Heart of Glass
(Click here)
Buy this VHS video movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Product details
Actor: Claude Chiarini, Gunter Freyse, Janos Fischer, Josef Bierbichler, Thomas BinkleyEdition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Subtitled); German (Original Language), Analog
Format: Color, NTSC, Subtitled
Running Time: 93 minutes
Release Date: 1998-01-01
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Publisher: New Yorker Video
Studio: New Yorker Video
VHS Movie Reviews of Heart of Glass
Movie Review: Herzog rocks
Summary: 4 Stars
German filmmaker Werner Herzog is not an artist to be underestimated, even in his lesser films, like 1976's Heart Of Glass (Herz Aus Glaus) because his films tend to have a cumulative power, in that they get better with each successive viewing. Ok, technically, the films are the same, but because they are so dense, layered, and multifarious, an appreciation and understanding of them is almost inevitable with a second or third viewing- one of the benefits that foreign films, and films with DVD commentaries afford and reward viewers with. The film in the Herzog canon this most reminds me of is his Even Dwarfs Started Small, another film that is so `out there' it holds a fascination over the viewer, even if it fails to achieve greatness, or even coherence.
Heart Of Glass combines the quirkiness of Even Dwarfs Started Small with the somnambulism of Night Of The Living Dead, the landscapes of the fictive Lord Of The Rings trilogy (albeit without the benefit of any special effects), and the period eye level realism of Herzog's own The Enigma Of Kaspar Hauser. The oft-repeated legend behind the film, propagated relentlessly by the notoriously tall tale telling Herzog, is that he personally hypnotized the whole cast, and one can almost believe it, given the leaden, faraway way the actors recite their lines. Yet, the film veers between this living cross between a marionette show and Noh theater and stunning musical interludes featuring the gorgeous landscapes (mountains, clouds, and waterfalls) of Bavaria and Alaska, often shot through gauzey filters that render the natural imagery as almost moving paintings upon a canvas; one designed to likewise lull the viewer into a mesmerized state. It is also like crossing mime with MTV music videos, only without having to laugh.... As usual, the music in the film, from the opening yodeling, to what seems to be monastic chanting, to the playing of a hurdy-gurdy, is excellent, and arranged by Popol Vuh's Florian Fricke. The cinematography, by J?rg Schmidt-Reitwein, as mentioned, is stunning, and many aspects of this film- from that cinematography, to certain odd sequences, such as a `bar fight' between Wudy and Ascherl, where they break glass steins and pour beer over one another, or a later scene where Wudy dances with Ascherl's corpse, just lodge jaggedly in one's psyche, which show that the hypnotizing of the cast was something more than a mere `gimmick' to sell the film. Also of note, in the cast, is an early Herzog cast regular, the dwarfish Clemens Scheitz, as the Master's man-servant, Adalbert. Thus, the film falls into that class of art beyond a good or bad axis, and onto one that is simply `interesting' or `worthwhile,' for it is not a masterpiece- as it is too unstructured and narratively anomic, nor is it a bad film- as it is too laden with great images and jaggedly lodged moments.
Heart Of Glass is a film that seems to call out for critical dissection, even as such a task would rob the film of its ineffable power, such as poetic scenes of glassblowers attempting to replicate the Ruby Glass formula, or a scene of an ugly and retarded girl named Paulin dancing topless on a table with a duck that seems to have the beak wattle of a chicken or turkey. there is nothing that prepares one for such an image, but once it has been unreeled, there is no putting the proverbial genies back in the glass. That Heart Of Glass is only 94 minutes long is both a good and bad thing: good, for the tedium of some of the somnambulism bores, and bad, for the images could hold one's fascination for hours- sort of like Godfrey Reggio's -Quatsi films do, only even more powerful. Werner Herzog shows, in this film, that a great artist can still touch greatness in works that are not his best, but it is the fact that a film like this, clearly in the lower half of the Herzog canon, is still leagues better than all but the top ten or twelve films put out by the American film marketing machine which proves that Herzog's work will live as long as, or longer than, the many legends his masterful films retell.
Movie Review: Dreamlike and incoherent, but that's the point
Summary: 4 Stars
The "problem" with Herzog's films, especially one of this type, is that they are dreamlike and incoherent at times. We are not used to reality following this strange pattern. Artists and poets often catch glimpses of this strange mode of being, so most who like his films I take it are artistic types, "feeling" types, and so forth.
Personally, I liked the film, but I thought it could have been better. I probably say that because as an artist and author myself, I always envision my own way of seeing things; however, perfection is an anomaly of sorts anyway. If it is not "perfect" (just like Herzog would want it to be), maybe then it should remain that way, just like images out of our dreams. There is a vast difference between Mozart and Debussy, and this reminds me that there are different visual styles between directors. Herzog fits more into the "Debussy" style, and there is nothing wrong with that.
This is a symbolic tale that I would only recommend to those already familiar with Herzog's style. If you are a newcomer to his works, try "Nosferatu" first. Also, read a bit about his artistic style to get an idea of what he is all about, and the meaning or purpose behind his artistic techniques.
Movie Review: Mystical beauty...
Summary: 5 Stars
This is amongst the most poetic, mysterious, and mystical films Werner Herzog has ever given us (and for him, that's saying something). Many have recounted the story behind the production that all of the cast (except the lead actor) were hypnotized before shooting. It gives the actors another worldly appearance. I really love the soundtrack by Popol Vuh. The opening scenes from this film are amongst the most beautiful I've ever seen in a film, with Popol Vuh's music giving such a deep, majestic feel to the film. The film was based on a Bavarian legend about a glass maker who died without leaving his secrets, and the townspeople went insane aftewards. The film is really told mostly through imagery and sound. Dialogue here seems incidental. Herzog was on a tear in the 1970's, making brilliant film after brilliant film. He lost a little bit of his "mojo" after Fitzcarraldo, but since has gained it back with some amazing documentaries. This is Herzog's most underrated film, one that grows stranger and mysterious with each consecutive viewing. Movie Review: On the wings of the mythic rapture!
Summary: 5 Stars
All of us are aware about the powerful imagination and fascinating spell of this unique filmmaker. In this movie Herzog displays his portentous creativity to engage us with a new world, sort of dreamy landscapes, arresting images and steady dialogue.
The humble people of a small village attempt for all their means to find and learn the formula to make a special glass; we have a wandering herdsman, who represents a shaman in the darkness of the vulgarity and ordinariness; take all your time for watch and delight this peerless movie, that constitutes at least to my mind (I have seen almost Herzog's works) one of the most the most poetic, captiavating and mesmerizing films in years.
You won't believe what you will see in the epilogue, with those unforgettable images.
Hypnotic all the way through!
Movie Review: A dreamlike experience
Summary: 4 Stars
Famous as the film where all but one cast member was hypnotized by its director, Heart of Glass is another of Werner Herzog's almost ethereal looks at damaged, alienated (indeed, almost alien) protagonists completely unsuited for the world around them. In this case it's an entire pre-industrial town where the secret of making the ruby glass that the local economy depends on has been lost, and with it the townspeople have lost all will to live and wander around in a somnambulist daze reminiscent of an entire community of Clive Owens: well, a slightly livelier Clive Owen at least, if such a thing can be possibly imagined. Only the local shepherd-cum-prophet is immune from the spell, his real prophecies a mixture of the strikingly pertinent and the truly nonsensical. Naturally, this being Herzog, a chicken does feature briefly, although whether it also is hypnotised is open to debate. It should be horribly and unwatchably self-indulgent, but the strikingly beautifully photographed tableaux and the weird poetry in its soul turns it into a dreamlike experience you drift through almost benignly despite the darkness, madness, violence and hopeless stupidity on display.
Aside from trailer, production notes and stills gallery, the main extra is another one of Herzog's excellent audio commentaries.
Summary of Heart of Glass
In his tireless crusade to expand the vocabulary of cinema, Werner Herzog turned Heart of Glass into a bold and challenging experiment. By placing all but one of his actors under hypnosis, Herzog achieved his desired effect, eliciting performances that seem oddly detached and trancelike, perfectly appropriate to a story about 19th-century Bavarian villagers who have lost their collective vision, cast adrift and descending into madness. They've lost the life-sustaining secret to the magical ruby-red glass that was once made in the local glassworks, and their predicament cannot be solved by the mystic (Josef Bierbichler, the only actor not hypnotized) who appears with premonitions of the fate of all humankind. All of this is mere pretense for Herzog's loftier (and not altogether successful) ambition: to present haunting, mysterious images that seem directly drawn from our collective subconscious. In his visionary defiance of conventional narrative, Herzog crafted a timeless, mesmerizing allegory, and one of the most eerily beautiful films ever made. --Jeff ShannonGeneral Video
Video Genres
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Movies most talked about in General Video
The Wannsee ConferenceHomevision; Release date: 2000-06-13; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $44.94
Jamon JamonFox Lorber; Release date: 1997-11-11; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $19.99
Ashes of TimeTapeworm Video; Release date: 2000-04-28; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $10.58
Price in other shops:
Wild StrawberriesHomevision; Release date: 2000-06-13; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $11.99
Price in other shops:
The Red BalloonHomevision; Release date: 1996-02-20; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $15.95
The Incredible Adventures of Wallace and GromitBBC Warner; Release date: 2000-11-21; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $6.95
Price in other shops:
Dona Flor and Her Two HusbandsFox Lorber; Release date: 1997-10-13; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $75.00
Wings of DesireMGM (Video & DVD); Release date: 2000-06-06; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $0.48
Price in other shops:
Yellow EarthFox Lorber; Release date: 1997-10-16; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $129.99
Latcho DromNew Yorker Video; Release date: 1998-11-11; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $59.90
Similar Video, DVDs, Audio CDs
The White DiamondRelease date: 2005-10-25; DVD
Best price: $12.81
Price in other shops:
The Wild Blue YonderRyko Distribution; Release date: 2006-11-14; DVD
Best price: $7.86
Price in other shops:
Little Dieter Needs to FlySTARZ HOME ENTERTAINMENT; Release date: 2007-03-27; DVD
Best price: $5.29
Price in other shops:
Cobra VerdeKINSKI/AMPAW/LEWGOY/BASILE/BER; Release date: 2000-10-24; DVD
Best price: $9.91
Price in other shops:
Where the Green Ants DreamTango Entertainment, Inc; Release date: 2006-04-25; DVD
Best price: $8.05
Price in other shops:
Nosferatu: The Vampyre/ Phantom Der NachtRelease date: 2002-07-09; DVD
Best price: $13.52
Price in other shops:
WoyzeckRelease date: 2000-08-15; DVD
Best price: $9.67
Price in other shops:
Aguirre, the Wrath of GodKINSKI/GUERRA/NEGRO/ROJO/RIVER; Release date: 2000-10-24; DVD
Best price: $9.90
Price in other shops:
StroszekRelease date: 2002-01-08; DVD
Best price: $11.98
Price in other shops:
The Enigma of Kaspar HauserRelease date: 2002-01-08; DVD
Best price: $11.99
Price in other shops: