Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog (German: [ˈvɛɐ̯nɐ ˈhɛɐ̯tsoːk]; born 5 September 1942) is a German film director, screenwriter, author, actor, and opera director, regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema. His films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with unique talents in obscure fields, or individuals in conflict with nature. He is known for his unique filmmaking process, such as disregarding storyboards, emphasizing improvisation, and placing the cast and crew into similar situations as characters in his films.
Herzog started work on his first film Herakles in 1961, when he was nineteen. Since then he has produced, written, and directed more than sixty feature films and documentaries, such as Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972), The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974), Heart of Glass (1976), Stroszek (1977), Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979), Fitzcarraldo (1982), Cobra Verde (1987), Lessons of Darkness (1992), Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997), My Best Fiend (1999), Invincible (2000), Grizzly Man (2005), Encounters at the End of the World (2007), Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009), and Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010). He has published more than a dozen books of prose, and directed as many operas.
French filmmaker François Truffaut once called Herzog "the most important film director alive." American film critic Roger Ebert said that Herzog "has never created a single film that is compromised, shameful, made for pragmatic reasons, or uninteresting. Even his failures are spectacular." He was named one of the world's 100 most influential people by Time magazine in 2009.
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Photos
Movies (223)
Ally
2027 · (voice)
Al borde del abismo: la aventura peruana de Werner Herzog
2026
Bucking Fastard
2026 · Writer, Director, Producer
Elefantes fantasmas
2026 · Self - Narrator (voice), Director, Writer, Producer, Screenplay
Felicidad
2025 · Producer
Mi casa amarilla
2025 · Consulting Editor
Sirena
2025
Reeling
2025 · Executive Producer
Theater of Thought
2024 · Director, Executive Producer, Screenplay
The End
2024 · Executive Producer
About a Hero
2024
The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft
2024 · Narrator (voice), Director, Writer
Celebrating the Rice Media Center
2024 · Self (archival footage)
Orión y la oscuridad
2024 · Narrator (voice)
The Arc of Oblivion
2023 · Narrator (voice), Executive Producer
Notes from a Dromedary
2022 · Creative Consultant
Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer
2022 · Self
Tegoyo
2022 · Self (Voice)
Flores del precipicio
2022 · Producer
Last Exit: Space
2022 · Narrator (voice), Executive Producer
Nosferatu: A Film Like a Vampire
2022 · Self (archive footage)
El Poso
2022 · Producer
The Extravagant Little Life of Jean-Claude D. Dreyfus
2021 · Self (archive footage)
Hannelore Elsner: More Than One Life
2021 · Self (archive footage)
A Life for Movies: Lotte Eisner
2021 · Self
Meteor: Sohrab Shahid Saless
2021 · Self
The Andinist
2020 · The Painter (Narrator)
Dear Werner (Walking on Cinema)
2020 · Narrator (voice)
Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds
2020 · Self - Narrator (voice), Director, Writer
Wim Wenders, Desperado
2020 · Self
AGFA Mystery Mixtape #2: Later in L.A.
2020 · (archive footage)
The AGFA Mystery Mixtape Vault
2020 · (archive footage)
Family Romance, LLC
2019 · Writer, Director of Photography, Director, Camera Operator
90 Years of the Music Box Theatre
2019 · Self
Tattoo Uprising
2019 · Self
Meeting Gorbachev
2019 · Self, Director, Writer
Nomad: In the Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin
2019 · Self - Interviewer and Narrator (voice), Writer, Director
Jihad in Hollywood
2019 · Self
Love Birds
2019 · Consulting Producer
The Last Scene
2019 · Executive Producer
Manaslu: Mountain of Souls
2018 · Self
Paradox Bullets
2018 · Narrator (voice)
The Great Buster: A Celebration
2018 · Self
I'm a Soldier
2018 · Self
The Empty Goal
2018 · Thanks
Film Beyond Cinema: The Dumpster Kid Experiment and Other Utopias
2018 · Self
The whole world is country
2018 · Consulting Producer
The Golden Gate
2018 · Executive Producer
One Hundred Years with Juan Rulfo
2017 · Self
Werner We Love You
2017 · Self
A Gray State
2017 · Executive Producer
Ballad of a Righteous Merchant
2017 · Self
The Man Who Killed John Wayne
2017 · Self (archive footage)
Salt and Fire
2016 · Man with One Story (uncredited), Director, Writer, Producer
Into the Inferno
2016 · Self, Director, Writer
Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World
2016 · Self, Director, Producer, Writer
The Blimp-Maker
2016 · Thanks
Jihad in Hollywood
2016 · Self
Freaks of Nature
2015 · Perfect Being (voice)
Queen of the Desert
2015 · Director, Writer
Red Army
2015 · Executive Producer
Penguins of Madagascar
2014 · Documentary Filmmaker (voice)
Atari: Game Over
2014 · Self (archival)
Lemonade War
2014 · Neighborhood Hero
The Look of Silence
2014 · Executive Producer
Alfonso Sansone: Producer by Chance
2014 · Self (archive footage)
Werner Herzog: On Death Row and Life as a Director
2014 · Self
Life Itself
2014 · Self - Filmmaker
The Unbelievers
2013 · Self
Werner Herzog and Errol Morris on 'The Act of Killing'
2013 · Self
An Appreciation of Les Blank by Werner Herzog
2013 · Self
Home from Home – Chronicle of a Vision
2013 · Alexander von Humboldt
Mistaken for Strangers
2013 · Self (uncredited)
From One Second to the Next
2013 · Director
Jack Reacher: When the Man Comes Around
2013 · Self
The Last Shepherd
2013 · Thanks
Jack Reacher
2012 · Zec Chelovek
Strawberryfields
2012 · Turnlehrer
The Act of Killing
2012 · Executive Producer
Close Up
2012 · Self (archive footage)
10 Questions for Werner Herzog
2012 · Self
The Killers: Unstaged
2012 · Self, Director
Dubai Winter Diary VI: Light and Reflections
2012 · Self
Dinotasia
2012 · Narrator (voice)
No Mr. Werner Herzog, this isn't your Cinématon
2012 · Self
I, I, I José Lewgoy
2011 · Self
Into the Abyss
2011 · Narrator (voice), Director, Writer, Producer
On Borrowed Time
2011 · Self
Ode to the Dawn of Man
2011 · Director, Sound, Cinematography
Champions: A Comic Tale
2011 · Self
Hans Zimmer: The Sound of Hollywood
2011 · Self
Werner Herzog Defends Dade
2010 · Self
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
2010 · Narrator (voice), Screenplay, Director
Anyone who dares will take the cold off their horse
2010 · Self
When Herzog Rescued Phoenix
2010 · Narrator (voice)
Into the Night With Harmony Korine and Gaspar Noe
2010 · Self
Happy People: A Year in the Taiga
2010 · Narrator (voice), Executive Producer, Director, Writer
Behind the Madness: The Making of My Son, My Son
2010 · Self
My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done
2010 · Director, Screenplay
I am My Films, Part 2... 30 Years Later
2010 · Self
The Making of Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
2010 · Himself
A Night Out
2010 · Thanks, Technical Advisor
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
2009 · Director
Plastic Bag
2009 · Plastic Bag (voice)
La Bohème
2009 · Director
The Lonely
2009
Capturing Reality
2008 · Self
Encounters at the End of the World
2008 · Narrator (voice), Director, Writer, Sound
40 x 15: The Forty Years of the Directors' Fortnight
2008 · Self
BLAST!
2008 · Narrator (voice)
Lohengrin: Bayreuth Festival Opera
2008 · Stage Director
Bierbichler
2008 · Self
Counter Shot: Departure of the Filmmakers
2008 · Self
Mister Lonely
2008 · Father Umbrillo
Back to Room 666
2008 · Self (archive footage)
Making of a True Story: Rescue Dawn
2007 · Self
Pierre Rissient: Man of Cinema
2007 · Self
Munich (Filmfest) Stories - 25 years of Munich Filmfest
2007 · Self
Rescue Dawn
2007 · Director, Author
The Grand
2007 · The German
All In This Tea
2007
The Devil's Muse
2007 · Creative Consultant
50 Films to See Before You Die
2006 · Self
Walking to Werner
2006 · Self (voice)
In the Edges: The 'Grizzly Man' Session
2005 · Self
Q & A with Jana Sevcikova and Werner Herzog
2005 · Self
Perpetuum Mobile: Voices in the Blue Space
2005 · Self
The Wild Blue Yonder
2005 · Screenplay, Director
Grizzly Man
2005 · Self / Narrator (voice), Director
Dreams and Burdens
2005 · Self
What Is It?
2005 · Thanks
Incident at Loch Ness
2004 · Self, Producer
The White Diamond
2004 · Narrator (voice), Director, Screenplay
The Best of Tromadance Film Festival: Volume 3
2004 · Self (voice) ("Dribble" short)
Dribble
2004 · Self (voice)
Wheel of Time
2003 · Narrator (voice), Producer, Director, Writer, Editor
Ten Thousand Years Older
2002 · Director, Screenplay
Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet
2002 · Director, Writer
The Boxing Prince
2002 · Self
Invincible
2001 · Writer, Director, Producer
The 100 Greatest Films
2001 · Self
Pilgrimage
2001 · Director
The Last Documentary
2000 · Self
Tannhäuser
2000 · Stage Director
Klaus Kinski: I'm not an actor
2000 · Self
The Ball Is a Scumbag
2000 · Self
Wings of Hope
1999 · Self, Director, Writer
Julien Donkey-Boy
1999 · Father
A Brief History of Errol Morris
1999 · Self
My Best Fiend
1999 · Self, Director, Writer
In the Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin
1999 · Self
What Dreams May Come
1998 · Face
Little Dieter Needs to Fly
1997 · Narrator (voice), Director, Writer
Stardust Stricken: Mohsen Makhmalbaf, A Portrait
1996 · Self
The Transformation of the World Into Music
1996 · Self, Director, Writer, Executive Producer
Gesualdo: Death for Five Voices
1995 · Narrator (voice), Director, Writer, Producer
Burning Heart
1995
Dangerous Game
1993 · Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Bells from the Deep
1993 · Narrator (voice), Director, Writer
La Donna del Lago
1992 · Director
Lessons of Darkness
1992 · Self - Narrator (voice), Director, Writer, Executive Producer
Jag Mandir: The Eccentric Private Theatre of the Maharaja of Udaipur
1991 · Narrator (voice), Producer, Director, Screenplay
SnowwhiteRosered
1991 · Self
Scream of Stone
1991 · TV-Regisseur, Director
Echoes from a Sombre Empire
1990 · Self, Director, Producer, Writer
Hard to Be a God
1990 · Mita / Richard
Russian Adventure. Peter Fleischmann is Filming "Hard to Be a God"
1990 · Self
Wodaabe: Herdsmen of the Sun
1989 · Narrator (voice), Director, Writer, Co-Producer
Bride of the Orient
1989 · Businger
The Heart and the Legs
1989 · Self
To the End of the World... and Then a Little Bit Further
1989 · Self
Giovanna d'Arco
1989 · Director
The French as Seen by…
1988 · Director
The Gauls
1988 · Director
Cobra Verde
1987 · Screenplay, Director
Location Africa
1987 · Self, Producer
Portrait: Werner Herzog
1986 · Self, Director, Writer
Tokyo-Ga
1985 · Self
The Dark Glow of the Mountains
1985 · Self (voice), Director, Writer, Producer
Room 666
1985 · Self
Ballad of the Little Soldier
1984 · Self (voice), Producer, Writer, Director
Where the Green Ants Dream
1984 · Lawyer (uncredited), Director, Producer, Writer
Man of Flowers
1983 · The Father
God's Angry Man
1983 · Narrator (voice), Director, Writer
Huie's Sermon
1983 · Director
Burden of Dreams
1982 · Self - Filmmaker
Fitzcarraldo
1982 · Director, Producer, Screenplay
Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe
1980 · Self, Writer
Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers
1980 · Self - Film Director: Nosferatu
The Making of 'Nosferatu'
1979 · Self
Woyzeck
1979 · Director, Screenplay
I Am My Films: A Portrait of Werner Herzog
1979 · Self
Scénario de 'Sauve qui peut la vie'
1979 · Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Nosferatu the Vampyre
1979 · Producer, Director, Writer
La Soufrière: Waiting for an Inevitable Catastrophe
1977 · Narrator (voice), Director, Sound Engineer, Producer
Stroszek
1977 · Director, Screenplay, Producer
Journey Through History
1977 · Self
Signs of Vigorous Life: The New German Cinema
1976 · Self
Heart of Glass
1976 · Glass Transporter, Director, Writer, Producer
How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck
1976 · Self, Producer, Director, Sound
No One Will Play with Me
1976 · Director, Writer
Lost in the Garden of the World
1975 · Self
Tales of the Dumpster Kid
1974 · Hurenmörder
The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser
1974 · Director, Screenplay, Producer
The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner
1974 · Self, Director, Screenplay, Producer
Aguirre, the Wrath of God
1972 · Director, Producer, Writer
Fata Morgana
1972 · Director, Screenplay, Producer, Sound
Land of Silence and Darkness
1971 · Director, Screenplay, Sound Recordist, Producer
Handicapped Future
1971 · Interviewer (voice) (uncredited), Director, Sound Recordist, Producer, Writer, Sound
Even Dwarfs Started Small
1971 · Director, Screenplay, Producer
The Flying Doctors of East Africa
1970 · Director, Writer, Sound Recordist, Producer
Precautions Against Fanatics
1969 · Director, Producer, Writer, Sound
Signs of Life
1968 · Soldier (uncredited), Writer, Director, Producer
Die Erben von Papas Kino
1968
Last Words
1968 · Director, Screenplay, Producer
The Unprecedented Defence of the Fortress Deutschkreuz
1967 · Director, Editor, Screenplay
Neuer Deutscher Film Report
1967
Herakles
1962 · Director, Editor, Screenplay, Producer, Sound
Jösta Hagelbäck & Werner Herzog
· Self
Shards of Cinema and Philosophy
· Self
The hunger in the world explained to my son
· Writer
The Twilight World
· Director, Novel
Walk of Life
· Director
TV shows (35)
Soccer Meets America
2026 · Self
Hulk Hogan: Real American
2026 · Self
Wim Wenders - Von Filmen und Träumen
2020 · Self
Disney Gallery / Star Wars: The Mandalorian
2020 · Self - The Client
The Mandalorian
2019 · The Client
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015 · Self - Guest
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
2015 · Self
Late Night with Seth Meyers
2014 · Self - Guest
Rick and Morty
2013 · Shrimply Pibbles (voice)
On Death Row
2012 · Werner Herzog, Writer, Director, Creator
Parks and Recreation
2009 · Keg Jennings
Metalocalypse
2006
The Henry Rollins Show
2006
The Boondocks
2005 · Himself (voice)
The Colbert Report
2005
American Dad!
2005 · Werner Herzog (voice)
Kulturplatz
2004 · Self
2000 Years of Christianity
1999 · Director
Sternstunde Philosophie
1998 · Self
Storyville
1997
Die Harald Schmidt Show
1995 · Self
Placido Domingo's Tales from the Opera
1994 · Self - Director
Film Lesson
1991 · Self, Director
Los Simpson
1989 · Walter Hotenhoffer (voice), Werner Herzog (voice), Dr. Lund (voice)
Under the Sun
1989 · Director
Sonntagsgespräch
1985 · Self
Bavarian Film Awards
1979 · Self
Okay
1979 · Self
The South Bank Show
1978
Ciné regards
1978 · Self
Midi Première
1975 · Self
Spécial cinéma
1974 · Self
60 Minutes
1968 · Self
Grimme Award
1964 · Self
German Film Award
1951 · Self