Woyzeck (1978)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Michael G

  
  I liked the parts of Woyzeck (Klaus Kinski's a m a z i n g performance and Werner Herzog's brilliant direction) but for some odd reason I didn't wind up loving the sum of said parts. For me the watch was kind of grueling (namely the story) but at by the time the whole… More
  I liked the parts of Woyzeck (Klaus Kinski's a m a z i n g performance and Werner Herzog's brilliant direction) but for some odd reason I didn't wind up loving the sum of said parts. For me the watch was kind of grueling (namely the story) but at by the time the whole thing was done I'm glad I saw it, but I don't feel the need to ever see Woyzeck ever again. Recommended but not exactly essential outside of Kinski's work.

• Anthony L

  
  The combined raw acting talent of Kinski and the brilliance (and notably different directing style for this film) of Herzog combined makes this film great. It?s the script that makes it stand out as being fantastic!

• Arash X

  
  Intense & powerful, Kinski rules

• Stephen M

  
  Ridiculed by his superior officer, restricted to a diet of nothing but peas by his doctor, a confused, nervous and undernourished soldier is finally unhinged by his wife's apparent infidelity. Although not exactly a barrel of laughs, this wasn't as gruelling as I'd… More
  Ridiculed by his superior officer, restricted to a diet of nothing but peas by his doctor, a confused, nervous and undernourished soldier is finally unhinged by his wife's apparent infidelity. Although not exactly a barrel of laughs, this wasn't as gruelling as I'd expected. Comprised of long, static takes and clocking in at a mercifully short 80 or so minutes, the film was supposedly shot in 18 days and edited in another 4, immediately after Herzog, Kinski and crew wrapped on <I>Nosferatu</I>. Kinski is truly amazing in this, and perhaps because of the not inconsiderable novelty value of watching him play a pitiful wretch rather than a loathsome egomaniac, this is my favourite of his performances I've seen to date. Doubtless the film has much to say to intellectuals about the human condition; unfortunately, I couldn't find an intellectual to enlighten me, so I've had to draw my own conclusions: <I>Go easy on those greens, and never trust a drum major!</I>

• Christopher M

  
  A classic play is made into a very good movie by the great Werner Herzog. A basic but fundamentally solid adaptation of the stage play, in which Klaus Kinski delivers a monster of a performance as the title character.

• Eric B

  
  I was mildly disappointed with this one. Adapting a play confines Herzog mostly to room interiors, and keeps him away from the raw, natural vistas which he always captures so brilliantly. The action is a bit stiff, with less sense of spontaneity. And the bulk of the film does little… More
  I was mildly disappointed with this one. Adapting a play confines Herzog mostly to room interiors, and keeps him away from the raw, natural vistas which he always captures so brilliantly. The action is a bit stiff, with less sense of spontaneity. And the bulk of the film does little but fill in details of characterization -- it essentially just marks time until the climax. Luckily, the film is rather short and thus doesn't turn tedious. In any case, no actor portrays madness quite like Klaus Kinski. Reason enough to see this.

• Walter M

  
  [font=Century Gothic]In "Woyzeck", the eponymous character(Klaus Kinski) is a forty-year old soldier who has found happiness as husband to his beautiful wife, Marie(Eva Mattes), and father to his infant son. However, he is also in danger of losing his mind and is seeing a… More
  [font=Century Gothic]In "Woyzeck", the eponymous character(Klaus Kinski) is a forty-year old soldier who has found happiness as husband to his beautiful wife, Marie(Eva Mattes), and father to his infant son. However, he is also in danger of losing his mind and is seeing a doctor(Willy Semmelrogge) who has some very interesting, albeit primitive ways of treating his patients. For example, in the case of Woyzeck, he has prescribed an all-pea diet...(I love peas as much as any man but still...)[/font] [font=Century Gothic]"Woyzeck" is a solid, straightforward drama featuring a very good performance from Klaus Kinski. It is about a man who walks a tightrope between sanity and insanity. Since this movie is set in the nineteenth century, the treatment options are rather limited.[/font]

• Daniel P

  
  Alas, despite an incredible performance from Klaus Kinski, I found <i>Woyzeck</i> rather stagnant, and not especially involving. The (often beautiful framed) static shots don't help, resulting in a film that, at only 82 minutes, often feels very drawn out. There are… More
  Alas, despite an incredible performance from Klaus Kinski, I found <i>Woyzeck</i> rather stagnant, and not especially involving. The (often beautiful framed) static shots don't help, resulting in a film that, at only 82 minutes, often feels very drawn out. There are also some jarring supporting performances which often are so affected they mesh uncomfortably with the sparseness and stillness of the Mise-en-scène, and I found the cod-philosophy annoying. Though it pains me to say it I have to admit I was, more often than not, a bit... bored.

• Ivan D

  
  Werner Herzog stripped bare the theme of "innocence" in his two films with Bruno S.("Stroszek" and "The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser"). In this film, based on a stage play of the same name, then furthered his exploration of the other theme that he is very… More
  Werner Herzog stripped bare the theme of "innocence" in his two films with Bruno S.("Stroszek" and "The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser"). In this film, based on a stage play of the same name, then furthered his exploration of the other theme that he is very inclined to vividly show into the silver screens: madness. Of course, this would not work out or even materialize without Klaus Kinski, the only perfect man and actor built on such roles that defy sanity. In "Aguirre", Kinski and Herzog collaborated to show madness at the peak of its powers. While in "Fitzcarraldo", they then depicted it with such humanistic touch and strands of optimism that derives from music and opera. Then at last, the film sandwiched between the first two, "Woyzeck" is the presentation of madness at its most hopeless, helpless, and pitiful, with a very much vulnerable Kinski in the lead. He acted out the role with a certain lack of personality and authority, two traits commonly attributed to the ever eccentric actor, while showing through his eyes how distant Franz Woyzeck was from the rest of society, and having imaginary, tormenting voices as his only chance to have an intimate talk. Although "Woyzeck" is as psychological as any movie can be, it's also an ever-questioning film about how society views singular murders as nothing more than a grisly crime, while exterminations on the battlefield was a thing of heroism. It's a rather old sentiment by the Chaplin classic "Monsieur Verdoux", but how Herzog delivered its message was very brilliant in its simplicity; a quote in the end of the film, displayed on the serene backdrop of the murder scene. It's a line very much assured of its stance, but deep within the words, was a subliminal thought that questions humanity, just as how the tormenting voices continually echoes into Woyzeck's fractured psyche.

• Marcus W

  
  This film about a troubled, jealous man (Kinski - who else?) may only be 80 minutes but it feels like three hours. Kinski is bonkers, but even Herzog's direction feels slack and uninspired. The pointless philosophizing doesn't help either.

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