(1979) ***1/2(1994) ***1/2
We're wary of people like Franz Woyzeck these days. At the very least, we make sure they're medicated. Woyzeck is probably schizophrenic. This falls below notice because he's got it together enough to have a job and something of a social structure -- albeit one that's pathetic even by the standards of the town he lives in. He's deferent and submissive, and the people around him recognize his inferiority.
Herzog's version succeeds largely because of a quirky, sympathetic performance by Klaus Kinski (does Klaus Kinski have any roles that aren't quirky and sympathetic?). He's soft-spoken, although he bears a certain resoluteness about his meager role in the universe, at one point commenting, "People like us are unhappy in this world and in the next, I guess if we made it to heaven, we'd have to help make it thunder."
He's got a self-righteous commanding officer and doctor who uses him as a test-subject for his quaint scientific theories -- for example, he's got Woyzeck eating nothing but peas. It's likely that poor diet plays as much a role in Woyzeck's mental decay as any other event in his pitiful existence. It's hard to say whether he started suffering from hallucinations before or after he starts his "treatment," but the hallucinations get a lot darker as the movie goes on.
He tolerates this treatment primarily because he's getting paid a little bit for it, and he's trying to provide for an out-of-wedlock child. Some of the saddest scenes in the movie are of Woyzeck visiting the child and mother, Marie. He obviously pines after her but she stiffens at his very touch, so he rarely musters up the nerve to go near her. She takes his support money, but hates herself for it. She pities Woyzeck, but it doesn't stop her from swelling with desire when a dashing (and pompous) drum major marches into her frame.
Szász's Woyzeck is tougher than Herzog's guy, and it's a good thing, because he has to endure a much harsher existence. This world is perpetually frigid. This Woyzeck has a more bullish, assertive relationship with Mari (different spelling because now we're in Hungary, not Germany), and she's not as beset by guilt as Herzog's Marie, so when she turns her attentions to another man, she does so with no qualms.
This incarnation of Woyzeck has a retooled relationship with his superior officer at the train station. The captain wields more brutality upon Woyzeck, but expresses at least a token sympathy for the man. The doctor is, as he is portrayed in the original, primarily concerned with his "scientific" "research" — again with the peas bullshit, and the result is the same.
Both films feature strong camerawork that evokes the particular circumstances of each portrayal of Woyzeck. Herzog's setting is pastoral and provincial. Establishing shots of the town are green and lush. Correspondingly, his incarnation of Woyzeck has a softer relationship with the people around him. He's docile until malnutrition and jealousy push him to murder.
Szász's film is unrelentingly bitter. The setting is shrouded in icy mist and everyone's poor, so nobody is properly outfitted for the chill. His characters are a lot more grim. The performances are like the setting, cold and austere. When this Woyzeck gets murderous, it's less of a surprise.
Nothing sums up the differences between the two movies like the final shots of each.
8 comments:
Being the dummy that I am I had never heard of Woyzeck. A quick look at Wiki smartened me up,
"Woyzeck is a stage play written by Georg Büchner. He left the work incomplete at his death, but it has been variously and posthumously "finished" by a variety of authors, editors and translators. Woyzeck has become one of the most performed and influential plays in the German theatre repertory.
Büchner probably began writing the play between June and September 1836. It remained in a fragmentary state at the time of his early death in 1837. Woyzeck was first published in 1879 in a heavily reworked version by Karl Emil Franzos. It received its first performance on November 8, 1913 at the Residenztheater, Munich.
Woyzeck deals with the dehumanising effects of doctors and the military on a young man's life. It is often seen as 'working class' tragedy, though it can also be viewed as having another dimension, portraying the 'perennial tragedy of human jealousy'.[1] The play was admired both by the German naturalist Gerhart Hauptmann and, subsequently, by expressionist playwrights.[2] It is loosely based on the true story of Johann Christian Woyzeck, a Leipzig wigmaker and, latterly, a soldier. In 1821, Woyzeck, in a fit of jealousy, murdered Christiane Woost, a widow with whom he had been living. He was later publicly beheaded."
Excellent, thoughtful review, 50! I'm not sure it would be considered "horror" but it certainly sounds like a fascinating character study. You liked both versions equally?
Great review. I love the side-by-side comparison of both the screen shots and your analysis. Herzog is one of those masters I've never really gotten around to yet, though I've got a few lined up. Will have to check out these too--I'd also never heard of this.
Really great choices and I love how you reviewed both films together. I have never seen the remake, I think I may have to now.
Thanks for the extra info, JPX. This does sound fascinating and I too, really liked the analysis of the two movies.
wow, a twofer! excellent review.
i was shy about doing the twofer review, but i think jpx and octo have done like sixfers before, so i wasn't shy enough not to do it.
to answer jpx's question, i've seen a few herzog flicks (for some reason i *always* find myself typing out "herzong," which, while not the man's name is nonetheless an awesome typo) over the last couple years and am planning on reviewing his nosferatu soon.
i saw his version first and am always a fan of the herzog (fuck, did it again)/kinski matchups.
i sort of snoozed through the other version, but somewhere in the middle, it dawned on me that it's a better movie. it caught me by surprise a few times. cinematography is strong in both movies, and that's a big deal to me.
if we're getting nitpicky, i'd give the kinski version a 3.26 and i'd give the 94 version a 3.3 or something. there's better character study movies about people going crazy and murderous (Ed Gein for instance).
Excellent review 50P! I was troubled by your absence but you came out swinging. I knew precious little about Herzog but now I'm curious. I almost want to read the stage play before watching these. What inspired you to take this on?
I'd never heard of this either, JPX, so thanks for the summary.
Excellent way to start, 50P! I love your shot by shot comparison of the end. "How's it feel, loser?" Heh.
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