Werner Herzog

Film & Theater German 1942 379 quotes

Visionary filmmaker and profound quotable figure

Most quoted

"There are deeper strata of truth in cinema, and there is such a thing as poetic, ecstatic truth. It is mysterious and elusive, and can be reached only through fabrication and imagination and stylization."

— from Minnesota Declaration, 1999

"I don't think there's any such thing as 'nature' in the abstract. There's only the nature of this particular jungle, this particular desert, this particular mountain range. And they are all hostile."

— from Various interviews

"I don't think there's any such thing as a natural born filmmaker. I think you have to be a little bit crazy to want to be a filmmaker."

— from Interview

All quotes by Werner Herzog (379)

The landscape is not innocent. It is full of cruelty.

Heart of Glass 1976

I am fascinated by people who are on the edge, who are obsessed, who are driven by a dream.

Werner Herzog: A Guide for the Perplexed 2007

I don't see much difference between a documentary and a feature film. They are all just films.

Werner Herzog: A Guide for the Perplexed 2007

I have a very deep respect for the mystery of the world.

Werner Herzog: A Guide for the Perplexed 2007

I am not a man of faith, but I am a man of belief.

Werner Herzog: A Guide for the Perplexed 2007

I have a very deep suspicion of psychology.

Werner Herzog: A Guide for the Perplexed 2007

I am not a man of the system. I am a man of the margins.

Werner Herzog: A Guide for the Perplexed 2007

I have a very deep respect for the power of nature.

Grizzly Man 2005

I am not a man of the city. I am a man of the wilderness.

Werner Herzog: A Guide for the Perplexed 2007

I have a very deep suspicion of ideology.

Werner Herzog: A Guide for the Perplexed 2007

I am not a man of the crowd. I am a man of solitude.

Werner Herzog: A Guide for the Perplexed 2007

I have a very deep respect for the power of the image.

Werner Herzog: A Guide for the Perplexed 2007

I am not a man of the word. I am a man of the image.

Werner Herzog: A Guide for the Perplexed 2007

I have a very deep suspicion of authority.

Werner Herzog: A Guide for the Perplexed 2007

I am not a man of the past. I am a man of the future.

Werner Herzog: A Guide for the Perplexed 2007

I have a very deep respect for the power of the story.

Werner Herzog: A Guide for the Perplexed 2007

I am not a man of the surface. I am a man of the depths.

Werner Herzog: A Guide for the Perplexed 2007

I have a very deep suspicion of the easy answer.

Werner Herzog: A Guide for the Perplexed 2007

I am not a man of the many. I am a man of the few.

Werner Herzog: A Guide for the Perplexed 2007