Apparently, Werner Herzog was very fascinated with the vocal skills and cadence needed to be a livestock auctioneer. Here, he and his crew attend the livestock auctioneer world championship and seem to record EVERYTHING. While this might have been interesting for 10-15 minutes, at 45 minutes it was a bit of a chore to stick with this one. Just how many fast-talking auctioneers do you need to hear before boredom sets in--I don't know for sure, but Herzog more than surpassed that. Had the film had more back story and information about the participants themselves, the film probably would have sustained my attention longer. In addition, a few little vignettes could have been expanded--such as Herzog and the Quakers trying to communicate in German together. I am no expert on German language, but I could tell that the two languages had diverged considerably over the centuries and I wish this segment had been a bit longer. Or, perhaps he and his folks could have interviewed some of the members of the audience or the auctioneers' families. All I know is that it just felt way over-long.

Werner Herzog's obsession with small-town America continues in HOW MUCH WOOD WOULD A WOODCHUCK CHUCK?, a short documentary that's filmed during the world speed-talking auctioneer championships in the USA. While there are a few digressions involving the Amish (always a welcome subject for cinema),for the most part this is a static documentary in which the auteur sets his camera up and leaves it filming various contenders, all of them trying their best to out speed-talk the competition.

I was first introduced to this kind of speed-talking in Herzog's follow-up film STROSZEK, and it's amazing to listen to. Watching the contenders practising and talking about their backgrounds adds to the experience. Some may find the lengthy competition scenes a little wearying due to their similarity, but I was never less than amused by listening to these guys doing something I could only dream of.

This is a 45-minute documentary from almost 40 years ago teaching us that there is actually such a thing as cattle auctioneering world championships in the United States. In the first half, director Werner Herzog (in his 30s here) interviews some of the participants with his unique voice, while in the second half we just get to witness the "art". I have to say, even if this had only half the length of a normal documentary/movie, I felt it began to drag quickly. The subject is certainly very unique and specific, maybe too specific to make an interesting watch, at least for me. Herzog reused some of the stars of this documentary in his follow-up movie "Stroszek" afterward. They all wear cowboy hats and almost all of them have mustaches, except the new world champion, one of the youngest participants judging by his looks. Herzog very well could have been one of the participants as well. The language is almost exclusively English, don't be fooled by the information here on IMDb. All in all, probably one of Herzog's weakest. Not recommended.