4. The Man Who Pulled a Boat Over a Mountain

4. Werner Herzog

I recently released a video about my fascination with three of Herzog's films; 'Aguirre the Wrath of God', 'Fitzcarraldo', and 'Nosferatu'. All very foreign yet visceral and exciting experiences that I enjoyed much more than first expected. His films and my video are what inspired me to work on this list. The first thing that Herzog does right is setting the tone of his films. All three of his films I previously mentioned start with long, dark, and ambiguous shots occupied by a frightening score. Herzog wants his audience to be on guard. The plots of each film differ immensely but a mysterious tone is present and I never knew what to expect. I thought each movie was perfect. His filmography is quite long and including documentaries it's one of the longest. I'll admit I haven't seen everything by him. The reason he's number four though, is because it's vividly evident how far he's willing to push to create his vision. In 'Fitzcarraldo', he filmed a tribe manually pulling a steamboat over a mountain. In 'Nosferatu', he transformed Klaus Kinski into Dracula. His craftsmanship is relentless and his ability to create cinema in unconventional ways- masterful.
MUST WATCH FILM - 'Fitzcarraldo'
MY FAVORITE - 'Nosferatu'
UPCOMING - 'Family Romance'