Thomas von Steinaecker first reached out to Werner Herzog in 2020 about making a documentary surveying the prolific director’s career. Von Steinaecker’s peers told him that he would never hear back from Herzog. Afterall Herzog had never met von Steinaecker. This was almost two years ago. Von Steinaecker was then completing the task. “Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer.” The 103-minute feature documentary chronicles not just Herzog’s 60-year career, but also explores what makes Herzog tick as a filmmaker and as a human being.
German-born von Steinaecker discovered Herzog while in his early teens. “Aguirre, the Wrath of God.”Von Steinaecker was a member of the American Society for Engineering and Technology (ASET) from that moment forward. “fascinated”With the director.
“Everything about (‘Aguirre, the Wrath of God’) was shockingly different and strange,”He said. “The music, Klaus Kinski, the story and, last but not least, the documentary-style camera. The fact that such a film had been made in – from a cinematic point of view – boring Germany, was incredible to me. I had never seen anything like it before. I was shocked, even traumatized.”
Later in life, von Steinaecker was inspired by Herzog’s documentaries, which include “Grizzly Man”And “Encounters at the End of the World,”As well as his books. “Of Walking in Ice”And “Conquest of the Useless.”
“Both (books) left a lasting impression on me as a writer and have no equal in German literary history,” von Steinaecker says.
In “Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer” von Steinaecker interviews actors and directors including Chloé Zhao, Joshua Oppenheimer, Wim Wenders, Nicole Kidman, Christian Bale and Robert Pattinson about what makes Werner Werner. Interviews with Herzog, Lena, and other family members are also featured in the film. Combining interviews with Herzog and his wife Lena, as well as archival footage of Herzog at his work, the film shows a man who never stopped following his dreams.
“Werner Herzog: Radical Dreamer,” which is part of IDFA’s Best of Fest section, made its worldwide debut at the Telluride Film Festival in September. Variety spoke with von Steinaecker to discuss film financing, getting interviews, and what he hopes viewers take away from his documentary.
Thomas von Steinaecker with Werner Herzog, Lanzarote “Radical Dreamer”
Johanna Jannsen, 3B Produktion
Before making this documentary, you didn’t know Werner Herzog. How did you convince Werner that you were the right man to make a film about his life?
Werner’s gatekeeper is his brother Lucki Stipetic and I got along well with him when I reached out about the idea. Lucki was a friend and I trusted him. He agreed that the vision I had for the movie was one he could trust. ‘Let’s give it a try.’ Normally I would have flown out to Los Angeles to meet Werner, but COVID prevented that from happening. Instead of flying out to Los Angeles, COVID prevented me from doing so. I instead sent Werner a letter and two novels. After that we talked over Skype and I was extremely nervous because I thought of Werner as this scary person but after 10 seconds we formed this deep connection somehow, and we didn’t talk about the film at all.
Herzog has made many films. How did you choose to concentrate on a few? “Aguirre, The Wrath of God”(1972) “Fitzcarraldo” (1982)?
Although it sounds impossible, it was clear to me which films needed to be included in the documentary. “Fitzcarraldo”It is a film that Werner and film history will never forget. That was also a turning point in Werner’s career, so, it was always clear that that film would play a main role in my doc. “Aguirre”It was the first collaboration between Klaus Kinski and Werner. Most people in Germany stopped watching Werner’s films after “Fitzcarraldo,”This documentary was the opportunity to show German audiences there is more to the seventies-eighties greats. These documentaries were also very popular in the United States.
Is it? “Radical Dreamer”A biodoc?
No. Werner’s private life doesn’t play a role in the film, and there is not much analysis of his films. This project should be like a ballad telling a story. I wanted to create a poetic atmosphere.
How did you finance this doc?
The German state funded half of the budget, while Wavelength and Wavelength were the majority of the investors.
Did you ever feel that you wanted to create this doc in order to learn from Werner’s?
I wouldn’t say that because my way of making films is totally different from Werner. But of course, he’s a master of filmmaking and there’s so much to learn from him. He was impressed when I showed him the rough draft of the film. It was my idea. ‘Let’Let’s see it again. I have some comments.’ They weren’t structural comments, it was more cutting out two seconds or prolonging an image for two seconds. These suggestions made a huge difference.
You were also shooting “Radical Dreamer,” Werner didn’t tell you which camera lens to use or what questions to ask him?
No. Never. He didn’t want to interfere. That was our agreement because I knew that I wouldn’t be able to work like that. It was difficult enough to film a documentary about one the greatest filmmakers ever. It was difficult to let go of my ego and focus on Werner’s story and our connection.
Robert Pattinson, Nicole Kidman, and Robert Pattinson collaborated with Werner “Queen of the Desert” (2015) and Christian Bale worked with him on his 2006 film “Rescue Dawn.“How was it to secure interviews with them for this documentary?
It was surreal because I didn’t think that people like Kidman, Bale or Pattinson would agree on giving an interview. They are so well-known. They are so famous. It tells you a lot more about Werner Herzog’s importance and impact on people because they all agreed immediately.
You wonder what viewers will discuss after viewing this docu.
Werner will be an inspiration to them, I believe. Werner is a man who didn’t give up on his dreams and visions, and his story ended with a happy ending despite all odds. How likely is it that a Bavarian boy becomes an icon and star of Hollywood?