Mein liebster Feind

Germany

Synopsis

A chain of coincidence brings the 13-year-old schoolboy Werner Herzog together with Klaus Kinski in the same apartment in Munich. In an unabated, 48-hour fit of rage, Kinski immediately proceeds to lay waste to all the furniture, only one of many such fits to follow. Herzog therefore knows what awaits him when, some years later, he enga¬ges Kinski to work with him on AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD, their first film together. Four more films will follow. MY BEST FIEND is a film about the love-hate relationship between Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski - utterly puzzling to outsiders, about the deep trust between an actor and a director, and their independently and simultaneously hatched plans to murder one another.

Director's Biography

Werner Herzog (real name W.H Stipetic) was born in Munich on 5 September 1942. He grew up in a remote mountain village in Bavaria and never saw any films, television, or telephones as a child. He started traveling an foot from the age of 14. He made his first phone call at the age of 17. During high school he worked the nightshift as welder in a steel factory to produce his first film in 1961 at the age of 19. Since then he has produ-ced, written and directed more than forty films - such as AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD (1972), NOSFERATU (1978), FITZCARRALDO (1981), LESSONS OF DARKNESS (1991), LITTLE DIETER NEEDS TO FLY (1997), - published more than a dozen books of prose, and directed as many operas.

FILMOGRAPHY
1962 HERAKLES, short
1964 GAME IN THE SAND, short
1966 THE UNPRECEDENTED DEFENCE OF THE FORTRESS DEUTSCHKREUZ, short
1967 LAST WORDS, short
1967 SIGNS OF LIFE (Lebenszeichen)
1968 MIRAGE (Fata Morgana)
1969 PRECAUTIONS AGAINST FANATICS, short
1969 THE FLYING DOCTORS OF EAST AFRICA, short
1969 HANDICAPPED FUTURE, short
1969 EVEN DWARFS STARTED SMALL
1970 HANDICAPPED FUTURE
1971 THE LAND OF SILENCE AND DARKNESS
1972 AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD
1974 THE GREAT ECSTASY OF THE SCULPTOR STEINER, short
1974 THE ENIGMA OF KASPAR HAUSER
1976 HOW MUCH WOOD WOULD A WOODCHUCK CHUCK, short
1976 NO ONE WILL PLAY WITH ME, short
1976 LA SOUFRIERE, short
1976 HEART OF GLASS
1977 STROSZEK
1978 NOSFERATU THE VAMPIRE
1978 WOYZECK
1980 HUIES SERMON, short
1980 CREED AND CURRENCY, short
1981 FITZCARRALDO
1983 WHERE THE GREEN ANTS DREAM
1984 BALLAD OF THE LITTLE SOLDIER, short
1984 GASHERBRUM - THE DARK GLOW OF THE MOUNTAINS
1987 COBRA VERDE
1988 LES FRANCAIS VUS PAR - THE FRENCH, short
1989 WODAABE - HERDSMEN OF THE SUN
1990 ECHOES FROM A SOMBER EMPIRE (BOKASSA)
1991 JAG MANDIR - THE ECCENTRIC PRIVATE THEATRE OF THE MAHARAJAH OF UDAIPUR
1991 LESSONS OF DARKNESS, short
1991 FILM LESSONS 1-4 (Filmstunde 1-4), - 60, 62, 60, 58 min
1991 SCREAM OF STONE
1993 BELLS FROM THE DEEP
1994 THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE WORLD INTO MUSIC —BAYREUTH-
1995 DEATH FOR FIVE VOICES - GESUALDO
1997 LITTLE DIETER NEEDS TO FLY - 80/52/42 min
1998 WINGS OF HOPE - 70/49/42 min
1999 MY BEST FIEND —Klaus Kinski
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Cast & Crew

Directed by: Werner Herzog

Produced by: Lucki Stipetic

Cinematography: Peter Zeitlinger

Editing: Joe Bini

Original Score: Popol Vuh

Sound: Eric Spitzer

Nominations and Awards

  • European Documentary 1999