Herzog in the Jungle of Truth

IN 1984, ROGER EBERT called Werner Herzog “the strangest of all living directors”—a designation, many would argue, he still holds four decades later. Though his wackiness is as undeniable and inimitable as his voice, Herzog’s reputation as an oddball can obscure the seriousness of his cinematic achievements. His colossal filmography offers an array of tones, methods, themes, and especially genres. His wide-ranging achievements across documentary and fictional filmmaking, and sometimes in between, are probably peerless.