Werner Herzog at 80

To mark the 80th birthday of one of cinema’s most enigmatic and polarising characters, Mark Kermode and Ellen E Jones explore the work, myth and legacy of Werner Herzog.

An encounter with Herzog is always compelling, and sometimes risky. When Mark interviewed him in the Hollywood Hills in 2006, the director was shot - an incident he dismissed as ‘not significant’.

From the safe distance of a few thousand miles away, Mark and Werner reconnect (over Zoom) to address the conspiracy theory that the shooting was staged. Herzog also looks back at the enduring appeal of Fitzcarraldo, how his world view informs his work, and why there’s a lesson to be learned in keeping up with the Kardashians.

To separate fact from fiction, Ellen E Jones talks to volcanologist and co-director of two Herzog documentaries, Professor Clive Oppenheimer. They discuss Herzog’s scientific mind and why Clive kept quiet about a near miss with a lava bomb as they filmed Into the Inferno.

Writer and director Zak Penn used the Herzog legend as the inspiration for his mockumentary Incident at Loch Ness, which starred Herr Herzog as himself. Ellen and Zak discuss the tricks he played on his leading man, how he’s easy to surprise but impossible to shock, and why Werner Herzog is such a beloved and supportive collaborator.

And DJ and broadcaster Edith Bowman gives her Viewing Notes.

Producer: Freya Hellier

A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4