Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Heart of Glass Blu-ray Movie Review

Trancers.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 20, 2014

Note: This title is currently available as part of Herzog: The Collection.

Has there ever been a more fascinating figure in film than Werner Herzog? This much debated individual, one who elicits both hyperbolic accolades and equally exaggerated derision, has been a seeming force of nature in film for decades, helping to define the New German Cinema (a somewhat later analog to the French New Wave). Herzog’s filmography is rather breathtakingly diverse, traversing both traditional fiction, quasi-biographies, and a large number of documentaries. Through it all, Herzog himself has become the subject of considerable controversy, at times seeming to be as obsessively motivated as some of his film subjects. The auteur’s off kilter blend of nihilism and often black humor has given him and his films a decidedly unique place in contemporary media, to the point that a supposed note Herzog jotted off to his cleaning lady became an internet sensation (it’s actually a brilliantly written parody by Dale Shaw). Shout! Factory, a label which repeatedly stubbed its corporate toe on its last big deluxe boxed set built around the talents of one person (Bruce Lee: The Legacy Collection, the only time in my reviewing career I have had to start over from scratch due to a complete recall and reissue) may seem to be throwing caution to the wind by upping the ante with this release. Here there are no fewer than 16 films by Herzog, housed in a handsome hardback booklike case that also features a wealth of text and information about each of the films. Fifteen of the films are new to Blu-ray (Shout's horror imprint Scream Factory released Herzog's Nosferatu the Vampyre as a standalone a few months ago), and the offerings here cover both iconic films in Herzog's oeuvre as well as some oddities. The extremely handsome packaging offers a 7.5" x 7.5" x 1.5" hardback book exterior casing which houses heavy cardstock pocket holders that contain the discs. Also included are The Werner Herzog Condition by Stephen J. Smith, an appreciation of the director's work with essays about each of the films. The films get even more text in write-ups by Chris Wahl and Brad Prager. Each of the pocket holder pages details the film (or in some cases, films) on each disc, with audio options and special features listed.

It’s a fairly straightforward line from Alfred Hitchcock’s inimitable quote, “I never said actors are cattle, I said they should be treated like cattle” to Werner Herzog first discussing how easy it is to hypnotize a chicken, to Werner Herzog then moving up the food chain (so to speak) to hypnotizing actors. Directors sometimes see their human performers as nothing more than objects they can manipulate like a lighting scheme, a wide angle lens, or some set decoration. While Heart of Glass evidently has a literary antecedent, that antecedent itself was based on old folktales, and it’s that ambience, rather than the relatively more formal structure of a book, that Herzog’s film follows. Part of that almost “oral”, on the spot anecdotal, ambience is no doubt due to the much reported use (which certainly can’t be a folktale, can it?) of hypnotism that Herzog decided was the perfect way to portray a kind of communal St. Vitus’ Dance that overtakes residents of a town which has made its fortune with a very distinctively colored blown glass. The longtime master of the glassblowing facility has recently passed away, and with him has perished the only known “recipe” for a brilliantly burnished ruby colored glass. That sends the owner of the glassworks, Huttenbesitzer (Stefan Güttler), along with several other of the townspeople, into a frenzy to somehow figure out how the glass that has provided the town’s livelihood for so long can be recreated.

Like at least a few other Herzog films, Heart of Glass depicts people descending into madness when they find themselves unable to cope with a new situation. Over and over again in his oeuvre Herzog presents us with characters who think they’re in control, but who soon enough discover they’re neither the master of their own fate nor able to actually deal with the actual fate that has befallen them. Interestingly, Herzog offers a rare “objective” (or at least outsider) viewpoint in this film, keeping it from being the more or less insular experiences that films like Aguirre: The Wrath of God or Fitzcarraldo, two other films which deal with obsessive folks who might go just the teensiest bit off the deep end, are. Here there’s a kind of mountain man prophet named Hias (Josef Bierbichler), a Greek Chorus of sorts whose pronouncements initially sound like gibberish but which ultimately are devastatingly accurate.

Herzog isn’t only interested in hypnotized actors, however, as even he admits in the commentary accompanying this release. The film begins with a series of haunting time lapse imagery (including one incredible shot of clouds flowing over a mountain pass like water over a waterfall which Herzog calls one of the favorites of his entire career) that serves to put the viewer in a trance like state. Once the actors arrive, some of them bug eyed and offering—well, distinctive line readings, the stage has been set for a decidedly dreamlike experience.

Heart of Glass is yet another Herzog film whose conceit may at least slightly outshine the actual film. But this is one of the most subliminally insinuating films in the director's oeuvre, one which creeps into the subconscious like a sleepwalking Grimm Brother, subtly hinting at the fine line between wakefulness and slumber, and sanity and madness.

Heart of Glass Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Heart of Glass features an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.63:1. The bulk of this transfer looks very good, with a natural, if at times light, grain field, and nicely saturated colors. Clarity is generally above average, and the image is stable throughout. There are several moments when some of Herzog's location photography (he evidently traveled the world looking for unusual landscapes to film) is surprisingly ragged looking. This includes the opening time lapse montage, which suffers from a weird almost graphic pattern on the image that may be some kind of print through. Something similar happens later during the vistas filmed in Alaska. Colors are accurate looking, though Herzog deals here in a burnished palette that is probably intentionally reminiscent of such painters as Brueghel. That also means a lot of jet black backgrounds, and black levels are nicely deep, with no splotchy compression artifacts intruding on the image.

Heart of Glass Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Heart of Glass's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono tracks sounds very good, with the evocative music of Popul Vuh (as well as other source cues Herzog inserts into the film) reverberating with clarity and good, full midrange. Dialogue and environmental effects are both delivered clearly and cleanly, and the track exhibits no major damage or issues of any kind.

Heart of Glass Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• English Commentary with Werner Herzog. This is again hosted by Norman Hill, with Herzog providing a lot of fascinating information not just about the hypnotism aspect, but also more personal reminiscences of his youth in Bavaria (where the film is set).


• Trailer (1080p; 3:36)

Heart of Glass Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I know a lot of Herzog fans who frankly can't stand Heart of Glass, finding its hypnotism angle too twee for the film's own good. I find the film oddly compelling, with an undeniably hallucinatory ambience that immerses the viewer in what amounts to an alternate reality. The film does echo themes Herzog explores perhaps more convincingly in other films, but it's still an incredibly unique viewing experience. Technical merits on this Blu-ray are generally strong, and Heart of Glass comes Recommended.