Werner Herzog (Munich, September 5, 1942) is a German director, documentary filmmaker, screenwriter, producer and actor. His films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with unique talents in dark fields, or individuals who are in conflict with nature.
Herzog recorded his first film in 1961 at the age of 19. Since then he has produced, written and directed more than sixty feature films and documentaries, such as Aguirre, la ira de Dios (1972), Herz aus Glas (1976), Nosferatu el vampiro (1979), Fitzcarraldo (1982), Lektionen in Finsternis (1992 ), Flucht aus Laos (1997), My Intimate Enemy (1999), Invincible (2000), Grizzly Man (2005), Encounters at the End of the World (2007), Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009) and Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010). He has published more than a dozen books and directed a few operas.
French filmmaker François Truffaut once called Herzog "the greatest living film director". American film critic Roger Ebert stated that Herzog "has never created a single compromising, embarrassing film made for pragmatic or uninteresting reasons." , adding that "even his failures are spectacular." Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2009.
