Herzog is perhaps best known for the pictures he made with madman actor Klaus Kinski, such as Aguirre: The Wrath of God, a remake of Nosferatu, Cobra Verde, and my personal preference, Fitzcarraldo. Herzog recently directed a wonderful film about his experiences with Kinski (aptly titled My Best Fiend); another movie dealing with Herzog, an account of Fitzcarraldo's troubled production by San Francisco-based Les Blank called Burden of Dreams, is one of the finest 'making of' documentaries ever released--a must-see if you can find it.

What is striking about Herzog is his individuality: his opinions are far from popular and light years away from those held by his Hollywood contemporaries, and in this book editor Paul Cronin asks just the right questions to bring out Herzog's doctrine. In one section, Herzog says that film school is not the way for young, aspiring filmmakers to go--and taking work at entry-level positions at production companies is even worse; he suggests developing a knowledge of real life before getting into the movie business by going to work as a bouncer at a sex club or working in a factory or as a taxi driver. And as for his views on television, I won't paraphrase--here are Herzog's poignant words on that subject: "The biggest danger we face as a civilization, in my opinion, is television because to a certain degree it ruins our vision and makes us sad and lonesome. Our grandchildren will blame us for not tossing hand grenades into television stations because of the commercials. Television kills our imagination and what we end up with are worn out images because of the inability of too many people to seek out fresh ones."

What makes this book and Herzog's words so inspiring and entertaining, though, are his stories of the Herculean efforts that have gone into each and every one of his pictures. His basic philosophy is that you have to dream big and stick to it or you have no business being behind a camera. Herzog has been accused of insanity many times throughout his career for the challenges he has wilfully accepted. (Or, as Klaus Kinski succinctly put it in his description of his collaborator and friend, "This much idiot there has never been in the world before!")

So here is what I recommend: read Herzog on Herzog and then see every one of his films (Anchor Bay has just issued a boxed set of the Herzog/Kinski titles on DVD that includes My Best Fiend) or vice versa, but do both one way or another.-Christopher Heard, special to Film Freak Central

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Christopher Heard is the former co-host of television's "Reel to Real" and the author of James Cameron (Dreaming Aloud; Doubleday Canada), John Woo (Ten Thousand Bullets; Doubleday Canada), and Johnny Depp (Depp; ECW Press) biographies. He will return to television with "Admit One", which debuts early next year. Visit Chris' official website at www.christopherheard.tk

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