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| mo_flixx |
 Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 10:49 am |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
Posts: 12533
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Herzog also demonstrates a genuine link to nature in his films. I know from attending a number of Telluride Film Festivals that Herzog was enchanted by the mountain landscapes of that area.
I remember an old quote from Herzog which said something to the effect that we were running out of true images and by that he meant pristine wilderness.
I'm sure he's attracted to any project which affords him a chance to go to a breathtaking _natural_ location which he can capture on film. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 12:33 pm |
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gromit: The coroner was strange. I found him scarier than the grizzly bears. The watch thing really made me wonder a bit. I don't think I'd want to remember a friend by wearing the watch from his dismembered body.
Apparently the bears are actually Kodiak Bears or Alaskan Brown Bears. Grizzly Man makes a better title. |
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| gromit |
| Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 12:58 pm |
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Joined: 31 Aug 2004
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Location: Shanghai
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Quote: Apparently the bears are actually Kodiak Bears or Alaskan Brown Bears. Grizzly Man makes a better title.
Only according to you.
Seriously, I hadn't heard that anywhere.
I had grizzly bears as clients when I worked briefly as a lawyer for the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund in Denver. Actually, Justice Douglass in a famous concurring opinion wrote that hummingbirds and trees and bears should have standing to sue in court. Instead of needing people who get first-hand benefits from their presence and the surrounding nature to assert a direct personal (human) harm. Anyway, I learned alot about grizzly bear habitat and the way it gets messed with by people. Also, the primary way to tell a griz from other bears is by the hump on the shoulder, as well as size (which is less effective). There is something else (possibly with the paw), but I forget.
One of the ironies of the Treadwell situation is that we think he's a fool because we know that he gets killed, while actually he was safe for 13 summers, by following his quirky ways. Only when he broke one of his cardinal rules and stayed late in the season (leaving, but then returning after arguing with the airline people), did he meet his demise. You could argue that it was bound to happen anyway, or that he was bound to feel too confident and break his own rules eventually. But it's interesting that we have him pegged as a suicidal nut-job, when really his rules and behavior must have been fairly effective and the risks manageable enough to work for 13 summers (around 40 months, I'm estimating). |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 3:28 pm |
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It seemed like he had figured out how to deal with the bears in the park, who were more used to seeing humans. The bear that killed him came from the interior and its main experience with humans was negative. It was late in the season, and there probably wasn't much to forage. You'd think if his "friends" were going to attack him, it would have been during the drought when the bears were starving.
Checking up on the bear situation, Kodiak brown bears, Alaskan brown bears and grizzly bears are all subspecies of the same species and the boundaries between the subspecies isn't all that sharp, so referring to Treadwell's bears as grizzlies or Kodiaks doesn't make that much difference. They're basically all the same bears. |
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Rocky Laocoon foretold of Troy's doom, only to find snaky water. They pulled him in and Rocky can't swim. Now Rocky wishes he were an otter! |
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| marantzo |
| Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 4:28 pm |
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Quote: They're basically all the same bears.
That's what I thought but I was too lazy to look it up. Thanks.
And from the little I know about Grizzlies, I think the are pretty well killer bears and don't have to be hungry to kill humans. Just being on their territory is enough. |
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| Melody |
| Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 5:00 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: TX
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mo_flixx wrote: Herzog also demonstrates a genuine link to nature in his films ... I'm sure he's attracted to any project which affords him a chance to go to a breathtaking _natural_ location which he can capture on film.
This is especially true of his 2003 documentary Wheel of Time, in which he captures part of the sacred pilgrimmage to Tibet's Mount Kailash, a holy shrine for Buddhists, Jains and Hindus. Pilgrims walk sometimes thousands of miles across vast desert-like plains, carrying their supplies on their backs.
Herzog perfectly captures the stark beauty of the landscape, but the pilgrims' arduous journey is not easy to watch. Still, it's interesting to see a whole other brand of religious fundamentalism playing out on the other side of the world. |
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My heart told my head: This time, no. |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 5:43 pm |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
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Melody wrote: mo_flixx wrote: Herzog also demonstrates a genuine link to nature in his films ... I'm sure he's attracted to any project which affords him a chance to go to a breathtaking _natural_ location which he can capture on film.
Herzog perfectly captures the stark beauty of the landscape, but the pilgrims' arduous journey is not easy to watch. Still, it's interesting to see a whole other brand of religious fundamentalism playing out on the other side of the world.
Thanks for mentioning this movie. I didn't realize that Herzog had made a movie about Mt. Kailash. I'm putting it on my must-see list.
FITZCARRALDO is another Herzog film that combines fanaticism with nature. |
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| yambu |
| Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 5:45 pm |
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Joined: 23 May 2004
Posts: 6441
Location: SF Bay Area
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[quote="marantzo"]Quote: Grizzlies, I think the are pretty well killer bears and don't have to be hungry to kill humans. Just being on their territory is enough. |
Last edited by yambu on Sat Feb 18, 2006 12:02 am; edited 2 times in total |
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| Mr. Brownstone |
| Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 6:07 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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| That's fucking awesome. That Lewis & Clark bear is going on my bear list. |
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| sioux |
| Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 9:21 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: philly burbs
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| I do think that Treadwell was a freaky guy but that was because of his own footage - I know that Herzog presents it in a certain way and his perspective is that Treadwell was naive, but the fact remains, if Treadwell really respected the fact that staying later into the season was dangerous, then he should have left, or at the very least, sent his girlfriend, no matter what happened with the pilot. |
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| Ghulam |
| Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 9:31 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
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Location: Upstate NY
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| The fascination probably lies in the fact that we are watching a train wreck as it happens. All questions about the man's character and judgement take a back seat at that moment. |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 11:24 pm |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
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What I find so curious is that Herzog is like the flip side of the coin to many of his characters. In some ways, he's not so dissimilar to Treadwell or even the weird coroner.
Imagine a coin, and stand it on edge; on one side you'd have Treadwell and on the other Herzog.
The movie that shows Herzog's particular brand of obsession is "Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe." |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2006 1:56 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
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Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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| Speaking of train wrecks, I'm about halfway through Downfall. Hitler's just distributed cyanide capsules and Albert Speer has left the building. |
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Rocky Laocoon foretold of Troy's doom, only to find snaky water. They pulled him in and Rocky can't swim. Now Rocky wishes he were an otter! |
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| ehle64 |
| Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2006 2:00 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 7149
Location: NYC; US&A
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| Downfall is brilliant. |
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It truly disappoints me when people do something for you via no prompt of your own and then use it as some kind of weapon against you at a later time and place. It is what it is. |
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| daffy |
| Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2006 3:04 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 1939
Location: Wall Street
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| I've been dyng to see Downfall and am glad to hear it's out on DVD. I'm a WWII "fan", and am especially interested in Speer. This is a must-rent. |
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