Review by Red-Barracuda

How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck? is a typically strange documentary from German film-maker Werner Herzog. His films practically always focus on the fringes of society. Strange characters and unusual topics abound. This film is no different. It takes place at the 1976 World Championship of Livestock Auctioneering held in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. In this contest contestants compete to see who can talk the fastest, as they auction a succession of cattle at super-fast speeds.

This is a very basic film not only in terms of technique but also with regard to content. It really is not about the people themselves but solely about the fast talking, the way it sounds, the way it has a certain rhythm. To an average listener these people speak a mystifying language that sounds like comical nonsense. It's funny because no one finds it funny – everybody at the show takes it completely at face value and completely normal and clearly understand this bizarre and seemingly unintelligible form of communication. As is normal for him, Herzog does not make fun of his documentary subjects and, in this case, simply observes. It's quite funny up to a point but overlong and repetitive given that the vast majority of it is simply a succession of auctioneers talking at high speed. The lack of material makes it almost quite an abstract documentary, one which is not so much about informing the viewer and more about engaging their senses. How much this will work for you is entirely down to what extent you get into the rhythms of these fast talking auctioneers. I personally found it amusing up to a point but a bit tedious at the same time.