Somebody should have put a stop to this film in the early stages. How it could have progressed this far (being released) is a mystery.
I haven't seen something this pointless and disorganized since I was in film school... A waste of an interesting cast and crew. This film would have ended the career of a lesser filmmaker. It's that bad.
@cinema show
Which other Herzog films did you see and ehich of them did you like (that you consider him a great director)?
I have to say it's a bit of a disappointment, especially coming from Werner Herzog, but it's hardly shockingly bad. In fact, it's not bad at all – but it could be better. The performances and direction were solid, but this has a cheap washed-out look that blunts its impact.
shareIt's still a million times better than the garbage heap that was Bad Lieutenant Call of New Orleans...
"Did you mean for all those words to come out like that or did they just fall out randomly?"-H.H.
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I haven't seen Herzog's "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans," but I'm sure I will eventually ... maybe. To the credit of this film, there's not a single frame of Nicolas Cage.
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Cage is indeed hated on these boards, probably up there with Tom Cruise and Andy Dick (though those two are hated for reasons that have nothing to do with their acting abilities). He's hated so much that people insist on spelling Nicolas with an "h."
I think a lot of it has to do with Cage's shift from indie-type films like "Raising Arizona" and "Leaving Las Vegas" to popcorn action fare. I haven't seen a lot of his recent efforts mainly because the films he did a decade ago were so bad. But I'll still eventually see "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Something Whatever Something" as long as it has Herzog's imprint on it, and your recommendation confirms that I should.
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I'm a lot better at talking about actors I like than those I dislike, but Cage is one that has fallen in to both categories at various points in his career. He was wonderful in "Peggy Sue Got Married," "Moonstruck" and even otherwise forgettable films like "Vampire's Kiss" in the '80s, but it just seems that in the '90s and beyond he became a major ham living high on the hog in cringe-inducing films like "The Rock" and "The Wicker Man" remake. Certainly great actors like Al Pacino chew their share of scenery in big-money movies, but there's still a degree of nuance to their performances and they create memorable characters. I'm just not seeing it with Cage anymore, though I'm also not seeking him out.
I've had the DVD of "Rescue Dawn" sitting on a pile of unwatched films for several months, and I know I should watch it, but I'm just not sure I want to. I keep forgetting that it's actually a Herzog film because it just doesn't looks like something he'd do. Christian Bale is another of those actors I used to like who just doesn't have the same appeal to me anymore. But again, I'm better at talking about actors I like, so I'll leave it at that.
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Hey Warp, fancy meeting you here! I guess it goes to show that we both enjoy great films ...and tolerate the not-so-great ones with a grain of salt...
I was also disappointed by this film. And when I say 'disappointed', I mean 'Herzog was once my favourite director of all time, but it's been decades since I've felt satisfied after watching a Herzog film' so I admit there might be some personal resentment brewing.
But here are my reasons for not liking this film. Herzog once again returns to the recurring theme that drives most, if not all, of his films: the notion of a man who goes up against the tyranny of nature and loses his mind. "Fitzcarraldo" is an excellent example. "Aguirre" is another great one. "Grizzly Man" (though I disliked it for other reasons) also succeeded with this theme. But here we have the same formula but with a total miss.
For one thing, there's no Klaus Kinski (whom I suspect was more than 50% of the Herzog-Kinski success). I've only seen Michael Shannon in one other film, the brilliant black comedy "Grand Theft Parsons", and while I think he's a great actor, he ain't no powderkeg like Kinski was. If Herzog wants to reprise these Kinski-esque characters he should get another psycho. Charlie Sheen might do next time round.
Secondly, the mystical scenes of Peru seemed contrived & out of place because there was very little in the script to back it up. All the characters keep saying ominously "He was never the same after Peru," and that certainly builds up the expectations, but nothing materializes there. I dunno, maybe a bunch of scenes were cut?
The end result was a character who descends into madness but without any real passion driving him there. The whole thing felt hollow.
I'm sure I'll watch it again because there were elements that I liked, and obviously it affected me enough to type out all this nonsense. But for the most part, I think I'll go back to Fitz, Aguierre, Woyzeck & Nosfie if I want a good Herzog fix!
Oh, and about Nicolas Cage--in keeping with our long standing tradition of derailing imdb threads--I think you said it. He's done too many forgettable action flicks in recent years. Some actors can pull it off, like Christopher Walken (lordy he's done some duds but we still love him!) or Johnny Depp (deep down we all know he can pull another Ed Wood whenever he wants). But with Nick I wonder if he's past the point of no return. Adaptation was great, I'll give him that. I'll have to check out that "Bad Lieutenant: CSI: Miami" flick you guys are talking about.
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The amateur critics who express their hate of this film remind me of Brad Dourif's Uncle Ted character...a lot of conviction, emotional spewing and not a thread of reason or balance.
I like Roger Ebert's review, which says in part: "My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done confounds all convention and denies all expected pleasures, providing instead the delight of watching Herzog feed the police hostage formula into the Mixmaster of his imagination. It's as if he began with the outline of a stunningly routine police procedural and said to hell with it, I'm going to hang my whimsy on this clothesline."
No. Not shockingly bad at all. Perhaps you should watch Port of Call again.
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"It's better not to know so much about what things mean." David Lynch
I give the great directors like Herzog the benefit of the doubt and assume that if I don't like or get the movie the problem is probably with me. That requires further mental effort on my part, which is probably where you slipped up, dismissing it with these few lines empty of any specific criticism (despite your alleged attendance at "film school").
shareMy favorite Herzog movie with Kaspar Hauser. The intriguing atmosphere, Shannon's intense performance and mysteries of the human mind. This film is all Herzog (IMO there is nothing to do with Lynch), it addresses themes that Herzog likes to develop and it is a very small non ambitious film. I like it a lot because it's just a fun Herzog movie to watch. There are a lot of strange things but I think they add up and become something incredibly amusing and interesting. I personally laughed a lot but was more amused by the long stares and the midget story. Those ones who thought it was boring are not used the Herzog pacing of the movie.
I don't understand why people don't love Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - I believe it is one of the most cool movies out there. I don't like Cage but he fits the part well - depressive, despaired, out of control douche. The movie is a darkly comic look at Cage's descend to madness and it is a pleasure to watch.
I fell asleep one hour into the movie. I dreamt that while sleeping in my bed, it floated to Australia and I woke up on an enclosed, indoor test launch pad. I woke up inside the dream and was in shock at what I was looking at ; there were 2 small warheads ( each in the 20 kilo range ), hidden under my mattress. I started to climb up an elevated ladder to get a better view, as a guy started to explain what the warheads were for and I cut him off explaining that I knew what they were for- my father worked on submarines... The Australian guy was really nonchalant - as if people floated in all the time.
I think that my dream should be the subject of Werner Herzog's next movie.
I agree with the OP. An extremely bad, seemingly immature, movie. Really disappointing, given the track record of the director and producer.
shareChloe's legs got me through! Though with a movie this worthless I'm beginning to think I have a problem. Breaking into her house was one thing, but watching this?
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