Sunday, August 23rd, 2009 (Short Film Sunday: Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe)

On Wednesday, I featured the new trailer for the film My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done on the blog. Upon watching it though, I was slightly disappointed. Was it bad? Did it look like a terrible movie? Not at all, but coming from director Werner Herzog and producer David Lynch, I feel a little let down if I'm not completely mindfucked in a groundbreaking event of cinema. Also, regardless of how good the film turns out, it has given all of us movie bloggers a reason to talk about the two ingenious, truly original directors, in particularly Herzog's antics as director since he is helming the upcoming feature.

I'll start by saying, if the chance ever presents itself to watch a Werner Herzog interview, you'll be doing yourself a favor by doing so. Not only is most of his classic films engaging, the stories behind the camera is usually as fascinatingly entertaining as anything the visionary puts on screen. One great story he often tells when interviewed is about his somewhat bizarre 1970 film Even Dwarfs Started Small. In the film, to make the dwarfs feel more comfortable with his stunts and not feel exploited, Herzog jumped into a cactus for the sole entertainment of his mostly unknown cast of smaller actors. Yet, maybe his best behind-the-scenes story comes courtesy of two films in which he didn't take the director's chair.

The story begins in 1978 with documentarian Errol Morris and his very critically acclaimed movie, Gates of Heaven. The low budget documentary from newcomer Morris chronicled the daily lives of those involved in the pet cemetery business. The seemingly unmarketable film was eventual released and was even at one time on Roger Ebert's top ten films of all time in any genre. Morris' vision will be remembered for many things, but quite possibly more than all, it will be remembered for a wager that Herzog made with him, claiming he would eat his shoe if Gates of Heaven could be completed and secure a release in a public theater.

Being a man of his word, Herzog would fly in from Germany to the premiere of Morris' film at the UC Theater in Berkeley, California, and would prepare and cook the shoes he was wearing when he originally laid down the challenge. Herzog chose to eat the shoe in front of an audience in order to bring some much needed publicity to Morris' film, and would also invite another documentary filmmaker, Les Blank, along to keep the lenses on Herzog's entire adventure, ultimately making a short film that would be as fondly remembered as anything in any of the three men's careers, the twenty minute featured short tonight, Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe.

The short highlights Herzog's entertaining personality, as well as being the first time Blank and Herzog would work together. Blank would go on to direct his most successful and popular feature-length film, Burden of Dreams, documenting the difficulties in the making of Herzog's highly praised Fitzcarraldo. I've never heard exactly why Blank was chosen as the director of this particular short, but I would personally expect it to be because at the same time he was working on a documentary Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers, focusing on cooking with garlic, one of the major preparations by Herzog and famed chef Alice Waters used on the shoe in the film. Maybe that in itself will be another great story to hear the director tell in an interview I've yet to see.

So without further adieu, enjoy the wonderful 1980 short, Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe.
Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe