Bells from the Deep and Into the Abyss Wikipedia film pages

Bells from the Deep
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 This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2010)

Bells from the Deep

Directed by
Werner Herzog
Produced by
Lucki Stipetic
Ira Barmak
Alessandro Cecconi
Written by
Werner Herzog
Narrated by
Werner Herzog
Cinematography
Jörg Schmidt-Reitwein
Edited by
Rainer Standke
Production
   company
Werner Herzog Filmproduktion
Momentous Events (co-production)
Release date(s)
1993
Running time
60 min.
Country
Germany
 United States
Language
English
German
Russian
Bells from the Deep: Faith and Superstition in Russia, is a 1993 documentary film written and directed by Werner Herzog, produced by Werner Herzog Filmproduktion.


Contents  [hide]
1 Summary
2 Embellishments
3 References
4 External links

Summary[edit]
Bells from the Deep is German director Werner Herzog's documentary investigation of Russian mysticism. The first half of the film is concerned primarily with a Russian faith healer and a man claiming to be the reincarnation of God as was Jesus. Herzog uses primarily interviews with Russians and scenes from the religious services of the two Holy men. Herzog also has several segments on the religion of Siberian nomads.
The second half of the film is primarily concerned with the legend of the lost city of Kitezh. This myth is about a city that was in peril of being destroyed by marauding Mongols, but whose citizens prayed for rescue. Hearing their prayers, God placed the city at the bottom of a deep lake, where it resides to this day. Some even say that one can hear the bells from the city's church. The story is recounted by a local priest and pilgrims visiting the lake.
Throughout the movie a character claiming to be the second coming of Jesus appears. Towards the very end of the film he blesses the viewers of the film. This man is Sergey Anatolyevitch Torop who has later received much attention as the religious leader Vissarion.
Embellishments[edit]
Herzog, as he often does, embellished the story of the Lost City considerably, acknowledging his fabrications fully:
"I wanted to get shots of pilgrims crawling around on the ice trying to catch a glimpse of the lost city, but as there were no pilgrims around I hired two drunks from the next town and put them on the ice. One of them has his face right on the ice and looks like he is in very deep meditation. The accountant’s truth: he was completely drunk and fell asleep, and we had to wake him at the end of the take."[1]
Herzog defends the fabrication as reaching a greater truth:
"I think the scene explains the fate and soul of Russia more than anything else."
This is in keeping with Herzog's beliefs about truth in film.
The film also contains shots of pilgrims, which are in fact people ice fishing. The chanting Siberians are only performing religious services in one of their two major scenes. In the other they are simply singing a love song.
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "Herzog on Herzog", by Paul Cronin (London: Faber and Faber Ltd., 2002)
External links[edit]
Bells from the Deep at the Internet Movie Database


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Films directed by Werner Herzog


Feature films
Signs of Life (1968) ·
 Even Dwarfs Started Small (1970) ·
 Fata Morgana (1971) ·
 Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972) ·
 The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974) ·
 Heart of Glass (1976) ·
 Stroszek (1977) ·
 Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) ·
 Woyzeck (1979) ·
 Fitzcarraldo (1982) ·
 Where the Green Ants Dream (1984) ·
 Cobra Verde (1987) ·
 Scream of Stone (1991) ·
 Lessons of Darkness (1992) ·
 Invincible (2001) ·
 The Wild Blue Yonder (2005) ·
 Rescue Dawn (2007) ·
 The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009) ·
 My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done? (2009) ·
 Queen of the Desert (2014)
 

Documentaries
The Flying Doctors of East Africa (1969) ·
 Handicapped Future (1971) ·
 Land of Silence and Darkness (1971) ·
 The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner (1974) ·
 How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck (1976) ·
 La Soufrière (1977) ·
 Huie's Sermon (1981) ·
 God's Angry Man (1981) ·
 Ballad of the Little Soldier (1984) ·
 The Dark Glow of the Mountains (1984) ·
 Wodaabe – Herdsmen of the Sun (1989) ·
 Echoes from a Somber Empire (1990) ·
 Jag Mandir (1991) ·
 Bells from the Deep (1993) ·
 The Transformation of the World into Music (1994) ·
 Death for Five Voices (1995) ·
 Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997) ·
 My Best Fiend (1999) ·
 Wings of Hope (2000) ·
 Pilgrimage (2001) ·
 Ten Thousand Years Older (2002) ·
 Wheel of Time (2003) ·
 The White Diamond (2004) ·
 Grizzly Man (2005) ·
 Encounters at the End of the World (2007) ·
 Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010) ·
 Into the Abyss (2011) ·
 On Death Row (2012) ·
 From One Second to the Next (2013)
 

Shorts
Herakles (1962) ·
 Game in the Sand (1964) ·
 The Unprecedented Defence of the Fortress Deutschkreuz (1967) ·
 Last Words (1967) ·
 Precautions Against Fanatics (1969) ·
 No One Will Play with Me (1976) ·
 Portrait Werner Herzog (1986) ·
 Les Gaulois (1988) ·
 La bohème (2009)
 

Other
Incident at Loch Ness (2004)
 

See also: Werner Herzog bibliography


 


Categories: 1993 films
Films directed by Werner Herzog
Documentary films about the paranormal
Documentary films about spirituality
German films
German documentary films
1990s documentary films





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Into the Abyss (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search


Into the Abyss
Into the abyss poster.jpg
Directed by
Werner Herzog
Produced by
Dave Harding
 Amy Briamonte
 Henry Schleiff
 Sara Kozak
Andre Singer
Lucki Stipetic (executives)
Erik Nelson[1]
Written by
Werner Herzog
Starring
Werner Herzog
 Michael Perry
 Jason Burkett
Narrated by
Werner Herzog
Music by
Mark Degli Antoni[1]
Cinematography
Peter Zeitlinger
Edited by
Joe Bini[1]
Production
   company
Investigation Discovery
 Creative Differences
Werner Herzog Filmproduktion
 Spring Films
More4
 Revolver Entertainment
Distributed by
IFC Films
Sundance Selects
Release date(s)
September 8, 2011 (TIFF)
November 11, 2011 (United States)

Running time
105 minutes[2]
Country
United States
 United Kingdom
 Germany
Language
English
Into the Abyss, subtitled A Tale of Death, a Tale of Life, is a documentary film written and directed by Werner Herzog about two men convicted of a triple homicide which occurred in Conroe, Texas. Michael Perry received a death sentence for the crime.
The film was first shown on September 3, 2011, at the Telluride Film Festival,[3] and had its official world premiere on September 8, 2011, at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival.[4] After strong festival showings and a surge of interest in the issue of capital punishment in America, Herzog requested that the film be rushed into general theatrical release, which occurred on November 11, 2011.[5]


Contents  [hide]
1 Synopsis
2 Production
3 Release and distribution
4 Reception 4.1 Awards
5 References
6 External links

Synopsis[edit]
The film profiles Michael Perry, a man on death row convicted of murdering Sandra Stotler, a fifty-year-old nurse of German descent. He was suspected, but never charged, in two other murders which occurred in Conroe, Texas Perry was convicted eight years earlier of the October 2001 murder, apparently committed in order to steal a car for a joyride. Perry denies that he was responsible for the killings.
Perry's final interviews for the film were recorded only eight days before his execution[1] on July 1, 2010.[2] The film also includes interviews with victims' families and law enforcement officers.[6]
The film does not focus on Perry's guilt or innocence and features a minimal amount of narration, with Herzog never appearing onscreen, unlike in many of his films.[7][8]
Production[edit]
Herzog had long considered making a film about prison inmates. In fact, Herzog at age 17 had intended to make his first film about the maximum security Straubing prison in Bavaria. This concept was never realized, but the idea remained dormant until Into the Abyss decades later.[3][9]
The film is financed by American cable TV channel Investigation Discovery, who gave Herzog financing and great creative freedom.[10]
The film went through several working titles during its production. For a time it was called simply "Death Row", and this was later elaborated to "Gazing Into The Abyss: A Tale of Death, a Tale Of Life".[7] The television broadcast of the film and the related series was briefly referred to as "Werner Herzog’s Final Confessions",[10] but eventually aired with the title On Death Row.
Certain voices in the production wanted the film's title to be "The Red Camaro", but Herzog disliked the hint of product placement in the title, and called it "not evocative at all".[11] By August 2011, when its premiere at TIFF was announced, the title was changed to "Into the Abyss". Herzog has often commented that "Into the Abyss" could have worked well as the title of many of his films.[11]
Herzog originally planned and shot profiles of five[4] death row inmates in Texas and Florida,[12] including Michael Perry. After production began, Herzog decided to focus on Perry's case.[1] His other interviews were compiled into a series of four 50 minute films which aired as the television miniseries On Death Row.
The film was in production during promotion for Herzog's previous film Cave of Forgotten Dreams. Herzog missed a special screening of Cave at the Berlinale festival because an opportunity to film one of his subjects arose suddenly.[12]
Release and distribution[edit]
The film's premiere was on September 2011 at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival.[4] The film was often portrayed as being one among several "hot-button political documentaries" at the festival.[13] Herzog, however, has stated that he has no political intentions with the film. Herzog states at the film's outset that he opposes capital punishment,[3] but he has said that his "focus is elsewhere" in the film.[12] In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, he said, "This is not an issue film; it's not an activist film against capital punishment," and, "Yes, it has an issue, but it's not the main purpose of the film."[14]
Before the film's festival premiere, North American theatrical distribution rights were bought by Sundance Selects.[15] In October 2011, Sundance Selects announced that the film would be rushed to a theatrical release, opening in select cities on November 11, 2011. In recent months there had been controversies over American capital punishment in the case of Troy Davis and the cheers for Rick Perry's execution record in a Republican primary debate. The early release was demanded by Herzog himself, who wanted his film to contribute to this new national discussion of the death penalty. Producer Erik Nelson said, "Everyone in the country is focused on the death penalty debate again thanks to Rick Perry and the bloodthirsty yahoos at the Republican debate, and I think Werner wants the film to be part of that discussion because timing is everything."[5]
After a theatrical release, the film will be shown on Investigation Discovery, which provided the film's financing.[10] It is currently available for on demand video streaming on Netflix.[16]
Reception[edit]
The film received generally positive reviews. As of December 2011, Metacritic reported a score of 74 out of 100 based on 27 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[17]
The film appeared as #3 on Roger Ebert's list of the 20 best documentaries of 2011,[18] and again on Ebert's "best documentaries of 2012" list.[19]
Awards[edit]
2011 BFI London Film Festival, Best Documentary[20]
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Into the Abyss: Werner Herzog". Toronto International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
2.^ Jump up to: a b "Werner Herzog Film: Into the Abyss". Wernerherzog.com. 2010-07-01. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
3.^ Jump up to: a b c Fernandez, Jay A. (September 3, 2011). "Telluride 2011: 'Into the Abyss' vs. 'Pina' in a Documentary Doubleheader". The Hollywood Reporter.
4.^ Jump up to: a b c "Watch: 3 Powerful Clips & New Photos From Werner Herzog's Death Row Documentary Into The Abyss". Blogs.indiewire.com. August 5, 2011. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
5.^ Jump up to: a b Hammond, Pete (2011-10-07). "OSCARS: Werner Herzog's Controversial Toronto/Telluride Death Penalty Doc Being Rushed Into Release In November". Deadline.com. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
6.Jump up ^ Taylor, Kate (August 3, 2011). "A closer look at 3 TIFF docs to get excited about". Toronto: The Globe and Mail. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
7.^ Jump up to: a b "Werner Herzog’s Prison Doc Now Titled Gazing Into The Abyss: A Tale of Death, A Tale Of Life". Blogs.indiewire.com. June 20, 2011. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
8.Jump up ^ Debruge, Peter (September 3, 2011). "Into the Abyss: A Tale of Death, a Tale of Life". Variety.
9.Jump up ^ "Paris Review – The Spring Issue: Werner Herzog and Jan Simek on Caves, John Jeremiah Sullivan". Theparisreview.org. May 2, 2011. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
10.^ Jump up to: a b c April 15, 2011 by Adam Benzine (April 15, 2011). "ID holds "Final Confessions" with Werner Herzog". Realscreen. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
11.^ Jump up to: a b "Into the Abyss: A conversation with filmmaker Werner Herzog". Flickering Myth. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
12.^ Jump up to: a b c Macnab, Geoffrey (February 15, 2011). "Werner Herzog exits Cave, goes to Death Row". Screendaily.com. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
13.Jump up ^ "You Betcha! What Hot Political Docs Will Cause a Stir in Toronto?". Blogs.indiewire.com. August 3, 2011. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
14.Jump up ^ "24 Frames". Los Angeles Times. September 10, 2011.
15.Jump up ^ [1][dead link]
16.Jump up ^ Into the Abyss Netflix.com
17.Jump up ^ "Into the Abyss Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic. 2011-11-11. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
18.Jump up ^ Chicago Sun-Times http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/9609267-421/roger-eberts-favorite-documentaries-of-2011.html |url= missing title (help).
19.Jump up ^ Blog, Chaz's. Chicago Sun-Times http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2013/01/a_dozen_good_documentaries.html |url= missing title (help).
20.Jump up ^ October 26, 2011 by Adam Benzine (2011-10-26). "Herzog takes top doc honors at London Film Fest". Realscreen. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
External links[edit]
Into the Abyss at the Internet Movie Database


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Films directed by Werner Herzog


Feature films
Signs of Life (1968) ·
 Even Dwarfs Started Small (1970) ·
 Fata Morgana (1971) ·
 Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972) ·
 The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974) ·
 Heart of Glass (1976) ·
 Stroszek (1977) ·
 Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) ·
 Woyzeck (1979) ·
 Fitzcarraldo (1982) ·
 Where the Green Ants Dream (1984) ·
 Cobra Verde (1987) ·
 Scream of Stone (1991) ·
 Lessons of Darkness (1992) ·
 Invincible (2001) ·
 The Wild Blue Yonder (2005) ·
 Rescue Dawn (2007) ·
 The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009) ·
 My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done? (2009) ·
 Queen of the Desert (2014)
 

Documentaries
The Flying Doctors of East Africa (1969) ·
 Handicapped Future (1971) ·
 Land of Silence and Darkness (1971) ·
 The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner (1974) ·
 How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck (1976) ·
 La Soufrière (1977) ·
 Huie's Sermon (1981) ·
 God's Angry Man (1981) ·
 Ballad of the Little Soldier (1984) ·
 The Dark Glow of the Mountains (1984) ·
 Wodaabe – Herdsmen of the Sun (1989) ·
 Echoes from a Somber Empire (1990) ·
 Jag Mandir (1991) ·
 Bells from the Deep (1993) ·
 The Transformation of the World into Music (1994) ·
 Death for Five Voices (1995) ·
 Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997) ·
 My Best Fiend (1999) ·
 Wings of Hope (2000) ·
 Pilgrimage (2001) ·
 Ten Thousand Years Older (2002) ·
 Wheel of Time (2003) ·
 The White Diamond (2004) ·
 Grizzly Man (2005) ·
 Encounters at the End of the World (2007) ·
 Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010) ·
 Into the Abyss (2011) ·
 On Death Row (2012) ·
 From One Second to the Next (2013)
 

Shorts
Herakles (1962) ·
 Game in the Sand (1964) ·
 The Unprecedented Defence of the Fortress Deutschkreuz (1967) ·
 Last Words (1967) ·
 Precautions Against Fanatics (1969) ·
 No One Will Play with Me (1976) ·
 Portrait Werner Herzog (1986) ·
 Les Gaulois (1988) ·
 La bohème (2009)
 

Other
Incident at Loch Ness (2004)
 

See also: Werner Herzog bibliography


 


Categories: 2011 films
English-language films
American documentary films
German films
British films
Capital punishment in Texas
2010s documentary films
Films directed by Werner Herzog
Documentary films about capital punishment in the United States
Documentary films about crime in the United States









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This page was last modified on 28 August 2014 at 14:59.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
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Bells from the Deep
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search


Question book-new.svg
 This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2010)

Bells from the Deep

Directed by
Werner Herzog
Produced by
Lucki Stipetic
Ira Barmak
Alessandro Cecconi
Written by
Werner Herzog
Narrated by
Werner Herzog
Cinematography
Jörg Schmidt-Reitwein
Edited by
Rainer Standke
Production
   company
Werner Herzog Filmproduktion
Momentous Events (co-production)
Release date(s)
1993
Running time
60 min.
Country
Germany
 United States
Language
English
German
Russian
Bells from the Deep: Faith and Superstition in Russia, is a 1993 documentary film written and directed by Werner Herzog, produced by Werner Herzog Filmproduktion.


Contents  [hide]
1 Summary
2 Embellishments
3 References
4 External links

Summary[edit]
Bells from the Deep is German director Werner Herzog's documentary investigation of Russian mysticism. The first half of the film is concerned primarily with a Russian faith healer and a man claiming to be the reincarnation of God as was Jesus. Herzog uses primarily interviews with Russians and scenes from the religious services of the two Holy men. Herzog also has several segments on the religion of Siberian nomads.
The second half of the film is primarily concerned with the legend of the lost city of Kitezh. This myth is about a city that was in peril of being destroyed by marauding Mongols, but whose citizens prayed for rescue. Hearing their prayers, God placed the city at the bottom of a deep lake, where it resides to this day. Some even say that one can hear the bells from the city's church. The story is recounted by a local priest and pilgrims visiting the lake.
Throughout the movie a character claiming to be the second coming of Jesus appears. Towards the very end of the film he blesses the viewers of the film. This man is Sergey Anatolyevitch Torop who has later received much attention as the religious leader Vissarion.
Embellishments[edit]
Herzog, as he often does, embellished the story of the Lost City considerably, acknowledging his fabrications fully:
"I wanted to get shots of pilgrims crawling around on the ice trying to catch a glimpse of the lost city, but as there were no pilgrims around I hired two drunks from the next town and put them on the ice. One of them has his face right on the ice and looks like he is in very deep meditation. The accountant’s truth: he was completely drunk and fell asleep, and we had to wake him at the end of the take."[1]
Herzog defends the fabrication as reaching a greater truth:
"I think the scene explains the fate and soul of Russia more than anything else."
This is in keeping with Herzog's beliefs about truth in film.
The film also contains shots of pilgrims, which are in fact people ice fishing. The chanting Siberians are only performing religious services in one of their two major scenes. In the other they are simply singing a love song.
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "Herzog on Herzog", by Paul Cronin (London: Faber and Faber Ltd., 2002)
External links[edit]
Bells from the Deep at the Internet Movie Database


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Films directed by Werner Herzog


Feature films
Signs of Life (1968) ·
 Even Dwarfs Started Small (1970) ·
 Fata Morgana (1971) ·
 Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972) ·
 The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974) ·
 Heart of Glass (1976) ·
 Stroszek (1977) ·
 Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) ·
 Woyzeck (1979) ·
 Fitzcarraldo (1982) ·
 Where the Green Ants Dream (1984) ·
 Cobra Verde (1987) ·
 Scream of Stone (1991) ·
 Lessons of Darkness (1992) ·
 Invincible (2001) ·
 The Wild Blue Yonder (2005) ·
 Rescue Dawn (2007) ·
 The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009) ·
 My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done? (2009) ·
 Queen of the Desert (2014)
 

Documentaries
The Flying Doctors of East Africa (1969) ·
 Handicapped Future (1971) ·
 Land of Silence and Darkness (1971) ·
 The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner (1974) ·
 How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck (1976) ·
 La Soufrière (1977) ·
 Huie's Sermon (1981) ·
 God's Angry Man (1981) ·
 Ballad of the Little Soldier (1984) ·
 The Dark Glow of the Mountains (1984) ·
 Wodaabe – Herdsmen of the Sun (1989) ·
 Echoes from a Somber Empire (1990) ·
 Jag Mandir (1991) ·
 Bells from the Deep (1993) ·
 The Transformation of the World into Music (1994) ·
 Death for Five Voices (1995) ·
 Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997) ·
 My Best Fiend (1999) ·
 Wings of Hope (2000) ·
 Pilgrimage (2001) ·
 Ten Thousand Years Older (2002) ·
 Wheel of Time (2003) ·
 The White Diamond (2004) ·
 Grizzly Man (2005) ·
 Encounters at the End of the World (2007) ·
 Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010) ·
 Into the Abyss (2011) ·
 On Death Row (2012) ·
 From One Second to the Next (2013)
 

Shorts
Herakles (1962) ·
 Game in the Sand (1964) ·
 The Unprecedented Defence of the Fortress Deutschkreuz (1967) ·
 Last Words (1967) ·
 Precautions Against Fanatics (1969) ·
 No One Will Play with Me (1976) ·
 Portrait Werner Herzog (1986) ·
 Les Gaulois (1988) ·
 La bohème (2009)
 

Other
Incident at Loch Ness (2004)
 

See also: Werner Herzog bibliography


 


Categories: 1993 films
Films directed by Werner Herzog
Documentary films about the paranormal
Documentary films about spirituality
German films
German documentary films
1990s documentary films





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Read

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Printable version

Languages
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Italiano
Edit links
This page was last modified on 12 July 2014 at 00:01.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
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About Wikipedia
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Contact Wikipedia
Developers
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Powered by MediaWiki
   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bells_from_the_Deep










Into the Abyss (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search


Into the Abyss
Into the abyss poster.jpg
Directed by
Werner Herzog
Produced by
Dave Harding
 Amy Briamonte
 Henry Schleiff
 Sara Kozak
Andre Singer
Lucki Stipetic (executives)
Erik Nelson[1]
Written by
Werner Herzog
Starring
Werner Herzog
 Michael Perry
 Jason Burkett
Narrated by
Werner Herzog
Music by
Mark Degli Antoni[1]
Cinematography
Peter Zeitlinger
Edited by
Joe Bini[1]
Production
   company
Investigation Discovery
 Creative Differences
Werner Herzog Filmproduktion
 Spring Films
More4
 Revolver Entertainment
Distributed by
IFC Films
Sundance Selects
Release date(s)
September 8, 2011 (TIFF)
November 11, 2011 (United States)

Running time
105 minutes[2]
Country
United States
 United Kingdom
 Germany
Language
English
Into the Abyss, subtitled A Tale of Death, a Tale of Life, is a documentary film written and directed by Werner Herzog about two men convicted of a triple homicide which occurred in Conroe, Texas. Michael Perry received a death sentence for the crime.
The film was first shown on September 3, 2011, at the Telluride Film Festival,[3] and had its official world premiere on September 8, 2011, at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival.[4] After strong festival showings and a surge of interest in the issue of capital punishment in America, Herzog requested that the film be rushed into general theatrical release, which occurred on November 11, 2011.[5]


Contents  [hide]
1 Synopsis
2 Production
3 Release and distribution
4 Reception 4.1 Awards
5 References
6 External links

Synopsis[edit]
The film profiles Michael Perry, a man on death row convicted of murdering Sandra Stotler, a fifty-year-old nurse of German descent. He was suspected, but never charged, in two other murders which occurred in Conroe, Texas Perry was convicted eight years earlier of the October 2001 murder, apparently committed in order to steal a car for a joyride. Perry denies that he was responsible for the killings.
Perry's final interviews for the film were recorded only eight days before his execution[1] on July 1, 2010.[2] The film also includes interviews with victims' families and law enforcement officers.[6]
The film does not focus on Perry's guilt or innocence and features a minimal amount of narration, with Herzog never appearing onscreen, unlike in many of his films.[7][8]
Production[edit]
Herzog had long considered making a film about prison inmates. In fact, Herzog at age 17 had intended to make his first film about the maximum security Straubing prison in Bavaria. This concept was never realized, but the idea remained dormant until Into the Abyss decades later.[3][9]
The film is financed by American cable TV channel Investigation Discovery, who gave Herzog financing and great creative freedom.[10]
The film went through several working titles during its production. For a time it was called simply "Death Row", and this was later elaborated to "Gazing Into The Abyss: A Tale of Death, a Tale Of Life".[7] The television broadcast of the film and the related series was briefly referred to as "Werner Herzog’s Final Confessions",[10] but eventually aired with the title On Death Row.
Certain voices in the production wanted the film's title to be "The Red Camaro", but Herzog disliked the hint of product placement in the title, and called it "not evocative at all".[11] By August 2011, when its premiere at TIFF was announced, the title was changed to "Into the Abyss". Herzog has often commented that "Into the Abyss" could have worked well as the title of many of his films.[11]
Herzog originally planned and shot profiles of five[4] death row inmates in Texas and Florida,[12] including Michael Perry. After production began, Herzog decided to focus on Perry's case.[1] His other interviews were compiled into a series of four 50 minute films which aired as the television miniseries On Death Row.
The film was in production during promotion for Herzog's previous film Cave of Forgotten Dreams. Herzog missed a special screening of Cave at the Berlinale festival because an opportunity to film one of his subjects arose suddenly.[12]
Release and distribution[edit]
The film's premiere was on September 2011 at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival.[4] The film was often portrayed as being one among several "hot-button political documentaries" at the festival.[13] Herzog, however, has stated that he has no political intentions with the film. Herzog states at the film's outset that he opposes capital punishment,[3] but he has said that his "focus is elsewhere" in the film.[12] In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, he said, "This is not an issue film; it's not an activist film against capital punishment," and, "Yes, it has an issue, but it's not the main purpose of the film."[14]
Before the film's festival premiere, North American theatrical distribution rights were bought by Sundance Selects.[15] In October 2011, Sundance Selects announced that the film would be rushed to a theatrical release, opening in select cities on November 11, 2011. In recent months there had been controversies over American capital punishment in the case of Troy Davis and the cheers for Rick Perry's execution record in a Republican primary debate. The early release was demanded by Herzog himself, who wanted his film to contribute to this new national discussion of the death penalty. Producer Erik Nelson said, "Everyone in the country is focused on the death penalty debate again thanks to Rick Perry and the bloodthirsty yahoos at the Republican debate, and I think Werner wants the film to be part of that discussion because timing is everything."[5]
After a theatrical release, the film will be shown on Investigation Discovery, which provided the film's financing.[10] It is currently available for on demand video streaming on Netflix.[16]
Reception[edit]
The film received generally positive reviews. As of December 2011, Metacritic reported a score of 74 out of 100 based on 27 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[17]
The film appeared as #3 on Roger Ebert's list of the 20 best documentaries of 2011,[18] and again on Ebert's "best documentaries of 2012" list.[19]
Awards[edit]
2011 BFI London Film Festival, Best Documentary[20]
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Into the Abyss: Werner Herzog". Toronto International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2013.
2.^ Jump up to: a b "Werner Herzog Film: Into the Abyss". Wernerherzog.com. 2010-07-01. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
3.^ Jump up to: a b c Fernandez, Jay A. (September 3, 2011). "Telluride 2011: 'Into the Abyss' vs. 'Pina' in a Documentary Doubleheader". The Hollywood Reporter.
4.^ Jump up to: a b c "Watch: 3 Powerful Clips & New Photos From Werner Herzog's Death Row Documentary Into The Abyss". Blogs.indiewire.com. August 5, 2011. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
5.^ Jump up to: a b Hammond, Pete (2011-10-07). "OSCARS: Werner Herzog's Controversial Toronto/Telluride Death Penalty Doc Being Rushed Into Release In November". Deadline.com. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
6.Jump up ^ Taylor, Kate (August 3, 2011). "A closer look at 3 TIFF docs to get excited about". Toronto: The Globe and Mail. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
7.^ Jump up to: a b "Werner Herzog’s Prison Doc Now Titled Gazing Into The Abyss: A Tale of Death, A Tale Of Life". Blogs.indiewire.com. June 20, 2011. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
8.Jump up ^ Debruge, Peter (September 3, 2011). "Into the Abyss: A Tale of Death, a Tale of Life". Variety.
9.Jump up ^ "Paris Review – The Spring Issue: Werner Herzog and Jan Simek on Caves, John Jeremiah Sullivan". Theparisreview.org. May 2, 2011. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
10.^ Jump up to: a b c April 15, 2011 by Adam Benzine (April 15, 2011). "ID holds "Final Confessions" with Werner Herzog". Realscreen. Retrieved August 15, 2011.
11.^ Jump up to: a b "Into the Abyss: A conversation with filmmaker Werner Herzog". Flickering Myth. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
12.^ Jump up to: a b c Macnab, Geoffrey (February 15, 2011). "Werner Herzog exits Cave, goes to Death Row". Screendaily.com. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
13.Jump up ^ "You Betcha! What Hot Political Docs Will Cause a Stir in Toronto?". Blogs.indiewire.com. August 3, 2011. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
14.Jump up ^ "24 Frames". Los Angeles Times. September 10, 2011.
15.Jump up ^ [1][dead link]
16.Jump up ^ Into the Abyss Netflix.com
17.Jump up ^ "Into the Abyss Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More". Metacritic. 2011-11-11. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
18.Jump up ^ Chicago Sun-Times http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/9609267-421/roger-eberts-favorite-documentaries-of-2011.html |url= missing title (help).
19.Jump up ^ Blog, Chaz's. Chicago Sun-Times http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2013/01/a_dozen_good_documentaries.html |url= missing title (help).
20.Jump up ^ October 26, 2011 by Adam Benzine (2011-10-26). "Herzog takes top doc honors at London Film Fest". Realscreen. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
External links[edit]
Into the Abyss at the Internet Movie Database


[hide]
v ·
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Films directed by Werner Herzog


Feature films
Signs of Life (1968) ·
 Even Dwarfs Started Small (1970) ·
 Fata Morgana (1971) ·
 Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972) ·
 The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974) ·
 Heart of Glass (1976) ·
 Stroszek (1977) ·
 Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) ·
 Woyzeck (1979) ·
 Fitzcarraldo (1982) ·
 Where the Green Ants Dream (1984) ·
 Cobra Verde (1987) ·
 Scream of Stone (1991) ·
 Lessons of Darkness (1992) ·
 Invincible (2001) ·
 The Wild Blue Yonder (2005) ·
 Rescue Dawn (2007) ·
 The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009) ·
 My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done? (2009) ·
 Queen of the Desert (2014)
 

Documentaries
The Flying Doctors of East Africa (1969) ·
 Handicapped Future (1971) ·
 Land of Silence and Darkness (1971) ·
 The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner (1974) ·
 How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck (1976) ·
 La Soufrière (1977) ·
 Huie's Sermon (1981) ·
 God's Angry Man (1981) ·
 Ballad of the Little Soldier (1984) ·
 The Dark Glow of the Mountains (1984) ·
 Wodaabe – Herdsmen of the Sun (1989) ·
 Echoes from a Somber Empire (1990) ·
 Jag Mandir (1991) ·
 Bells from the Deep (1993) ·
 The Transformation of the World into Music (1994) ·
 Death for Five Voices (1995) ·
 Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997) ·
 My Best Fiend (1999) ·
 Wings of Hope (2000) ·
 Pilgrimage (2001) ·
 Ten Thousand Years Older (2002) ·
 Wheel of Time (2003) ·
 The White Diamond (2004) ·
 Grizzly Man (2005) ·
 Encounters at the End of the World (2007) ·
 Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010) ·
 Into the Abyss (2011) ·
 On Death Row (2012) ·
 From One Second to the Next (2013)
 

Shorts
Herakles (1962) ·
 Game in the Sand (1964) ·
 The Unprecedented Defence of the Fortress Deutschkreuz (1967) ·
 Last Words (1967) ·
 Precautions Against Fanatics (1969) ·
 No One Will Play with Me (1976) ·
 Portrait Werner Herzog (1986) ·
 Les Gaulois (1988) ·
 La bohème (2009)
 

Other
Incident at Loch Ness (2004)
 

See also: Werner Herzog bibliography


 


Categories: 2011 films
English-language films
American documentary films
German films
British films
Capital punishment in Texas
2010s documentary films
Films directed by Werner Herzog
Documentary films about capital punishment in the United States
Documentary films about crime in the United States









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