Land of Silence and Darkness Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

Land of Silence and Darkness Blu-ray Movie Review

Reach out and touch somebody's hand.

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.

One of the most fascinating things to consider when examining the life of someone like Helen Keller is, how did this deaf and blind girl ever make the intellectual connection that what Annie Sullivan was tapping into her hand referred to objects? Even more saliently, how could this young girl, hermetically sealed off from knowledge of the external world, at least in a traditional way, come to understand concepts? While the first element is at least tangentially dealt with in the iconic William Gibson play The Miracle Worker, the second issue can perhaps best be attributed to some other kind of miracle, one gestated from either a Divine source or some intrinsic genius on the part of Keller herself. Werner Herzog was evidently fascinated by Keller’s story, and in fact at one point entertained the idea of bringing The Miracle Worker to film himself (Arthur Penn of course beat him to the punch), but he found a suitable substitute in the real life story of Fini Straubinger, a woman who, like Keller herself, at least had some initial time in childhood being able to see and hear, something that perhaps informed her developing synapses enough to help her make it through the gauntlet once she became “incapacitated”.

Herzog begins the film in absolute blackness, a none too subtle reference to the state of not just Straubinger, but a host of other similarly afflicted people who populate the film. Land of Silence and Darkness evidently holds a very special place in Herzog’s own heart, and that fact is perhaps revealed in how completely straightforward the director’s approach is here, despite little stylistic gambits like the dark opening moments. This is in some ways the most traditionally structured documentary of Herzog’s career, and while it’s sometimes discomfiting to watch (some of the poor souls shown in the film are quite badly disabled), it’s an unusually positive (at least for Herzog) examination of the triumph of the human spirit over seemingly insurmountable adversity.

Interestingly, Herzog himself examines, at least in passing, the second issue raised above with regard to somehow teaching concepts to deaf and blind kids who in some cases have been born that way. At a school for such children, a teacher actually mentions how difficult it is to do such work and how it’s best to stick with concrete objects for the most part, at least at the beginning. There’s some very touching footage of kids learning to articulate phonemes as they attempt to make actual words.

There’s some typically Herzogian whimsy sprinkled throughout the film as well, albeit with a melancholic subtext due to the subject matter. Straubinger and some of her similarly afflicted friends take an airplane ride for the first time, and later they visit a greenhouse and a zoo, where the sensation of touch becomes paramount. (Herzog’s seemingly inescapable fascination with monkeys once again raises its simian head in the zoo sequence.) The entire film is built around the concept of finding new ways to communicate, whether that be with other humans or, as in the case of the literally tree hugging finale, nature itself, and it ends up being one of the most simply touching works in Herzog’s oeuvre as a result.

Land of Silence and Darkness Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Land of Silence and Darkness is presented on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.35:1. Shot in 16mm, the film is one of the better looking outings in the new Herzog boxed set. Yes, it's quite grainy and soft, but it looks like film, and 16mm film at that. Colors are surprisingly vivid and well saturated, and fine detail is generally quite strong (look at the natty pill on Straubinger's dress for a good example). There are occasional issues here, including some minor compression artifacts that crop up from time to time (watch during the plane sequence). Generally, though, this offers a nicely organic viewing experience that is aided by great looking elements, a stable image and consistent contrast.

Land of Silence and Darkness Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There's nothing even slightly showy about Land of Silence and Darkness' lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono track, but it renders both the spoken elements as well as a nice selection of classical source cue underscore without any manifest issues. Fidelity is very good, albeit quite narrow sounding most of the time.

Land of Silence and Darkness Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are no supplements accorded to this film (which shares a disc with Fata Morgana.

Land of Silence and Darkness Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Land of Silence and Darkness is one of the most unadorned films in Herzog's career, and perhaps due to that fact it speaks quite clearly to the heart rather than the head. Some of the people shown in the film are a little disturbing to see, but ultimately this is a surprisingly uplifting piece that proves the human spirit cannot be disabled by a "mere" disability. Technical merits here are very strong, and Land of Silence and Darkness comes Highly recommended.