Short of the Week: The first film directed by Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog is undoubtedly one of the greatest living filmmakers, responsible for churning out classics such as Aguirre, the Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo, among many others. Over the course of his illustrious career, Herzog has remained true to his unique artistic vision, which has influenced artists all over the world.
For this week’s edition of Short of the Week, we have selected the first film ever directed by Herzog. The German auteur had a difficult childhood which is why he never really knew about the existence of cinema until a travelling projectionist introduced him to films later on. He started working on his first cinematic project – Herakles – during his teenage years.
The 1962 short was completed by Herzog, who was just 20 at the time. However, this project helped him confirm his nagging suspicion that he was always meant to be a filmmaker. The film portrays six of Heracles’ famed twelve labours, conjuring up images of masculinity and the physicality of the male body.
During later interviews, Herzog saw the film as a crucial experience. He said: “My most immediate and radical lesson came from what was my first blunder, Herakles. It was a good thing to have made this little film first – rather than jump into something much more meaningful to me – because from that moment on, I had a much better idea as to how I should go about my business. Learning from your mistakes is the only real way to learn.”
Although Herzog didn’t have formal film education or extensive familiarity with the history of cinema, he considered the act of making a film to be more valuable than any film school. To this day, Herzog urges aspiring directors to gain practical experience by doing their own projects instead of relying on academic institutions.
Herzog commented: “Looking back on Herakles today, I find the film rather stupid and pointless, though at the time, it was an important test for me. It taught me about editing together very diverse material that would not normally sit comfortably as a whole… For me, it was fascinating to edit material together that had such separate and individual lives. The film was some kind of an apprenticeship for me. I just felt it would be better to make a film than go to film school.”
Watch the first short by Werner Herzog below.
