Kinski: My Best Fiend

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Overview

My Best Fiend, Werner Herzog's personal documentary about working with the late actor Klaus Kinski, comes to DVD from Anchor Bay Entertainment. Presented with a widescreen anamorphic transfer and Dolby Digital Surround Sound in English and German with optional English subtitles. The only special feature is a theatrical trailer.
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DVD (Wide Screen / Stereo / Dolby 5.1)
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Overview

My Best Fiend, Werner Herzog's personal documentary about working with the late actor Klaus Kinski, comes to DVD from Anchor Bay Entertainment. Presented with a widescreen anamorphic transfer and Dolby Digital Surround Sound in English and German with optional English subtitles. The only special feature is a theatrical trailer.
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Special Features

Widescreen presentation (1.77:1), enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs; Theatrical trailer; Languages: English, German with optional English subtitles
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Editorial Reviews

Barnes & Noble - Pete Segall
The very strange and fruitful creative collaboration between German director Werner Herzog and the late actor Klaus Kinski is the subject of Herzog's fascinating 1999 documentary My Best Fiend -- part loving obituary for a brilliant friend Kinski died in 1991, and part droll portrait of a lunatic. Kinski starred in Herzog's greatest films Aguirre, the Wrath of God; Fitzcarraldo; Woyzeck; Nosferatu; and Cobra Verde, and his performances in them are some of the most harrowing visions of human insanity ever recorded on celluloid. What we learn from this documentary is that the volatile and egomaniacal Kinski wasn't that different offscreen. There is lengthy footage of Kinski throwing spectacular tantrums on the set as Herzog goes about his business unruffled -- and we hear the director recount, in his inimitable deadpan style, hair-raising stories about the actor. It is Herzog's preternatural calm in the face of Kinksi's madness that makes My Best Fiend frequently hilarious; clearly it is also what allowed him to harness Kinski's rage and turn it into art. By turns funny, pathetic, and deeply moving, the film eloquently explores the passionate and symbiotic bond that developed between the star and the director, quite a loon in his own right -- it was Herzog, after all, who had a real steamboat hauled over an Amazon mountain for Fitzcarraldo. The DVD, which includes a theatrical trailer, has English subtitles.
All Movie Guide - Josh Ralske
Werner Herzog's documentary is a thoughtful and clever examination by the director of his longstanding friendship and creative partnership with the late Klaus Kinski. It's not a biography, and there's little information about Kinski's life outside of Herzog's purview. There's a brief, but fascinating clip of Kinski on stage during his "Jesus Tour," wherein the actor traveled through Germany, ranting at his audiences, claiming to be the "new Jesus." Herzog claims that Kinski was a madman, and there's ample evidence of the actor's mental imbalance in outtakes as he throws lengthy tantrums and is seen smashing another actor over the head with a sword. But Herzog also shows Kinski's power as an actor, contrasting a clip of Jason Robards playing Fitzcarraldo with a clip of the raving Kinski playing the same scene after he replaced Robards. Herzog also interviews Claudia Cardinale and Eva Mattes, who worked with Kinski on Herzog's films and remember him as a gentle and sensitive man. Herzog is a skilled documentarian, and is himself a fascinating subject, as had already been proven in Les Blank's excellent account of the making of Fitzcarraldo, Burden of Dreams. He's softened a bit since those days, but his fierce intellect shines through. Some may wish that the film included more clips of Kinski, as the footage there is of him -- raving, performing, and playing with a butterfly -- is incredible, while Herzog's stories are even more astounding. The director takes credit for a lot of the actor's work, describing how he essentially tricked Kinski into giving him just the performance he wanted, and at one point even claiming he helped Kinski come up with the horrible insults he throws at Herzog in his autobiography. One wishes Kinski were still around to let Herzog have it one more time.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 8/15/2000
  • UPC: 013131123692
  • Original Release: 1999

    • Rating:

  • Source: Starz / Anchor Bay
  • Region Code: 1
  • Aspect Ratio: Alternate Wide Screen (1.77:1)
  • Presentation: Wide Screen / Stereo / Dolby 5.1
  • Sound: Dolby Digital, stereo
  • Language: English, Deutsche
  • Time: 1:40:00
  • Format: DVD

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Werner Herzog Voice Only
Technical Credits
Werner Herzog Director
Joe Bini Editor
Herbert Golder Asst. Director
Christine Ruppert Executive Producer
Andre Singer Executive Producer
Eric Spitzer Sound/Sound Designer
Lucki Stipetic Producer
Peter Zeitlinger Cinematographer
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Scene Index

Side #1 -- Widescreen
0. Chapter Selections
1. Program Start/Jesus [2:27]
2. Main Titles [:42]
3. The Return [7:16]
4. River Of Destiny [1:30]
5. Aguirre [8:26]
6. Turbulence [3:38]
7. Traces Of The Past [4:54]
8. Hell Breaks Loose [6:01]
9. A Coward, Thank God [4:41]
10. Collaborators [1:52]
11. Woyzeck [:41]
12. Eva Mattes [6:23]
13. Quiet Moments [2:47]
14. Rage [3:49]
15. Center Of Attention [5:03]
16. The Chasm [6:05]
17. Two Critical Masses [5:48]
18. The Spiral [4:45]
19. Changing Roles [3:41]
20. The Burden [3:10]
21. Claudia Cardinale [4:18]
22. Frozen Moments [2:59]
23. Cobra Verde [:50]
24. The Comet [3:54]
25. Butterfly [1:57]
26. End Credits [1:01]
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Menu

Side #1 -- Widescreen
   Audio Setup/Subtitles
      AUDIO: German
      AUDIO: English
      ENGLISH SUBTITLES: On
      ENGLISH SUBTITLES: Off
   Trailer
      Trailer (with subtitles)
      Trailer (without subtitles)
   Resume
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