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Woyzeck (1979 film)
Encyclopedia
Woyzeck is a 1979
film
by the German
director
Werner Herzog
that stars Klaus Kinski
and Eva Mattes
. It is an adaptation of the play of the same name
by German dramatist Georg Büchner
.
With his jealous suspicions growing, Woyzeck confronts the drum major, who beats him up and humiliates him. Finally, Woyzeck stabs Marie to death by a pond. Woyzeck disposes of the knife in the pond, and while trying to wash the blood off, he hallucinates that he is swimming in blood and dies.
, Czechoslovakia
, began just five days after work on Herzog's Nosferatu the Vampyre had ended. Herzog used the same exhausted crew and star. The scenes were accomplished mostly in a single take, which allowed the filming to be completed in only 18 days; it was edited in just four. Herzog had planned to use Bruno S.
in the title role, but he then changed his mind, considering Kinski more suitable for the part. To compensate Bruno for this disappointment, Herzog wrote the leading role in the film Stroszek
especially for him.
At the 1979 Cannes Film Festival
, Eva Mattes
won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her part in this film. Herzog was nominated for the Golden Palm. In 1981, the film won the Silver Guild Film Award from the Guild of German Art House Cinemas.
1979 in film
The year 1979 in film involved some significant events.- Major events :* March 5 - Production begins on Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.* May 25 - Alien, a landmark of the science fiction genre, is released....
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
by the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog Stipetić , known as Werner Herzog, is a German film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and opera director.He is often considered as one of the greatest figures of the New German Cinema, along with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Margarethe von Trotta, Volker Schlöndorff, Werner...
that stars Klaus Kinski
Klaus Kinski
Klaus Kinski, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski , was a German actor. He appeared in more than 130 films, and is perhaps best-remembered as a leading role actor in Werner Herzog films: Aguirre, the Wrath of God , Nosferatu the Vampyre , Woyzeck , Fitzcarraldo and Cobra Verde .-Early...
and Eva Mattes
Eva Mattes
Eva Mattes is a German-Austrian actress.Mattes appeared in four films directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder and A Man Called Eva , as a bearded film director based on the then recently deceased Fassbinder...
. It is an adaptation of the play of the same name
Woyzeck
Woyzeck is a stage play written by Georg Büchner. He left the work incomplete at his death, but it has been variously and posthumously "finished" by a variety of authors, editors and translators. Woyzeck has become one of the most performed and influential plays in the German theatre...
by German dramatist Georg Büchner
Georg Büchner
Karl Georg Büchner was a German dramatist and writer of poetry and prose. He was the brother of physician and philosopher Ludwig Büchner. Büchner's talent is generally held in great esteem in Germany...
.
Plot
Franz Woyzeck, a lowly soldier stationed in a provincial German town, is the father of an illegitimate child by his mistress Marie. Woyzeck earns extra money for his family by performing menial jobs for the Captain and agreeing to take part in medical experiments conducted by the Doctor. As one of these experiments, the Doctor tells Woyzeck he must eat nothing but peas. It is obvious that Woyzeck's mental health is breaking down and he begins to experience a series of apocalyptic visions. Meanwhile, Marie grows tired of Woyzeck and turns her attentions to a handsome drum major, who in an ambiguous scene taking place in Marie's bedroom, arguably rapes her.With his jealous suspicions growing, Woyzeck confronts the drum major, who beats him up and humiliates him. Finally, Woyzeck stabs Marie to death by a pond. Woyzeck disposes of the knife in the pond, and while trying to wash the blood off, he hallucinates that he is swimming in blood and dies.
Reception
As critics disagree upon the order Büchner intended the surviving fragments of his work to be played, it is difficult to assert whether Herzog stuck to the play. He kept to the overall plot, but of necessity, his was an interpretation of how best the scenes should be pieced together to portray it.Production
Filming for Woyzeck in TelčTelc
Telč is a town in southern Moravia, near Jihlava, in the Czech Republic. The town was founded in 13th century as a royal water fort on the crossroads of busy merchant routes between Bohemia, Moravia and Austria....
, Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, began just five days after work on Herzog's Nosferatu the Vampyre had ended. Herzog used the same exhausted crew and star. The scenes were accomplished mostly in a single take, which allowed the filming to be completed in only 18 days; it was edited in just four. Herzog had planned to use Bruno S.
Bruno S.
Bruno Schleinstein was a German film actor, artist, and musician.-Life:Schleinstein was often beaten as a child, and spent much of his youth in mental institutions. He was a largely self-taught musician, who over the years developed considerable skill on the piano, accordion, glockenspiel and...
in the title role, but he then changed his mind, considering Kinski more suitable for the part. To compensate Bruno for this disappointment, Herzog wrote the leading role in the film Stroszek
Stroszek
Stroszek is a 1977 film by German director Werner Herzog. It was written in four days specifically for Bruno S. and was shot in Berlin, two towns in Wisconsin, and in North Carolina. Most of the lead roles are played by non-actors.-Plot:...
especially for him.
At the 1979 Cannes Film Festival
1979 Cannes Film Festival
- Jury :*Françoise Sagan *Sergio Amidei *Rodolphe-Maurice Arlaud *Luis García Berlanga *Maurice Bessy *Paul Claudon *Jules Dassin *Zsolt Kézdi-Kovács...
, Eva Mattes
Eva Mattes
Eva Mattes is a German-Austrian actress.Mattes appeared in four films directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder and A Man Called Eva , as a bearded film director based on the then recently deceased Fassbinder...
won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her part in this film. Herzog was nominated for the Golden Palm. In 1981, the film won the Silver Guild Film Award from the Guild of German Art House Cinemas.
Cast
- Klaus KinskiKlaus KinskiKlaus Kinski, born Klaus Günter Karl Nakszynski , was a German actor. He appeared in more than 130 films, and is perhaps best-remembered as a leading role actor in Werner Herzog films: Aguirre, the Wrath of God , Nosferatu the Vampyre , Woyzeck , Fitzcarraldo and Cobra Verde .-Early...
as Friedrich Johann Franz Woyzeck - Eva MattesEva MattesEva Mattes is a German-Austrian actress.Mattes appeared in four films directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder and A Man Called Eva , as a bearded film director based on the then recently deceased Fassbinder...
as Marie - Wolfgang Reichmann as Captain
- Willy SemmelroggeWilly SemmelroggeWilly Semmelrogge was a German actor. He appeared in 65 films and television shows between 1957 and 1984.-Selected filmography:* The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser * Woyzeck...
as Doctor - Josef BierbichlerJosef Bierbichler-Awards:* Adolf Grimme Award , best performance in the ZDF TV film Freier Fall* Adolf Grimme Award , best performance in Hierankl, along with Johanna Wokalek, Barbara Sukowa and Peter Simonischek* Theaterpreis Berlin -External links:...
as Drum Major - Paul Burian as Andres
- Volker PrechtelVolker PrechtelVolker Prechtel was a German actor. He appeared in 52 films and television shows between 1974 and 1997.-Selected filmography:* The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser...
as Handwerksbursche - Dieter Augustin as Marktschreier
- Irm HermannIrm Hermann-Biography:Hermann became a publishing clerk after finishing school and worked as a secretary for ADAC when she met Rainer Werner Fassbinder in 1966, who convinced her to quit her job to work with him, despite her lack of formal training as an actor...
as Margret - Wolfgang Bächler as Jew