I absolutely need to watch more films starring German actor Klaus Kinski. Outside of his Werner Herzog appearances I’ve only seen him in Sergio Leone‘s For a Few Dollars More, David Lean‘s Doctor Zhivago and Sergio Corbucci‘s The Great Silence and with IMDb crediting him in over 130 films, I’ve clearly missed a few. Kinski had a raw intensity Herzog clearly knew how to exploit, most notably in Aguirre, The Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo, films where the production was as harrowing if not more so than the stories they were telling making it hard to tell where Kinski the actor ends and his character begins.
Within the confines of Herzog’s 1999 documentary My Best Fiend – Klaus Kinski, we get a small glimpse of the man Herzog met when he was only a child as he returns to the now-renovated apartment where he first met Kinski. He takes us on a walking tour, from room-to-room, pointing out changes, where Kinski stayed while Herzog and his family lived with other boarders in the small space, telling stories of the hell Kinski would raise while he was there as well as how hard he worked to perfect his craft.
This leads to an exploration of the films they made together, largely Aguirre, Fitzcarraldo amd Woyzeck. Archival material from the set of these films shows varying sides of Kinski, frequently raging mad and screaming, occasionally calm and cooperative. The rage is often what we hear about and, while I have not read it, descriptions of his autobiography, “Kinski Uncut: The Autobiography of Klaus Kinski“, refers to the stories told as “not a book for the squeamish”, calling Kinski’s stories of his life “disturbingly violent, sexual, and despairing.” Seems fitting on what I’ve seen and read myself.
If you’ve read Herzog’s own book, “Conquest of the Useless: Reflections from the Making of Fitzcarraldo” or watched Les Blank‘s Burden of Dreams, centered on the making of Fitzcarraldo, you’ll often hear of Kinski referred to as something of a raving madman, though Herzog’s respect for his leading man is obvious and it would seem a respect for one another is something they shared, even if they are clearly two dominant personalities meant to battle for all time.
The viewpoint isn’t restricted to Herzog, however, as he revisits the natives that served as extras on the set of Fitzcarraldo and he tells us a story of how frustrated the Indians had gotten with Kinski that at one point they offered to kill him for Herzog. Herzog said he declined as he still had a movie to finish, a statement that almost makes it seem as if he might have considered it otherwise.
He also visits with Kinski’s Fitzcarraldo co-star Claudia Cardinale and her recollection of him is not so much as the madman Herzog describes, but she definitely recalls his outbursts. Then, on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, there’s Kinski’s Woyzeck co-star Eva Mattes whom has nothing but kind things to say of him and how gentle he was. Given the different kinds of films we’re talking about and the fact Woyzeck took 18 days to shoot compared to the four-year production that was Fitzcarraldo it’s not surprising Kinski might have been a little more reserved on the set of one over the other.
This is what makes him such a fascinating subject as this 99 minute documentary only offers a glimpse into the mind of this intense performer, many of the stories you’ve most likely heard already, only further solidifying them in your memory. But as the documentary rolls on and we hear of Kinski’s vanity and egomaniacal ways, there is also a softness to him as he plays with a butterfly that’s come to rest on his shoulder. Place those images alongside Herzog telling a story of how he had to threaten to shoot Kinski to prevent him from leaving the set of Aguirre and you’ve found a level of volatility that would seem to perfectly embody their relationship.
What’s truly missing is Kinski’s voice. Released eight years after Kinski’s passing all we get is archival footage, most memorable of which being the film’s opening moments featuring Kinski’s performance as a ranting Jesus impersonator. It’s an introduction that makes you sit up and take notice, though it’s also one that presents this man as someone you might not want to turn your back on.
Kinski seemed to have the ability to inhabit the characters he played and when it comes to his films with Herzog this included some dark corners he’d have to inhabit, perhaps not the safest place for a person of Kinski’s demeanor, but the cinematic world is a better place given that he did.
My Best Fiend – Klaus Kinski is available on Fandor.com right now and will be released on Blu-ray as part of a new, limited edition set of Werner Herzog films, releasing on July 29, 2014. For purchasing information click here.
