When I film, there are no emotions. That would be the last thing. Werner Herzog More Quotes by Werner Herzog More Quotes From Werner Herzog I don't see [the jungle] so much erotic. I see it more full of obscenity. It's just - Nature here is vile and base. I wouldn't see anything erotical here. I would see fornication and asphyxiation and choking and fighting for survival and growing and just rotting away. Of course, there's a lot of misery. But it is the same misery that is all around us. The trees here are in misery, and the birds are in misery. I don't think they sing. They just screech in pain. Werner Herzog painfightingthinking Centuries from now our great-great-great-grandchildren will look back at us with amazement at how we could allow such a precious achievement of human culture as the telling of a story to be shattered into smithereens by commercials, the same amazement we feel today when we look at our ancestors for whom slavery, capital punishment, burning of witches, and the inquisition were acceptable everyday events. Werner Herzog punishmentgrandchildrenachievement James Joyce is a cul-de-sac. [Ulysses is] ... an example how literature branched out and went into, lost itself in nowhere, no man's land. Werner Herzog landexamplemen I am so used to plunging into the unknown that any other surroundings and form of existence strike me as exotic and unsuitable for human beings. Werner Herzog exoticformused Fact creates norms, and truth illumination. Werner Herzog illuminationtruthfacts Along with this rapid growth of forms of communication at our disposal - be it fax, phone, email, internet or whatever - human solitude will increase in direct proportion. Werner Herzog phonescommunicationtechnology Very often, footage that you have shot develops its own dynamic, it's own life, that is totally unexpected, and moves away from you're original intentions. And you have to acknowledge, yes, there is a child growing and developing and moving in a direction that isn't expected-accept it as it is and let it develop its own life. Werner Herzog growingchildrenmoving We were very, very lucky [with Tim White filmed making historic discoveries in the East African Rift ] . In 100 years, only three skeletal remains [of early man] were ever found at this site. This was the third one, and we were right there when it happened. In fact, when I first heard they had found something, I said, "Please stop it! Don't do anything right now. Let's do it tomorrow until we have unpacked our cameras and assembled our stuff. Werner Herzog discoverymenyears What have we done to our images? What have we done to our embarrassed landscapes? I have said this before and will repeat it again as long as I am able to talk: if we do not develop adequate images we will die out like dinosaurs. Werner Herzog adequatedonelong I think it is a quest of literature throughout the ages to describe the human condition. Werner Herzog literatureagethinking I think there should be holy war against yoga classes. Werner Herzog yogawarthinking I always felt completely confident - it's like in a feature film, knowing your principle character is extremely well-cast. I had that same confidence in Clive [Oppenheimer]. Werner Herzog knowingprinciplescharacter Perseverance has kept me going over the years. Things rarely happen overnight. Filmmakers should be prepared for many years of hard work. The sheer toil can be healthy and exhilarating. Werner Herzog perseverancehard-workyears I am not an artist and never have been. Rather I am like a craftsman and feel very close to the mediaeval artisans who produced their work anonymously and who, along with their apprentices, had a true feeling for the physical materials they were working with. Werner Herzog craftsmanartistfeelings For me a true landscape is not just a representation of a desert or a forest. It shows an inner state of mind, literally inner landscapes, and it is the human soul that is visible through the landscapes presented in my films. Werner Herzog desertsoulmind The volcano itself wasn't that interesting, but the man who refused to be evacuated - the only one of 75,000 people - was what set the tone for the film ["Encounters at the End of the World"] that we made together [with Clive Oppenheimer] ten years later. Werner Herzog volcanoesmenyears We are surrounded by worn-out, banal, useless and exhausted images, limping and dragging themselves behind the rest of our cultural evolution. Werner Herzog exhausteduselessevolution If your project has real substance, ultimately the money will follow you like a common cur in the street with its tail between its legs. Werner Herzog substancerealtails You can fight a rumour only with an even wilder rumour. Werner Herzog wilderrumoursfighting Roger Ebert was a very valiant soldier of cinema who passed away, and we miss him. It's over with serious discourse about cinema in the print media and on television. It has been replaced by celebrity news. So we are speaking in his spirit always. Werner Herzog print-mediasoldiermissing
