7.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
This film shows the disaster of the Kuwaitian oil fields in flames. In contrast to the common documentary film there are no comments and few interviews. What must have been the hell itself is presented to the viewer in such beautiful sights and beautiful music that one has to be fascinated by it. The German title translates 'lessons in darkness'.
Starring: Werner HerzogDocumentary | 100% |
War | 9% |
Sci-Fi | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
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.
Lessons of Darkness features an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. Shot under stressful conditions in Super 16, the transfer here does offer abundant grain typical of the this format, but it is also hobbled by recurrent compression artifacts, something that's especially noticeable in some shots where the 16mm footage has been blown up. Grain structure is highly variable, though, and the brief interview segments have an almost video-like appearance, with virtually no grain in evidence. Colors are richly saturated, with some impressive gradations from grays to blacks, as huge plumes of multicolored smoke pours over the desert floor. Reds and oranges are also especially vivid. A lot of the footage is fairly soft looking, as befits the format, but the close-ups during the interview sequences offer quite striking fine detail.
Leave it to Werner Herzog to fill a documentary with apocalyptic visions of the end of the world (or at least part of the world) with beautiful classical music from a variety of iconic composers. There's really not a lot of verbal action here, other than some brief narration and the equally brief interview segments. Otherwise, this is a documentary filled with ambient environmental effects and the anachronistic source cues, all of which sound just fine in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 .
There are no supplements associated with this film, which shares a disc with Little Dieter Needs to Fly.
Lessons of Darkness is a kind of dissociative experience, but intentionally so. Herzog doesn't want an emotional reaction here, at least not initially. He wants to lure the intellect first, delivering an equal amount of consternation and fascination, and it's only then that the director seems to suggest an aghast reaction is necessary. While discursive on its face, Lessons of Darkness is one of Herzog's more pointed examinations of the stupidity of men. Technical merits here are very good to excellent, and Lessons of Darkness comes Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
Ballade vom kleinen Soldaten
1984
Mein liebster Feind - Klaus Kinski
1999
Wo die grünen Ameisen träumen
1984
1997
Auch Zwerge haben klein angefangen
1970
Land des Schweigens und der Dunkelheit
1971
1971
Herz aus Glas
1976
1979
1977
1987
Jeder für sich und Gott gegen alle
1974
Nosferatu: Phantom der Nacht
1979
1982
2016
Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes
1972
1992
1985
Limited Edition
2014
1988