Overview
"You know from seeing it that Herzog was up to something strange in filming Heart of Glass. Now the mystery is clarified. Alan Greenberg peers into the heart of darkness of the great artist." —Roger Ebert
This intimate chronicle about the visionary filmmaker Werner Herzog explores his unorthodox methods in directing the film
Heart of Glass. Twenty-four-year-old Alan Greenberg showed up unannounced at Herzog’s Munich home; by the end of their first evening together Herzog urged him to collaborate on his current project—and everything thereafter. Sharing how unusual Herzog’s renegade filmmaking methods could be, Greenberg explains how Herzog hypnotized the actors prior to shooting their scenes, creating a profoundly haunting cinematic experience. More than a conventional journalistic account, this book interweaves the original screenplay with Greenberg’s observations from his work on the film, allowing the married texts to play off each other hypnotically and create a unique vision with the feel of a novel—intimate, penetrating, and filled with mystery.
Reviews
“Alan Greenberg’s great and poetic writing here captures the thick, dark dream mood of Werner Herzog’s Heart of Glass. He magically depicts Werner’s deep obsessions, total commitment, and creativity. He shows the way Werner goes about his work using both his mind and hands. This way is rare and spectacular. Alan Greenberg proves beautifully in this book that there will never again be a filmmaker even remotely like Werner Herzog.” —David Lynch, director
"You know from seeing it that Herzog was up to something strange in filming Heart of Glass. Now the mystery is clarified. Alan Greenberg peers into the heart of darkness of the great artist." —Roger Ebert
"Alan Greenberg's book, which plunges you far into the unstable depths of the creative process, is delirious, madcap, beautifully observed and rendered, and genuinely exhilarating." —Luc Sante, author of Kill All Your Darlings: Pieces 1990–2005
"Alan Greenberg's mesmerizing account of the creation and realization of Werner Herzog's Heart of Glass (during the filming of which the actors were under hypnosis) is truly unusual—and as poetic and mysterious as the film itself." —Jim Jarmusch, director
"Alan Greenberg was there when Werner Herzog shot the legendary film Heart of Glass, and it is this acute witness that informs one of the best books about the art of cinema ever published." —Stephen Davis, author of Hammer of the Gods and Jim Morrison
"Herzog's philosophy of filmmaking as a combination of physical ordeal, trust in the mystical and instinctive, and financial and emotional risk... makes for some great movies - and in the case of
Every Night the Trees Disappear, for great writing about movies." —
American Cinematographer"Remarkable." —Austin Chronicle
"It is one of those rare books that you honestly can't put down . . . I recommend this book highly to all fans of Werner Herzog." —Media Mikes
Author Biography
Alan Greenberg is a writer, film director, film producer, and photographer. His film Land of Look Behind won the Gold Hugo Award at the Chicago International Film Festival, and he has collaborated with Werner Herzog for more than 35 years, helping him write the screenplay of Fitzcarraldo, among others. He is also the author of Love in Vain: A Vision of Robert Johnson. He lives in Portland, Oregon. Werner Herzog is considered one of the world's greatest filmmakers. His films include Aguirre, the Wrath of God; Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans; Cave of Forgotten Dreams; Encounters at the End of the World; The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser; Fitzcarraldo; Grizzly Man; The Wild Blue Yonder; and Woyzeck. His books include Conquest of the Useless and Of Walking in Ice. He lives in Los Angeles.
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