Before Errol Morris made his first documentary film, famed German director Werner Herzog apparently said that if the film ever got released, he'd eat his shoe. And, this is where Les Blank got the title for this short.
"Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe" is a film that is not for the average viewer. First, you need to know who Herzog is (and most Americans don't). Second, it would be best to know who Errol Morris is. And third, it would help if you have a lot of patience, as the shoe-eating makes up only a tiny portion of the film. Like Les Blank's other documentary about Herzog ("Burden of Dreams"),he allows Herzog to just talk and talk and talk and only a tiny portion of this has anything to do with eating a shoe. The rest just seems like random rants about the evils of TV, other film projects, his philosophy about documentary films, etc.. If you adore Herzog and would love to just listen to him talk, then this film is for you. Otherwise, you have have trouble sticking with this one.
Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe
1980
Action / Documentary
Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe
1980
Action / Documentary
Plot summary
A passionate cook, acclaimed filmmaker Werner Herzog stuffs some culinary aromatics into his shoe and uses the laces to truss it like a chicken, before he sticks it into a pot with water and duck fat to stew it. It is so that he can bring the stewed shoe to one of the first screenings of Errol Morris' debut film Gates of Heaven (1978) to eat it. This act will fulfill his loss of a bet to Morris, who he met as a student filmmaker, that he would never be able to make a movie. The bet was not Herzog's attempt of a jab against Morris, but rather to support a struggling but gifted Morris in his quest to do whatever was required to finance a movie project. In the process of eating the shoe, Herzog wants to encourage other aspiring filmmakers, and to set an agenda of increasing what he calls adequate images as a true reflection of the world.
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Not a film for the average viewer.
One of a kind
An unusual subject matter for this documentary short but one that works very well. It's quirky, unique, it speaks a lot about the process of filmmaking, and it gives the viewer an excellent insight into Herzog the man and the processes that drive him.
A very good film for the family
The beginning of the film may seem like it gets of on the wrong foot, but it is more than that.
While this film may seem like a silly creation that Wener Herzog made due to a lost bet, it actually speaks to me on a personal level. It shows us that life can be fun and serious at the same time. We see the Herzog tearing and devouring his show which shows us how life can be so simple, as represented by the shoe, only to be destroyed by another being, in this case the director. While I cannot pinpoint the make of the shoe, I do know that the shoe type is a classic style showing that in life it can be classic, same as the previous but still extremely interesting as it doesn't lose the good features. I hope that when you're watching this you also see a positive message similar to mine.
This is not a film to shoe away, as this film about shoes has a soul