Werner Herzog's Ecstatic Truth

In the world of cinema, the great German filmmaker Werner Herzog says it’s Hollywood that’s crazy, not him.

But if you want to talk "ecstatic truth," he’s right there. Has been for decades now: the director who would do anything — anything, in jungle, mountaintop, ice cap, chaos — to get at the heart, the edge, of a film, of nature, of humanity.

Now he’s out with a mad Nicholas Cage in “The Bad Lieutenant” and a haunting San Diego matricide.

This hour, On Point: a conversation with German film great Werner Herzog.

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Guest:

Werner Herzog is a film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and opera director. He's made more than 50 films, including "Aguirre, the Wrath of God," "Grizzly Man," "Rescue Dawn," and "Encounters at the End of the World." His new films, out this year, are "The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans" and "My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?" He's also out this year with "Conquest of the Useless: Reflections from the Making of Fitzcarraldo," a collection of the journals he kept during the epic making of his 1982 film.

More links:
Werner Herzog's Rogue Film School --In January 2010, Herzog is offering a series of weekend seminars to select participants. "The Rogue Film School is not for the faint-hearted," he says, "it is for those who have travelled on foot, who have worked as bouncers in sex clubs or as wardens in a lunatic asylum, for those who are willing to learn about lockpicking or forging shooting permits in countries not favoring their projects. In short: for those who have a sense for poetry. For those who are pilgrims. For those can tell a story to four year old children and hold their attention. For those who have a fire burning within. For those who have a dream."

Watch the trailer for "The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans":

Watch the trailer for "My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done":