La Chanson de Roland

It has a gritty, medieval epic quality and the artistry of a Pasolini film. The film is the oldest surviving work in French literature, which testify to its enormous and enduring popularity from the 12th to 16th centuries. Widely unseen, it lacks Kinski's usual genre horror sexploitation gimmicks that lead to cult fandom and distribution. Instead it is one of his rare non-Herzog art films, and brings an intriguing folkish meta cinema narrative where Kinski plays two characters, the storyteller and the knight. Kinski was a committed, disciplined artist to his craft. A mad man could not perform a hundred films and complete each character. I found The Song of Roland an incredible effort with an alien feeling that called to mind Fellini Satyricon and the best works of Pasolini.