Mein liebster Feind - Klaus Kinski (1999)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Werner Herzog

Writer:

Werner Herzog (writer)

Release Date:

7 October 1999 (Germany)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography

Plot:

In the 1950s, when Werner Herzog was 13, he was sharing an apartment with Klaus Kinski, an ego-maniacal live-wire...

Plot Keywords:

Native American | Insult | Director | Forest | Behind The Scenes

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Werner Herzog	...	Himself - Narrator / Interviewer (also archive footage)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Isabelle Adjani	...	Lucy Harker (archive footage)
Claudia Cardinale	...	Herself (also archive footage)
Justo González	...	Himself (also archive footage)
Mick Jagger	...	Himself - Wilbur (archive footage)
Klaus Kinski	...	Himself (archive footage)
Eva Mattes	...	Herself (also archive footage)
Benino Moreno Placido	...	Himself (also archive footage)
Beat Presser	...	Himself (archive footage)
Guillermo Ríos	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jason Robards	...	Fitzcarraldo (archive footage)
Walter Saxer	...	Himself (archive footage)
Maximilian Schell	...	Himself - Deserteur (archive footage)
Andrés Vicente	...	Himself (archive footage)

Directed by
Werner Herzog

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Werner Herzog		writer

Produced by
James Mitchell	....	executive producer
Sabine Rollberg	....	producer
Christine Ruppert	....	executive producer
Andre Singer	....	executive producer
Lucki Stipetic	....	producer

Original Music by
Popol Vuh

Cinematography by
Peter Zeitlinger

Film Editing by
Joe Bini

Production Design by
Ulrich Bergfelder

Production Management
Ulrich Bergfelder	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Herbert Golder	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Hubertus Rath	....	sound re-recording mixer
Josh Rosen	....	sound editor
Chris Simon	....	sound
Eric Spitzer	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Les Blank	....	second camera
Werner Janoud	....	still photographer
Erik Söllner	....	assistant camera
Silvia Vas	....	still photographer

Editorial Department
Renate Hähmer	....	assistant editor (as Renate Hähner)
Thad Povey	....	assistant editor
Thomas Staunton	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Monika Kostinek	....	business manager
Anja Schmidt-Zäringer	....	script supervisor
David Silberberg	....	researcher

Production Companies

• Arte
• Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR)
• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
• Cafe Productions Ltd.
• Independent Film Channel (IFC)
• Werner Herzog Filmproduktion
• Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR)
• Yleisradio (YLE)
• Zephir Film

Distributors

• Sherlock Media S.L. (2000) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Stamm Film AG (2000) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Zephir Film (1999) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Al!ve AG (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Altomedia. Co. Ltd. (Korea) (DVD)
• Altomedia. Co. Ltd. (Korea) (VHS)
• Capelight Pictures (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Eurozoom (France)
• Future Film (2005) (Finland) (DVD)
• Manga Films (2000) (Spain) (all media)
• New Yorker Films (USA) (subtitled)
• Pandora Films
• Ripley's Home Video (2005) (Italy) (DVD) (boxed set)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (DVD)
• mediacs AG (2002) (Germany) (DVD)

Also Known As:

25. tunti: Klaus Kinski (Finland) (TV title)
Mein liebster Feind (Germany)
My Best Fiend (Europe: English title)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

UK | Germany | Finland | USA

Language:

German | English | Spanish

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Singapore:PG | Spain:T

Company:

Arte

Quotes:

Kinski: I am not the Jesus of the official church who the police, bankers, judges, hangmen, officers, church bosses and other powerful people tolerate. I am not your Superstar.

Movie Connections:

Features Burden of Dreams (1982)

Mein liebster Feind - Klaus Kinski (1999) - Ist mein liebling Dokumentarfilm

The documentary made by Werner Herzog tells about the legendary love-hate relationship between the director who was ready to climb to Hell for his every movie and border-line insane genius actor Klaus Kinski who might have been one of the creatures from Hell that Herzog had to face. It is hard to imagine two people more different than Herzog and Kinski: "...stone and waves, the coldest ice and hottest flames have more in common, differ less" but they both were driven and obsessed artists. Famous for his wild and ferocious talent and temperament to match, Kinski was incredibly difficult to work with. He wrote about himself, "I am a wild animal born in captivity, in a zoo but where beast would have claws, I have talent". Kinski's talent was fully realized in five films that he made with Werner Herzog over a fifteen-year working period, starting with astounding "Aguirre, the Wrath of God" (1973), and then following with "Fitzcarraldo," "Nosferatu" (1979), inspired by Murnau's silent vampire classic; "Woyzeck" (1979), about a 19th century army private who seems mad to others because he looks and acts so differently from them, and "Cobra Verde" (1988). It is impossible to imagine any other actor starring in these films and they are without doubt the best Kinski ever made (and he made hundreds of films). Thanks to the Herzog's documentary we are able to learn what exactly went on behind the stunning images and unforgettable performances. According to Herzog, "people like Marlon Brando are just kindergarden comparing to Kinski. He is mad and unpredictable." They liked each other, they hated each other, and they respected each other at the same time making plans to murder each other. Kinski, who respected Herzog, and valued his friendship, confessed to the director that in his autobiography he would describe their relationship in not very flattering terms - otherwise, the crowd would not read it. Herzog recalls how they both would sit together at the bench after the shooting and discuss what Kinski would write in his book. I am curious if they discussed and agreed upon the following passage and if Herzog helped Kinski with some of the colorful metaphors: "I absolutely despise this murderous Herzog! Huge red ants should p**s into his lying eyes, gobble up his balls, penetrate his a**hole and eat his guts."

Even after watching the fascinating documentary, it is difficult to fully understand the relationship between two giants but as Herzog admits, the only thing that counts is what we see on the screen and what we see is amazing.