Pizarro believes that their journey will be easier from this point forward. Aguirre says, No, from here we are all going under. We see only the raging river for nearly a minute.Their break is not long. The group quickly begins their trek through the jungle. They begin to make their way through the jungle. On his horse, Pizarro struggles to cut through the branches with his sword; Indians struggle to carry the cannon, sedan and other goods. As they struggle in the mud the Indians are accosted by Aguirre for nearly dropping the sedan carrying one of the lady travelers. The narrator states that the Indians are useless as leaders and are dropping off like flies because of colds caused by the dramatic climate changes. The expedition stops and sets up camp near the river. Pizarro delivers a speech to the entire group. They cannot continue like this- the terrain is too difficult, rations are almost depleted, and they cannot hope of finding a populated area for a long time. As such he has changed his plan. Rafts will be built and manned by 40 men- these men will seek food, information about hostile Indians, and directions to El Dorado. They will have one week to return. If they don't return, they will be assumed dead, and the remainder of the expedition will march back the way they came. Don Pedro de Ursua (Ruy Guerra) will be in charge of the group. His mistress Donna Inez (Helena Rojo) will accompany him. Don Lope de Aguirre will be second in command, his daughter will accompany him. Brother Gaspar de Carvajal (Del Negro) will go to take the word of God to the pagans, and Don Fernando (Peter Berling) will represent the royal house of Spain. Pizarro says no one who wasn't selected should feel rejected.The group sets off on three rafts; each raft is rowed by Indians. The Spanish cast wary looks as they can hear only the raging river and the calls of the birds in the jungle surrounding them. One of the rafts gets stuck in an eddy on the other side of the river. As they are swept about in continuous circles, the remaining two rafts land on the other side of the river. They watch, clustered in a group, shouting and gesturing at the other group. Their advice, however, cannot be heard.Ursua and Aguirre discuss the trapped men. Ursua wants to help the men, but Aguirre disagrees. He does not want to stop to help them. Ursua maintains that he is still the one giving orders. As Ursua walks away Aguirre softly says, Is that so?Ursua walks over to Armando, one of the only men who will stay loyal to him, and instructs him to form a rescue party. He is to take as many men and supplies as he needs and cross the river to retrieve the trapped party. The newly formed rescue group ventures into the jungle to find a point where they can cross the river. The remaining men begin to set up camp, putting up coverings made from trees they've cut down; the women relax, and the horse gets water. Darkness falls and the group is gathered around a campfire. They discuss their trapped comrades. Several shots sound. One asks if they are being signaled, another mentions that perhaps it is a battle.Morning comes and the trapped men are dead. The river is calm now and several of the men, led by the monk, venture curiously into the river. The rescue party has just arrived and looks down at the raft, now full of only dead bodies. One notes that three men are missing- two Indians and a Spaniard. Armando directs the rescue party to return to the main body. Be wary of the Indians, he warns, the jungle is infested. One man in the party lags a few feet behind the others. His foot is caught in a trap and he is silently swept up into a tree. A comrade turns to look for him, and retraces his steps. Blood drops onto his helmet and the leaf in front of him. He looks up, and is terror struck. He turns to catch up with the group and runs screaming, Indians! Help, Help!At the camp Aguirre is unnoticed by Carvajal and Ursua as they walk past. They discuss the burial of the murdered men. Carvajal thinks the men must be buried according to a proper Christian burial. Ursua agrees and allows him to begin preparations for the ceremony. The men have passed. Aguirre calls over Perucho, one of his devotees, and mentions that the cannon is looking rusty. Perucho nods and walks over to the aforementioned cannon. Whispering La, la, la, la, he blows on a ashy light and looks around. Seeing no one he shifts the cannon slightly and ignites it. The raft and the men who were left on it are blown to bits.Inez sits halfway in her sedan and addresses Ursua. She reminds him that he knows who is responsible, and if he is allowed to get away with this- what's next? Ursua nods, but tells her they have bigger problems- Indians- theyre everywhere and no one wants to die like the men on the raft. Aguirre wouldn't rebel against the Spanish crown. Inez is skeptical and reminds him that they are no longer in Castile.Aguirre speaks with his daughter Flores. He found a tiny sloth and shares it with her. It is a little animal that sleeps the entire day.Two Spaniards sleep on rocks at the rivers edge. One awakens with a start to realize that the river has flooded and wakes up his comrade. The narrator begins: the river flooded fifteen feet last night. The rafts were swept away. Men begin scouting wood to build new rafts. Iron is collected to forge nails to help hold it together. Aguirre pulls a lifeless Indian from the water and drops him shortly thereafter. Guzman shakes an Indian, demanding an answer- will he run away if Guzman loosens his chains? He gets no answer from the silent slave. A man walks by. Guzman turns his attention to the passerby and accuses him of taking his pot. The black slave advises a conquistador not to use a tree for the raft. His advice is rejected- the advisee is afraid to venture further into the hostile jungle.
As this goes on, Ursua emerges. He asks one man what he is doing, but receives no answer. Another only responds with, everyone is doing it. No one will tell him who ordered them to begin building a raft. Ursua sees Aguirre but says nothing to him. The women observe the men as they work. Flores asks Inez, What does it all mean? Inez tells her to be quiet. It's her father's fault.The men are gathered around Ursua. Ursua speaks: He has decided that they will return to Pizarro. Aguirre is heard in the background, It is not my habit to retreat. Ursua continues: They must hike because the current is too strong. Another declares the plan is suicide- they'll all be killed by Indians! Ursua ignores the interjection- they will return to Pizarro, whatever the cost. Aguirre begins again, Shit on Pizarro- we can conquer without him. Perucho reminds them that this is why they built the rafts this morning. Aguirre calls Cortez to their attention. The great Spanish conquerer only became so renowned because he disregarded his orders. Ursua repeatedly orders Silence! But to no avail. He orders Aguirre put in chains, but is shot in the abdomen. Inez rushes to his side. His loyal Armando draws a sword, but he too is shot. Aguirre orders silence asking if anyone else wishes to join Ursua and Armando. Everyone stands silently. One begins to speak wondering what will happen now? Perhaps there are waterfalls downriver, questions another. What does it matter so long as they get closer to El Dorado, interjects another. Another man notices Ursuas fist is clenched. Surely Ursua will be killed, he mentions, but no one is willing to help him.An Indian plays a flute while Aguirre watches him.Armando is confined to chains in a jail constructed out of tree branches. Inez comforts Ursua.Monk Caspar de Carvajal sits on a rock at the river's edge. Inez approaches him. He is their last hope; Aguirre will kill Ursua and Armando. Carvajal can only console her a little- God is always on the side of the strong.Aguirre approaches Armando's cell. We want you on our side. We need men like you. He circles the cell, thwarting Armando's attempts to avoid his gaze. Think about it- but not too long. Aguirre gathers the men for a speech. They've rid themselves of the troublemakers, now it is time to elect a leader. The choice is clear- Don Fernando de Guzman. Guzman appears confused by the nomination. Perucho immediately set forth a formal proposal among the group to elect Guzman. Aguirre glares at each of the men until they reluctantly raise their hands and the decision is unanimous. Perucho elects Aguirre to remain second in command, the group agrees.Balthasar, one of the Indian slaves, speaks with Flores. He has survived plagues and floods, but what the Spanish have done to him is far worse. They named him Balthasar, his name was Runo Rimac. He was a prince before, and no one could look him in the eye. Now he is a slave like his people were. He feels sorry for Flores though, because there is no escape from this. The men sit and eat. Inez brings Armando some food to eat in his cell. While feeding him through the bars of his jail, Perucho hovers around them taunting them with a steady, la, la, la, la, la. Armando inquires quietly about how Ursua is doing. Inez does not reply.Aguirre rises to address the group again. Their position must be made legal. He orders Gaspar de Carvajal to read a document. Gaspar reads- The article addresses the king. Until yesterday these men considered themselves in the king's service. Fate, Gods Help, and their own work carried them down the river, but now they are 200 miles from Pizarro. Now they will share none of the fruits of their conquest with the Spanish crown. We Rebel Until Death. May our hands perish and our tongues dry up if this is not so. The house of Habsburg is overthrown and Phillip the Second is dethroned. By this declaration you are annihilated. Guzman is king of El Dorado. God Bless.Aguirre seizes the document from Carvajal. He declares that fortune smiles on the brave and spits on the coward. The reluctant King Guzman is shown his throne- merely two pieces of wood with a bit of velvet thrown over it. Scoffing, he asks if this is really to be his throne. Aguirre assures him it is as he forcibly seats him in it. Guzman sits there and begins to tear up. Aguirre inspects the jail cell. Armando has escaped, and the guard is dead.Guzman sits on a bench in the river, washed and massaged by two men. Aguirre comes up behind him and warns that so long as Ursua lives, his life will be in danger. Ursua still has sympathizers within the group. Guzman declares that so long as he is king, law will prevail. There should be a trial. Fine, hisses Aguirre. Try him. Then kill him.Gaspar de Carvajal leads the trial. Perucho testifies that Ursua will say nothing. No one can take what is clenched in his fist, to do so they would have to cut off his hand. Balthasar testifies that he and other Indians have received money from Ursua; Okello testifies that he has received money as well though he is not really sure as to why. Ursua is called on for a defense. Defiant, however, he says nothing. Inez sits next to him. She rises to speak. Back in Spain they paid their servant. Surely they should do the same here, even if they are Indians. Carvajal dismisses her calling her a confused child, no one will hold her testimony against her.Carvajal speaks. He declares that Ursua has been found guilty of treason and will be sentenced to death. Guzman, sitting behind him on a throne confirms the verdict and a confident Aguirre begins to walk away. He turns around, eyes wide and raging, as Guzman begins speaking again. Today is the anniversary of the last moor leaving Spain. He will grant Ursua clemency, but he forfeits all rights as a citizen. His portion will be divided- half for the church, half among the best soldiers. The following day the party continues down the river on their newly built raft. Ursua reclines by Inez, he still refuses to speak, and has begun to lose his vision. It's noon and the party spots a fire on the banks of the river. A village is burning. Aguirre sets up an attack. Okello, the black slave, is stripped save for a loin cloth, so he can scare the Indians. The group lands and, prodded by the Spaniards behind him, Okello reluctantly runs in front of them into the village. The men grab at fruit, and are admonished- they must conquer. King Guzman sits on the edge of a platform eating ripe fruit. As they discover a bucket with human skulls, and a mummy, they realize they are in a village where cannibals lived. Grabbing what little food they can, the disturbed group quickly returns to the raft and begins again to venture down the river.The river comes to a near standstill. Weary adventurers seek refuge under newly built thatched roofs. Inez warns Aguirre as he walks past- She knows his intent to kill Urusa, and God in heaven will punish him for it. Silence falls over the raft as they see Indians on the distant shore. One man is shot and dies. A perturbed Aguirre orders the men to shoot at anything to break the ominous silence. Noting the men are stilled unsettled, Aguirre orders an Indian slave to play the flute for them.Two Indians, a man and a woman, paddle over to the raft in a canoe. The Spaniards are wary of a trap, but pull them up onto the raft. The man explains with Balthasar as a translator that they have long awaited the foretold arrival of the white man with sticks that throw lightning.Guzman listens, but is quickly distracted and focuses only on the gold pendant he rips from the mans neck. They demand to know where the gold came from. The Indian's only answer is that gold is father downriver.
Gaspar de Carvajal steps forward to show the pair a Bible. He holds it up explaining that this is the word of God. He hands it to the man, who takes it and, confused, holds it against his ear. He tells the Spaniards that he hears nothing. Accused of blasphemy, he is killed. Carvajal comments that it is difficult to convert these heathens.Given hope the group begins to dream of the riches of El Dorado. Gold abounds, they have governorships, provinces and Okello even dreams of freedom. While tracing out a map Guzman declares that all the land to the left and to the right is the property of El Dorado. Every day they drift his kingdom grows larger.Okello fixes dinner for Guzman- fish stuffed with fruits and cooked over a fire. Upon being served, Guzman whines that he has no salt and holds out his cup as if expecting wine at a fine dinner. The men behind him however, are counting out the last grains they have. Today there are only ten grains per man. The horse is frightened and begins to thrash around kicking and stomping. Angry that his meal was disturbed, Guzman orders the horse off the raft. The men shove the horse off of the raft and ignore its attempt to get back on. The horse swims to the bank and stands on land the raft floats away. Carvajal muses with Perucho, that Guzman is a dead man. The sight of a horse could scare away armies of Indians, and the horse was meat for a week. Shortly thereafter Guzman is found dead just outside the raft's outhouse.Ursuas fate is sealed by Guzman's death. He is taken by Perucho and two others inland via canoe. Here, they find a tree barely able to hold his weight on its spindly branches, hoist him up so they can tie the rope down, and let him hang. Perucho sits on a branch below him and eats while reciting nonsense, waiting for Ursua to die.With all of its remaining members on board the raft keep moving slowly down the river. They approach a new group of Indians who, according to Balthasars translation, shout, Meat, Meat! Meat is floating by! As the Spaniards land, arrows fly. Spaniards shoot at Indians and light the village on fire. Starving men are soon distracted and begin to lick up salt from the ground. Suddenly a beautifully adorned Inez emerges and walks calmly and alone into the jungle. The attack is complete, and Perucho reports to Aguirre. They followed Inez's tracks a half mile into the jungle but saw neither her nor the Indians. The men accompanying him panicked at the silence and returned to the camp. As he reports a voice comes from the background. A man is plotting to return to Pizarro. He has counted the bends in the river and will travel by night and hide by day to avoid the Indians. Aguirre hears the traitor and comments to Perucho that the man speaking is a head taller than himself, and that should soon change. Perucho walks quietly over and slices the oblivious man's head off mid-sentence. Aguirre speaks- he is the greatest traitor, there will be no greater. The earth bows to his will. Anyone who attempts to leave will die. The group returns to the raft to continue downstream. As they float along, two more men are picked off by the arrows of Indians.Gaspar de Carvajal speaks with Aguirre about morale. They see nothing but death but never see their enemy. Perhaps even El Dorado is an illusion. Aguirre, however, will not have it. Mexico was no illusion, and if they give up then someone else will come along later and take it. Power and Fame are riches as well. Carvajal muses that Aguirre is leading them to their destruction- perhaps even doing so intentionally.Weeks later unbearable suffering is rampant among the men. Many are struck with fever and hallucinations due to hunger and illness. Okello sees a ship with sails in a tree. Carvajal dismisses this as a hallucination. Aguirre, however, is convinced that they will retrieve the ship and go to the Atlantic. Carvajal dares to defy him- the men are sick and near dying. They will not go with Aguirre. Okello is struck by an arrow, then Carvajal. They believe, however, that these are illusions and don't move. Flores walks to the edge of the raft and is struck by an arrow as she looks into the trees in front of her. Aguirre walks over and takes her in his arms. She dies quietly and motionless in Aguirres arms.Monkeys suddenly appear all over the raft and Aguirre follows them around the raft. He speaks- He will reach the Atlantic, take Trinidad from Spain, and Mexico from Cortez. They will have all of New Spain. He will marry his own daughter and found a pure dynasty. They will rule the entire continent together and endure. The film closes with Aguirre being the only person clearly alive. The camera circles him until the credits roll.
    

Aguirre, the Wrath of God

Land of Silence and Darkness


            Director Warner Herzog uses sequences extracted from more than 100 hours of video footage shot by Timothy Treadwell during the last five years of his life. He also conducts and filmed interviews with Treadwell's family and friends, and bear and nature experts. Park rangers and bear experts commented on statements and actions by Treadwell, such as his repeated claims that he was defending the bears from poachers. Park rangers noted that there had never been a recorded incident of poaching at this national park.As another example, Treadwell claimed he had "gained the trust" of certain bears, sufficient to approach and pet them. Park rangers pointed out that bears are wild and potentially dangerous animals; given that, Treadwell was lucky to have survived as long as he had without being mauled. One park ranger suggested that the bears were so confused by Treadwell's direct, casual contact that they weren't sure how to react to him. Other park rangers point out that the bears were not threatened by poachers, but Treadwell's actions put them at real risk of harm and death. By familiarizing them with human contact, he increased the likelihood that they would approach human habitation seeking food, and cause a confrontation in which humans would kill them.In October 2003, Treadwell was camping in Katmai National Park with his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard. Treadwell usually left the park at the end of summer but that year stayed into early October. This put him and Huguenard at greater risk, as in this period, bears are aggressive about searching for food to store up calories for hibernation during the winter. Herzog speculates that their staying later in the season ultimately resulted in the deaths of Treadwell and Huguenard.In addition to presenting views from friends and professionals, Herzog narrates and offers his own interpretations of events. He concluded that Treadwell had a sentimental view of nature, thinking he could tame the wild bears. Herzog notes that nature is cold and harsh. Treadwell's view clouded his thinking and led him to underestimate danger, resulting in his death and that of Huguenard.Treadwell's video camera captured an audio record of the bear attack. Herzog refrained from making this a part of the film, but he is shown listening to it, clearly disturbed. The director advised Jewel Palovak (the owner of the tape) to destroy it rather than listen to it. He later repudiated his own advice, saying it was:"Stupid ... silly advice born out of the immediate shock of hearing-I mean, it's the most terrifying thing I've ever heard in my life. Being shocked like that, I told her, 'You should never listen to it, and you should rather destroy it. It should not be sitting on your shelf in your living room all the time.' But she slept over it and decided to do something much wiser. She did not destroy it but separated herself from the tape, and she put it in a bank vault."The coroner gave Palovak Treadwell's wristwatch, which had been retrieved from his left arm, one of the few remains found. Willy Fulton, the pilot who discovered the remains of Treadwell and Huguenard, had noted seeing the lone arm with the wristwatch and not being able to keep the image out of his mind.
    

Grizzly Man

My Best Fiend


            Just released from a jail term of 2 1/2 years in Berlin, Bruno Stroszek goes through all of the formalities of being released and is given back all of his personal belongings: one sweater, one shirt, a pair of pants, a pair of socks, an accordion, five packs of cigarettes, a bugle horn, a keychain and his passport. Back in his cell, he bids farewell to his cellmates and they exchange gifts. One makes for him the smallest paper ship in the world and the other sets his flatulence ablaze. He then meets with the warden, who asks him if he has a place to live now that he is free, to which Bruno replies that his apartment had been taken care of by his neighbour, Herr Scheitz. He is then asked whether or not he'll go back to consuming alcohol since all of his past offences had been alcohol-related and that if he were to be caught again for similar crimes, that he'd be locked away for a longer period of time. Bruno seems uninterested and is then recommended that he clean himself up and once again, to stay away from bars and alcohol. He finally promises and is subsequently released.During his walk home, he stops at a bar called 'Bier Himmel' (Beer Heaven) and orders a beer. As he walks to sit at a booth, he sees his friend Eva, a prostitute. He attempts greeting her but is told to leave her alone by her pimps who were there trying to extort money from a former client of Eva's. She then starts crying on one of the pimps, telling him she doesn't want to be with any other pimp. He stands up and slaps her across the face, to which Eva starts crying and walks away towards where Bruno is sitting. He tells her to sit with him and tries to reassure her that everything will be OK. Eva asks him where he had been, to which Bruno responded: 'vacation'. She is still distraught and asks herself 'what she's going to do' and 'where she's going to go', to which Bruno responds by telling her she can stay at his apartment and that they can both start new lives together.As she sets up her belongings, Bruno is playing his pianos to see if they are still in good condition after not being played for so long. His favorite piano is a black grand piano he calls 'Schwarze Freund' (black friend). They notice how the apartment is dirty and Eva says she'd take care of everything by earning money. Bruno's neighbour, Herr Scheitz, arrives with his minah bird he had been taking care of in his absence. He then tells Bruno and Eva of his plans to move to America and stay with his nephew - but by ship, since according to Scheitz, airplanes are not built correctly. In the next scene, Bruno goes back to his ritualistic ways of playing his accordion in an alleyway to an audience of mostly children. When he arrives at his apartment, he sees Eva's pimps waiting for him outside his door and leaves running the opposite way. He finds Eva at a restaurant with her pimps and is quickly kicked out. He retreats back to his apartment and talks to Scheitz about what is happening with Eva, when at that moment, the pimps are dragging her up the stairs and into the living room, dump trash on her and break one of Bruno's accordions. Bruno helps her get up and into bed.The next day, Bruno is out buying some fruits and sees that the pimps are watching him, from whom he instantly runs away. While playing his piano at home, the pimps walk in and start harassing him. Now himself being distraught from the constant trouble the pimps are making, he sees his doctor and asks him for advice since he can't defend himself. The doctor tells him he should start off by getting a steady job and then takes him to the premature baby ward in order to further explain the concept of life and its many unanswered questions. He used a premature baby to symbolize how he could barely survive on his own but had such strong grip reflexes although considered weak.Back at the apartment, Scheitz is waiting for him to arrive and shows him what the pimps had done to Eva, which was to once again physically abuse her. Bruno asks her if she wants him to call the police to report it only to be told no and how they need to escape the whole mess. They decide to go with Scheitz to America and finance the tickets/Visas by Eva earning more money by selling her body a few more times. Scheitz reports back to them and informs Bruno that he can work as a mechanic at his nephew's auto shop and that Eva can work at a nearby restaurant at a truck stop.They arrive in America and Bruno's bird Beo gets confiscated by customs, to which he asks Eva and Scheitz: What kind of country is this that they take away my Beo? After a little sightseeing in New York, they purchase a used car and drive out to Railroad Flats, Wisconsin. When they arrive, Scheitz's nephew, Clayton, greets them with a misspelled sign in German, saying: Welcome. Meet & Greet time is followed by picture-taking and they learn how Clayton was once stationed at the US Air Force base in Ramstein. They get a short tour of the town by Clayton and are then told by him about the mysterious disappearance of a farmer who drove out into the woods on his large tractor never to be found again. He claims the wreckage is probably underwater in one of the nearby lakes and periodically searches for it with a metal detector when they're frozen over.Once settled in, they learn about the situation between two farmers nearby that patrol a stretch of land labeled: no-mans land and are told to stay away since both carry rifles and could potentially start firing at each other at any moment. The pre-fabricated house they had ordered arrives and is fully furnished. Scheitz is then seen outside performing electro-magnetic experiments on a fence and then on 2 American hunters on the side of the road- in German- to which of course they don't understand. He then tells Bruno and Eva about his animal magnetism theory and performs his testing on their skin. In the next scene, they are all seen on and around a frozen lake with a metal detector in their search for the lost tractor.Realizing that theyre falling behind on paying all of their bills, Bruno and Eva discuss this, to which Eva tells Bruno not to worry because she could take care of everything. She accomplishes this by sleeping with truckers that stop by her work. Soon after, theyre visited by a bank representative who informs them of their lack of payments and the possibility of repossessions if they continue to not pay. Eva hands him a wad of cash and is asked by Bruno how she had made so much money in that little time. In the next scene, Bruno shows Eva a model/schematic of his state of mind (which appears to be wood or metal that is intertwined). He tells her how their goals in the US cant be reached because he saw America as an opportunity to get rich quick. He also points out that shes acting differently around him, primarily by not letting him sleep in the same bedroom, it feels like prison he says, like a cage. At work, Clayton is making sexually suggestive comments about Eva and Bruno says he was better off in Germany and that he shouldn't have come to America to watch his world fall apart.The next day, Eva is with some truckers once again as Bruno looks for her at the restaurant. Not being able to find her there, he then tries searching around where the trucks are parked. He finds Eva in a truck with 2 truckers and is told to leave because she was going to Vancouver with them. Drinking his sorrows away at home, Bruno is once again visited by the bank representative and is told that the bank has to repossess everything and signs the house away. Soon after, the bank rep and an auctioneer arrive at the house and auction it off. Scheitz claims it is all a conspiracy and goes to the bank the next day with Bruno and a shotgun. Because the bank was closed, they enter a door next to it which happened to be for a barber. They take all of his money, twenty-five dollars, and walk across the street to a market to buy food. Once inside, the police arrive and arrest Scheitz, leaving Bruno and a frozen turkey he had just bought. He then drives back to Claytons house and leaves with his tow-truck, the frozen turkey, some cans of beer, and the shotgun.He drives until an engine fire starts in the truck at a diner. Once there, he stops to get a coffee with his last $3 and tells an American businessman who can speak some German all about his troubles and is told by him not to worry. When he leaves, he puts the truck in drive and leaves it driving itself in circles outside of the restaurant, and takes his gun and frozen turkey across the street to what seems to be some sort of mini animal amusement park. Inside are coin-operated machines which feature animals performing different things like one chicken dancing, one playing a piano, and a rabbit fire truck rider. Bruno starts some of them with the last of his change and then goes to the back of the facility, which has a chairlift. He turns it on and rides up the side of the mountain. At the second ascent, the frame of the camera shifts up, not being able to see Bruno any longer. At that moment, a loud noise is heard which is unclear where it comes from.Its been said that the noise is either from the sound of his shotgun from his suicide or the tow-trucks engine exploding. At the end of the movie, police are on the street and are reporting back to their headquarters stating: We've got a truck on fire, can't find the switch to turn the ski lift off, and can't stop the dancing chicken. Send an electrician.
    

Stroszek

Happy People: A Year in the Taiga

Encounters at the End of the World

The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser

The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner

The Dark Glow of the Mountains


            Set in the late 19th century, Jonathan Harker is an estate agent living in Wismar, Germany. His boss, Renfield, informs him that a nobleman named Count Dracula wishes to buy a property in Wismar, and assigns Harker to visit the count and complete the lucrative deal. Leaving his young wife Lucy behind in Wismar, Harker travels for four weeks to Transylvania, to the castle of Count Dracula. He carries with him the deeds and documents needed to sell the house to the Count.On his journey, Jonathan stops at a village, where locals plead for him to stay clear of the accursed castle, providing him with details of Dracula's vampirism. Harker ignores the villagers' pleas as superstition, and continues his journey unassisted ascending the Borgo Pass. Harker arrives at Dracula's castle, where he meets the Count, a strange, ancient, almost rodent-like man, with large ears, pale skin, sharp teeth, and long fingernails.The lonely Count is enchanted by a small portrait of Lucy and immediately agrees to purchase the Wismar property, especially with the knowledge that he and Lucy would become neighbors. As Jonathan's visit progresses, he is haunted at night by a number of dream-like encounters with the vampiric Count. Simultaneously, in Wismar, Lucy is tormented by night terrors, plagued by images of impending doom. Additionally, Renfield is committed to an asylum after biting a cow, apparently having gone completely insane. To Harker's horror, he finds the Count asleep in a coffin, confirming for him that Dracula is indeed a vampire.At night, Dracula leaves for Wismar, taking with him a number of coffins, filled with the cursed earth that he needs for his vampiric rest. Harker finds that he is locked in the castle, and attempts to escape through a window with a makeshift rope. The rope, fashioned from bedsheets, is not long enough, and Jonathan falls, severely injuring himself. He awakes on the ground the next morning, stirred by the sound of a young gypsy boy playing a violin. He is eventually sent to a hospital and raves about 'black coffins' to doctors, who then assume that the sickness is affecting his mind.Meanwhile, Dracula and his coffins travel to Wismar by ship, via the Black Sea port of Varna, thence through the Bosphorus and Gibraltar straits and around the entire west European Atlantic coast to the Baltic Sea. He systematically kills the entire crew, making it appear as if they were afflicted with plague.The ghost ship arrives, with its cargo, at Wismar, where doctors including Abraham Van Helsing investigate the strange fate of the ship. They discover a log that mentions their perceived affliction with plague. In turn, Wismar is flooded with rats from the ship. Dracula arrives in Wismar with his coffins, and death spreads rapidly throughout the town.When Jonathan is finally transported home, he is desperately ill, and does not appear to recognize his wife. Lucy later has an encounter with Count Dracula; weary and unable to die, he demands some of the love that she gave so freely to Jonathan, but she refuses, much to Dracula's dismay. Now aware that something other than plague is responsible for the death that has beset her once-peaceful town, Lucy desperately tries to convince the townspeople, but they are skeptical and uninterested. She finds that she can vanquish Dracula's evil by distracting him at dawn, but at the expense of her own life. She lures the Count to her bedroom, where he proceeds to drink her blood.Lucy's beauty and purity distract Dracula from the call of the rooster, and at the first light of day, he collapses to the floor, dead. Van Helsing arrives to discover Lucy, dead but victorious. He then drives a stake through the heart of the Count to make sure Lucy's sacrifice was not in vain.In a final, chilling plot twist, Jonathan Harker awakens from his sickness, now a vampire, and arranges for Van Helsing's arrest for the murder of Count Dracula. He is last seen traveling away on horseback, garbed in the same fluttering black as Dracula, stating enigmatically that he has much to do.
    

Nosferatu the Vampyre

Into the Abyss

Cave of Forgotten Dreams


            An account of the true story of personal bravery and comradeship in the early days of the Vietnam War; the story follows the experiences of Lt. Dieter Dengler whose Navy propeller plane is shot down in 1965 over Laos and taken prisoner by Pathet Lao (with Vietcong irregulars.) In a story that should not be classified as either pro or anti war, it explores the psychological tragedies of war for all involved, and specifically the torturous personal trials of combatants in this disastrous event. The characters efforts at escape into the countryside while debating the personal consequences make this film a more realistic example of personalities and conflicts among prisoners pushed to their mental limits. The lush jungle contrasted against the raw human struggles of both sides make this a good yet simple portrayal of the early days of the Vietnam heartbreak. (SPOILER) The story of Dengler's rescue does show the inept and stupid bureaucratic incompetence that makes this story just a small part of a this historic American tragedy.
    

Rescue Dawn

Tokyo-Ga

Meeting Gorbachev

Into the Inferno


            Flower Films presents All In This Tea, a feature documentary by directors Les Blank and Gina Leibrecht that follows the world-renowned American tea importer, David Lee Hoffman, to some of the most remote regions of China in search of the finest handmade teas in the world. Not since Robert Fortune clandestinely made his way through the tea growing districts of China in 1843 to steal plants and seeds for the British Empire has a westerner attempted to gain access to the hidden world of tea, where farmers have been making it for generations. As the Chinese open their doors to the global marketplace, Hoffman opens their eyes to their own ancient tradition that links them, and all of us, to the distant past, while introducing the West to one of Chinas finest cultural gemsthe artistry and exquisite taste of fine, handmade tea.
    

All in This Tea

Echoes From a Somber Empire

Ballad of the Little Soldier

Wheel of Time

Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World

Jack Reacher

Where the Green Ants Dream

Woyzeck

Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds

Nomad: In the Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin

Cobra Verde

Heart of Glass

Even Dwarfs Started Small

Family Romance, LLC

Fata Morgana

God's Angry Man


            August 2005. Terrence McDonagh (Nicolas Cage), is a New Orleans Police Sergeant. While cleaning out a locker after Hurricane Katrina, he notices that a prisoner may not have been transferred. When he finds the prisoner about to drown in a pool of rising water in his cell, he mocks him savagely before eventually jumping in the water to save him. He is promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and given a medal for his work, but has suffered a serious back injury because of the rescue. As a result, he is prescribed Vicodin which he will most likely need to take for the rest of his life to manage the pain.Six months later. McDonagh is now not only addicted to painkillers, but is habitually using several other drugs including cocaine and marijuana. He has convinced a person that works in the police department property section to bring him drugs sent to the evidence room. His girlfriend Frankie Donnenfeld (Eva Mendes), a prostitute, also does cocaine and they often share drugs. Lt. McDonagh has also become estranged from his father (Tom Bower), a recovering alcoholic who can only bring himself to attend to his Alcoholic Anonymous meetings and nothing else, and his equally alcoholic stepmother (Jennifer Coolidge). Over the course of the movie, Lt. McDonagh uses his position as an officer to bully street people and steal more drugs. He also finds Frankie beaten by one of her clients, and threatens him to kill him if he ever goes near her again.Lieutenant McDonagh has been assigned to investigate a murder scene, where five illegal immigrants from Senegal were executed over a possible drug deal gone wrong. Information comes in that leads them to a delivery boy who was an auditory witness, and through his details and evidence they deduce the people were killed for selling drugs in a gang leader's neighborhood. The gang leader, Big Fate (Xzibit), has two associates: Midget and "G." They are both arrested, leading to Big Fate willingly coming to the police station with his lawyer. As they try to get enough evidence to convict Big Fate, their witness goes missing.McDonagh finds his grandmother, who works at a nursing home, and almost kills an old woman trying to find out where the witness has gone. The old woman sent him to family in England so he could avoid getting involved in gang affairs and probably be murdered on Big Fate's orders to prevent him from testifying.In addition to dealing with the murder investigation, McDonagh gets in trouble with his bookie for not paying his outstanding debts totaling $5,000. What money he had was given to a very powerful figure in the New Orleans underworld, a friend of a man McDonagh threatened earlier. He now requests an exorbitant amount of money ($50,000) as compensation, and gives McDonagh two days to get it. As a result of his treatment of the old woman, McDonagh is temporarily removed from duty by the stuffy Internal Affairs officers and placed in the evidence room. Angry, he goes to Big Fate and they become partners, with McDonagh supplying police information so he can get enough money to pay his debts to the bookie and the figurehead. McDonagh pays his bookie, and the figurehead and two accomplices are killed when they threaten McDonagh and Big Fate in the latter's home.To celebrate their partnership, McDonagh implores Big Fate to smoke pure cocaine with his "lucky crack pipe". He does, and McDonagh later plants the pipe at the Senegalese murder scene. The department uses this new evidence to arrest Big Fate and his cronies, but when they are alone, McDonagh's partner (Val Kilmer) attempts to simply kill Big Fate, as he does not want him to have the chance to escape conviction. McDonagh is outraged at the concept and arrests Big Fate, showing that despite his addictions he still performs his duty as an officer. McDonagh is promoted to Captain.One year later. Captain McDonagh appears to be sober, as a pregnant Frankie and his father and step-mother have worked their AA programs and stayed sober as well, but it turns out he is still doing cocaine. He encounters the prisoner he saved at the beginning of the film, and the man says that McDonagh saved his life, and he has been sober for almost a year, and offers to help McDonagh try to escape his own addiction. McDonagh simply asks "Do fish have dreams?" The film ends with the two men in an aquarium, sitting against a fish tank contemplating their future.
    

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans


            Werner Herzog decides to make a film at Loch Ness and assembles a diverse collection of experts to support him. The expedition does not go well and there are personal conflicts; the film that Werner ends up with is not the one he intended. However, he does find "Nessie" and comes up with an interesting adventure at Loch Ness after all. Two crew members actually " die".
    

Incident at Loch Ness

Tattoo Uprising

Invincible

How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck...


            The film begins with Detective Havenhurst driving with his partner Detective Vargas. They receive a call and drive to the scene of a murder. As they push their way through the crowd at the crime scene, they see Brad McCullum leaving with a coffee cup. Inside the house, the detectives find the body of Mrs. McCullum who has just been stabbed with an antique sword. At the scene are the neighbors and chief witnesses, Mrs. and Miss Roberts. The detectives soon realize that they had just seen the murderer leaving the scene.
The Robertses tell the detectives that Brad was disturbed, and had changed when he went to Peru recently. In a flashback we see Brad in Peru preparing for a kayak trip on a raging river. Back to the present time, the police have learned that Brad has taken two hostages in the house across the street. The police surround the house, and Brad's fiancée Ingrid arrives. Ingrid talks to Havenhurst about Brad's trip to Peru, saying that Brad's friends all drowned on their kayak trip, which Brad had decided at the last minute not to take part in; he later claimed that the voice of God had told him to stay behind. Several more flashbacks follow of Brad and Ingrid in Brad's bedroom, talking with Mrs. McCullum, looking at nearby houses, having dinner. Back in the present, Brad demands pizza for himself and the hostages, along with a car for transportation to Mexico.
In another flashback we see Brad in rehearsals for a Greek tragedy directed by Lee Meyers. As the pizza is delivered to Brad, Lee arrives at the scene of the crime. Lee talks with Havenhurst about Brad, and we flash back to Lee and Brad visiting Uncle Ted's ostrich farm. Brad convinces Uncle Ted to give him the antique sword which would be used in the crime. Brad uses the sword in more rehearsals for the play, in which he plays the part of a man who kills his mother, who is played by his fiancée Ingrid. Brad becomes disruptive and is eventually kicked out of the production, but still travels to Calgary with Lee and his mother to attend a performance. We see some footage of Brad at Machu Picchu, and then at a Central Asian market.
A SWAT team arrives to take command of the hostage situation, and the detective talks further with Ingrid and Lee. We see a flashback to Brad and Ingrid's trip to Tijuana, after which they go to Bob Wilson Naval Hospital to "visit the sick in general". Brad buys several pillows at the hospital gift shop. Then Brad and Ingrid walk in Balboa Park, and Brad gives away his bag of pillows, keeping one, and leaves his basketball in a tree.
Back at the crime scene, Havenhurst interviews Miss Roberts, who had witnessed the crime. In a flashback to the scene just before the murder, we see the Robertses sitting down with Brad and his mother for coffee. When Brad steps out, his mother tells Mrs. Roberts that Brad has just tried to smother her with a pillow. Brad gets his coffee cup, and then goes to his car and returns with a baseball bat and the sword. He hands the bat to Miss Roberts, saying "kill me before I do it". She does nothing, and he draws the sword and holds it in front of his mother. Miss Roberts tells detective Haverhurst that Brad stabbed her, though we do not see the crime on camera.
Ingrid and Lee talk to Brad, urging him to release the hostages and surrender. Ingrid realizes that Brad's hostages are his two pet flamingoes, and the SWAT team moves in and arrests Brad. As Brad is led into the car, we see shots of running ostriches. The final shot is in Balboa Park, where a young boy resembling Brad picks up the basketball.Source: Wikipedia
    

Werner Herzog

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