大象传媒

Werner Herzog is one of the great figures in world cinema. A pioneer of New German cinema in the 1970s, he can proudly lay claim to having made an astonishing 55 films including (1972), Heart of Glass (1976), Fitzcarraldo (1982) and (2005). During that time, many stories have appeared about him concerning his bust-ups with regular leading man Klaus Kinski and some of his on-set antics. But he believes in getting stuck in when it counts. He tells 大象传媒 Movies why that approach served him well on the set of Rescue Dawn, the second film he has made about downed Vietnam pilot Dieter Dengler and his Herculean effort to stay alive鈥�

This is the second time you've told the story of Dieter Dengler - the first being your documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly. What attracted you to his story in the first place?

Little Dieter Needs to Fly was in a way unfinished business. Rescue Dawn as a feature film was always the first idea. That was what we had to do. The films compliment each other very well. Just please do not expect that there will be two, three, four, five and six like Rambo! [Laughs]

I'd imagine the casting of Christian Bale was part-inspired by seeing him in films like The Machinist and observing how he devotes himself to roles?

Well, one has to be cautious... Christian Bale always said to me: "For God's sake, we have to avoid seeing me in the Guinness Book of World Records as the starvation guy!" He lost an extreme amount of weight for The Machinist, so we said we were not going to go into such extremes. Of course, he would lose quite a bit of weight and gain it back during the movie. So we shot backwards in large portions. So, it wasn't that big an issue but you can tell from looking at Christian and the rest of the cast [Steve Zahn and Jeremy Davies] that they took it very seriously.

Isn't it true that you went on a diet with them during the shoot?

Well, yeah, but also when they were in the rapids I would spend a day in the water with them too. It's a regular sort of thing a director should do - you don't sit back in the easy chair with a cigar on the riverbank and tell them how to brave the rapids! It's better to be with them.

You're no stranger to filming in the jungle but what were some of the biggest challenges on this occasion?

It's not such a big challenge. A jungle is basically just another forest. But of course we were ploughing into the densest jungle you can imagine! [Laughs] And they quite often were barefoot - although when you didn't see their feet they had some protective rubber shoes on. There were different challenges. The production company was very inexperienced. Normally, when money was needed very badly it was never there, so we had to somehow improvise. That was quite a challenge. Otherwise, it was very, very physical. I told the actors that this is going to be for real so "brace yourself, you're going to do things you're never going to do in your life".

How long was the shoot?

It was 44 days. I actually finished shooting two days under schedule, which meant that even under some chaotic circumstances I pulled it off very professionally.

Rescue Dawn is obviously set against the backdrop of Vietnam and America is currently involved in a conflict that some have described as potentially "a new Vietnam". Did you see a lot of parallels when approaching the film?

No, it's not a film about Vietnam because the war doesn't factor in the film. Besides, back in 1965 the war in Vietnam wasn't really on yet. In fact, for the real Dieter Dengler the war never occurred. He was shot down 40 minutes into his first mission, so in 40 minutes the war was over for him. From then on, it was an incredible ordeal involving an incredibly courageous escape and survival in the jungle. It was a huge, huge story that happened to him. Anyway, one should be careful to compare America now - and being caught up in a very unfortunate situation in Iraq - with Vietnam. You can't really compare both situations politically and historically. Rescue Dawn doesn't really have anything to do with that.

You seem to be attracted to stories that involve men against harsh environments - Aguirre, Wrath of God, Fitzcarraldo and Grizzly Man - so what is the appeal of that type of film for you?

I think the heart of men becomes really visible when they are under great physical or other pressure. It's the same thing when you are trying to find out the very nature of an unknown alloy of metals. You put it under extreme heat, extreme radiation, extreme pressure and then you will learn the very innermost nature of this substance. It's a little bit the same with human beings, it's something you see in other films as well and you see in literature when you look at Joseph Conrad's short stories. It's basically the same approach.

Have you also found that you've learned a lot about yourself during that time and by enduring such physically demanding locations?

No, not really. I know who I am. I don't need to put myself under pressure.

You've just filmed in Antarctica for your next project鈥�

Yes, I did a film after Rescue Dawn called Encounters At The End Of The World, which is already finished and shown at Toronto. I also have two more films coming out where I'm an actor. One of them will be shown very shortly in the UK - Harmony Korine's new film Mister Lonely. I'm playing a smaller part - a fanatical missionary priest [laughs].

Do you enjoy acting as much as directing?

I do, yes, but I'm good only in roles where I'm basically dysfunctional or hostile, as I was in Harmony Korine's second film, Julien Donkey-Boy. I'm the dysfunctional father who harasses his children. Somehow, I'm good at that even though as a private person I'm kind of fluffy! Or so my wife at least maintains...

How was going from the jungles of Thailand to Antarctica?

Well, it's a culture shock and a shock in terms of the environment. In Antarctica you cannot prepare much because you cannot scout Antarctica. You're allowed to go there once because it would be too expensive and too complicated. So, I went there once and had to come back with a movie. That was a bit of pressure but I was very, very fascinated by the landscapes and the people who are there, so it was a great joy to make this film.

Rescue Dawn opens in UK cinemas on Friday 23rd November 2007.