Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe

This is a little documentary prepared by Les Blank about Werner Herzog's sort of bet to Errol Morris that he should make a movie, but if he did with the luck that he would need as a first time director, he would literally eat a shoe. Herzog adamantly says in the documentary that he's only doing it in support of Morris and his film (which at the time this doc was released didn't yet have distribution despite its great acclaim at festivals), though there's something sublimely absurd about it all, even through Herzog's deadpan/serious talks to the camera. He talks a bit about Morris and his film too, and his praise for it is all well and good. But it's even more interesting to see a) Herzog's views on commercialism and film-making and the lack of "adequate images", and b) director Les Blank's inventive cross-cutting between the on-stage eating of the show, footage of Charlie Chaplin doing the act in a silent, and Herzog talking to the camera. It's funny once or twice, perhaps unintentionally from Herzog's words (i.e. "it's not self-destructive to throw yourself into a pile of cactus"). But for the most part it's meant as a very serious act of foolishness not just for Morris but for filmmakers everywhere. If you can find it- and it's now available on free sites like you-tube- it's worth a look, especially if you're a fan of Herzog. And for Morris fans too there's a quick treat in an outtake from Gates of Heaven spliced in at one point. That song, by the way, of which I quote in the one-line summary, is awesome.

A short little film, where Herzog eats his shoe, although in reality he just eats the leather part of his old shoe after boiling it in water. But still the principle of the whole thing is humorous, Herzog promised to do this if a filmmaker would actually just make the film they were always dreaming of making.

Errol Morris accomplishes this and so Herzog submits to it. Les Blank also did this documentary on Herzog "Burden of Dreams" so I think if I recall some footage of that is intertwined into this story.

Herzog should constantly have a camera on him, he strikes me as very interesting, I don't always love his films but he is always worth hearing from.

A short documentary in which directors Werner Herzog and Errol Morris make a bet which results in Herzog being forced to eat his own shoe.

Filmed in April 1979, the film features Herzog cooking his shoes (the ones he claims to have been wearing when he made the bet) at the Berkeley, California restaurant Chez Panisse, with the help of chef Alice Waters. (The shoes were boiled with garlic, herbs, and stock for five hours.) He is later shown eating one of the shoes before an audience at the premiere of "Gates of Heaven" at the nearby UC Theater.

This film is great because it connects three of the finest filmmakers of the era. Werner Herzog is a great documentarian and director, while Morris (just starting out) has gone on to become possibly the best documentary filmmaker in the business. And who should be filming this? Les Blank, the chronicler of America culture... quite possibly the best before Morris came along. All three being linked like this is a rare moment.

There may be better directors than German New Wave auteur Werner Herzog, but if viewed entirely in terms of how interesting they are personally, Herzog stands above all. His tales of working with deranged German actor Klaus Kinski are the stuff of legend: from filming deep in the jungle using real natives to pushing a ship over a waterfall for Fitzcarraldo to apparently earnestly plotting to kill his star. Or, more recently he saved Joaquin Phoenix from a car crash and then disappeared before he could be thanked. His personality even transfers over remarkably in this short film directed by Les Blank.

We learn that Herzog apparently was friends with Errol Morris. While Morris was still a struggling young filmmaker, Herzog had made a bet with him that if he ever got his film made, the former would eat his shoe. Well, in 1979 he finally does make a film, Gates of Heaven, and Herzog comes to live up to his promise. The film chronicles Herzog as he garnishes, cooks, and eats one of the shoes with some salt and garlic on stage during the film's premiere. This all happens and Herzog still has time to say things like how we must declare holy war on what we see every day on television, talk shows and Bonanza; and how it requires some self-degradation in order to be a director, all in 17 minutes.

So for a short film it works quite well at capturing his essence. It's also up on YouTube to watch for free and in its entirety. This is a good thing, as it is not even available on Netflix. So if you have 20 minutes to spare, it's well worth watching.

Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe (1980)

*** (out of 4)

Funny short has director Werner Herzog eating his shoe after losing a bet to a friend. The documentary does a nice job building up tension and there's some nice side talk about the importance of film.

Burden of Dreams (1982)

**** (out of 4)

Incredible documentary from director Les Blank about the making of Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo. The Herzog film is one of the most amazing films I've seen and it's rather shocking, due to that film's troubled history, that a documentary was being filmed on it. In the Herzog film you realize that the main character played by Klaus Kinski was crazy because of what he was trying to do. In this documentary, you realize that Herzog was crazy for even trying to make this film.