Woyzeck

Woyzeck (1978)

  • 82% of critics liked it
    (11 reviews)

  • 78% of users liked it
    (3,997 ratings)

Controversial German director Werner Herzog helmed this cinematization of Woyzeck, playwright Georg Büchner's anti-military tale of depersonalization run amok. Utilizing the more grotesque elements of German expressionism, combined with his own sense of the outrageous, Herzog plunges us directly… More

Unrated, 1 hr. 22 min.
Directed By
Werner Herzog
Written By
Georg Büchner, Werner Herzog
Genres
Art House & International, Drama
In Theaters
Aug 24, 1979 Limited
On DVD
Mar 28, 1991

Critic Reviews

  • Vincent Canby, New York Times

    Woyzeck is, if possible, ever more mysterious by the time we reach the end than it is at the beginning.

  • , Chicago Reader

    The film seems to have been barely directed--the camera setups are relentlessly banal.

  • Walter Chaw, Film Freak Central

    Often painful but never truly affecting.

  • Moira Sullivan, FilmFestivals.com

    Klaus Kinski is exceptional and Herzog's narrative captivating.

  • Keith Phipps, AV Club

    Handsomely mounting each scene, the director has trouble attaining any forward momentum, though he achieves some powerful moments while trying.

Read all 6 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

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

  • 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

  • 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.

Read all 10 featured audience ratings

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