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Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786305970965
Format: Color, Letterboxed, Special Edition, Widescreen, NTSC
ISBN: 6305970963
Label: Starz / Anchor Bay
Languages: EnglishOriginal LanguageAnalogGermanOriginal LanguageAnalogSpanishOriginal LanguageAnalog
Manufacturer: Starz / Anchor Bay
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Starz / Anchor Bay
Release Date: August 15, 2000
Running Time: 95 minutes
Studio: Starz / Anchor Bay
Theatrical Release Date: 2000
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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
Most people associate the director Werner Herzog with the actor Klaus Kinski--but few know how twisted and enmeshed their relationship was. Though Kinski has made dozens of movies, he probably remains best known for the five he made with Herzog: Aguirre: The Wrath of God, Woyzeck, Nosferatu the Vampyre, Cobra Verde, and Fitzcarraldo. In this documentary/cinematic memoir, Herzog uses clips from these remarkable films, on-the-set footage, and personal recollections to create a portrait of Kinski as both a deeply passionate actor and a raving lunatic; it's hard to say whether he's defaming Kinski or being generous to this mercurial, erratic actor. There's no question that their relationship is fascinating; after their first movie (Aguirre, probably the best of their collaborations) they both described moments of wanting to kill each other--in fact, both agree that Herzog threatened to shoot Kinski at one point, though they differ on the details. Yet they went on to make four more movies, almost all of them under circumstances that would be difficult for the most serene personalities. My Best Fiend was inspired by Kinski's death, and probably the movie's weakest aspect is that we don't get Kinski's side of their friendship. But even though it's one-sided, it's still a remarkable portrait of two artists who were willing to go to extremes to capture their visions. Any fan of either will find this unique documentary indispensable. --Bret Fetzer
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
Absolutely hilarious... Though you do wish the documentary was a bit more balanced. Kinski may well have been the ultimate nightmare actor, but director Herzog drove his crews and actors to extremes that would drive anyone crazy. Still this is a surprisingly fun documentary about an egotistical actor, who inspired even the most gentle, simple tribal people who met him (during the filming of Fitzcaraldo and Aguirre: Wrath of God) to kill him. Would make a great triple bill with the documentaries of the productions of Coppola's "Apocalypse Now" and Gilliam's ill-fated Don Quixote project.
Rating: -
Werner Herzog's 1999 documentary, Klaus Kinski: My Best Fiend, is yet another in the dazzling array of Herzog documentary, or documentary-like, films. This one follows his turbulent friendship and creative partnership with the legendary German actor Klaus Kinski. Herzog also serves as narrator, in German (with English subtitles, or dubbed into English). In the 1970s and 1980s the pair collaborated to make five indelibly memorable great films: Aguirre: The Wrath Of God (1972), Nosferatu: Phantom Of The Night (1979), Woyzek (1979), Fitzcarraldo (1982), and Cobra Verde (1988).
In a sense, this film is pure hagiography, only in wink and a nod reverse, as Herzog proudly cements Kinski's reputation as the madman of 20th Century film; but in the hands of any other director that's all this film would be, schmaltzy hagiography. In the capable hands of Herzog, this film is a memorable experience in its own right.... The film also has other unexpected moments of fun and pleasure, including ... Read More
Rating:  -
Werner Herzog, one of the greatest directors of our time, and Klaus Kinski, one of its greatest actors, collaborated with one another in five films. Both were geniuses, both stubbornly protective of their artistic integrity, and both slightly egomaniac (actually, more than "slightly"). This documentary, made by Herzog, is an effort on his part, after Kinski's death, to make sense of their relationship.
Herzog's conclusion is that they complemented and genuinely liked one another, although it's also the case that each of them experienced episodes of great rage and hatred for one another. In fact, both admitted to wanting to kill the other at times. But together they managed to make some of the greatest films of the century.
Kinski comes across as an absolutely fascinating character: possessed of a hair trigger and ferocious temper that could explode unexpectedly, he was the terror of camera crews, fellow actors, and sometimes Herzog himself. Curiously, Herzog ... Read More
Rating: -
Astounding documentary captures this unusually temperamental pairing of two big talents, who both needed, and couldn't stand, each other. We see this from Herzog's side (Kinski had died several years before), but the rendering doesn't feel one-sided or cruel. Below all the mutual frustration and rage lies a core of mutual respect, even tenderness. A remarkable portrait that illustrates the extremes and dichotomies of human relationships.
Rating: -
The documentary made by Werner Herzog tells about the legendary love-hate relationship between the director who was ready to climb to Hell for his every movie and border-line insane genius actor Klaus Kinski who might have been one of the creatures from Hell that Herzog had to face. It is hard to imagine two people more different than Herzog and Kinski: "...stone and waves, the coldest ice and hottest flames have more in common, differ less" but they both were driven and obsessed artists. Famous for his wild and ferocious talent and temperament to match, Kinski was incredibly difficult to work with. He wrote about himself, "I am a wild animal born in captivity, in a zoo but where beast would have claws, I have talent". Kinski's talent was fully realized in five films that he made with Werner Herzog over a fifteen-year working period, starting with astounding "Aguirre, the Wrath of God" (1973), and then following with "Fitzcarraldo," "Nosferatu" (1979), inspired by Murnau's silent vampire classic; ... Read More
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