2026 Werner HerzAugust Challenge: Be Sure to Get the Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
24 movies
The ancient Greeks famously coined the word κακοθερής (kakotheres) to mean "unfitted to endure the summer heat," and the point in the year where that word applies to me most greatly is the sweltering (and many times physically/mentally/spiritually harrowing) month of August.
I have decided that instead of passively sweating my way through the "dog days" of summer this August, I will instead embrace the HERZOG DAYS OF SUMMER with this inaugural challenge celebrating international cinema, thought-provoking dramas and documentaries, and the spirit of "ecstatic truth" embodied by the works of German filmmaker and cult celebrity Werner Herzog.
OFFICIAL RULES:
This August, I will make it my goal to watch/log/review 24 films over 31 days, satisfying the following criteria:
1️⃣ At least 9 <a href="https://letterboxd.com/director/werner-herzog/">Werner Herzog-directed films</a>, with a minimum of: 4 narrative features 4 documentaries plus 1 more of either type.
(EDIT 7/1: I've also compiled a handy list of 40+ <a href="https://boxd.it/VpbHu$l9mTuM8NybuDjo0e">Herzog films currently available on streaming</a>, arranged by availability.)
2️⃣ At least 4 (non-Herzog directed) films from the New German Cinema (AKA German New Wave) movement. Source List: <a href="https://boxd.it/UJ7PK ">New German Cinema</a>
3️⃣ At least 1 non-Herzog directed film where Herzog either appears as an actor playing a character, or as himself. Source List: <a href="https://boxd.it/UOsNU$Zwxl1kU0Si0xkEsG">Werner Herzog Film Appearances</a>
4️⃣ 1 film awarded the <a href="https://www.wernerherzog.org/en/werner-herzog-stiftung-filmpreis.html">Werner Herzog Film Award</a> Source List: https://boxd.it/SoN6i
5️⃣ 3 films featured in <a href="https://boxd.it/QzOVA">IndieWire's "52 Best Documentaries of the 21st Century"</a>
6️⃣ 3 films from Blue K's MUBI list <a href="https://mubi.com/en/lists/transcendent-moments-of-the-ecstatic-truth">"Transcendent Moments of the Ecstatic Truth"</a> (<a href="https://boxd.it/Nt04">Letterboxd version</a>)
7️⃣ Any 1 film (directed by Herzog or not) starring one of these three notable Herzog lead actors: <a href="https://boxd.it/7Ih">Klaus Kinski</a> <a href="https://boxd.it/3HLx">Isabelle Adjani</a> <a href="https://boxd.it/3J2z">Brad Dourif</a>
8️⃣ 1 of <a href="https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/werner-herzog-eight-favourite-films/">Herzog's 8 favorite films of all time</a>
9️⃣ Any 1 film with music by one of these four composers: <a href="https://letterboxd.com/composer/popol-vuh/">Popol Vuh</a> <a href="https://letterboxd.com/composer/florian-fricke/">Florian Fricke</a> <a href="https://letterboxd.com/composer/ernst-reijseger/">Ernst Reijseger</a> <a href="https://letterboxd.com/composer/richard-thompson-1/">Richard Thompson</a>
If I fall short of 24 films after fulfilling all of the above categories, I will fill it out to 24 with any additional Herzog (or Herzog-adjacent) film(s) I want to watch.
I encourage anyone reading this to do the same! Post a link to your lists in the comments and attach the tag <a href="https://letterboxd.com/tag/wernerherzaugust/lists/">#wernerherzaugust</a> to help others find your lists and reviews.
This challenge is largely inspired by <a href="https://letterboxd.com/cinemonster">Cinemonster</a>'s annual <a href="https://letterboxd.com/cinemonster/tag/hoop-tober/lists/">Hooptober horror challenge</a>, which will conveniently be starting up just a couple of weeks after this one ends!
The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974) [Movie] Douban TMDB WikiData IMDb
Jeder für sich und Gott gegen alle
other title:
하늘은 스스로 돕는 자를 돕지 않는다
/
カスパー・ハウザーの謎
…
The film follows Kaspar Hauser (Bruno S.), who lived the first seventeen years of his life chained in a tiny cellar with only a toy horse to occupy his time, devoid of all human contact except for a man who wears a black overcoat and top hat who feeds him.
Heart of Glass (1976) [Movie] Douban TMDB IMDb WikiData
Herz aus Glas
other title:
유리의 심장
/
ガラスの心
…
A small Bavarian village is renowned for its "Ruby Glass" glass blowing works. When the foreman of the works dies suddenly without revealing the secret of the Ruby Glass, the town slides into a deep depression, and the owner of the glassworks becomes obssessed with the lost secret.
Lessons of Darkness (1992) [Movie] Douban IMDb TMDB WikiData
Lektionen in Finsternis
other title:
어둠의 교훈
/
Lektionen in Finsternis
…
Shortly after the Gulf War, oil fires were raging all through Kuwait. In the week before this sea of fire would be extinguished, Werner Herzog filmed this apocalyptic landscape with its murky skies, scorched earth and capricious flames.
My Best Fiend (1999) [Movie] Douban IMDb TMDB WikiData
Mein liebster Feind - Klaus Kinski
other title:
我的魔鬼
/
Mein liebster Feind - Klaus Kinski
…
A film that describes the love-hate relationship between Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski, the deep trust between the director and the actor, and their independently and simultaneously hatched plans to murder one another.
Land of Silence and Darkness (1971) [Movie] Douban WikiData IMDb TMDB
Land des Schweigens und der Dunkelheit
other title:
沉默与黑暗的世界
/
Land des Schweigens und der Dunkelheit
…
1971 Documentary film directed by Werner Herzog
Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997) [Movie] Douban WikiData TMDB IMDb
Little Dieter Needs to Fly
other title:
小小迪特想要飞
/
小迪特想要飞
…
Three decades after German-American pilot Dieter Dengler was shot down over Laos, he returns to the places where he was held prisoner during the early years of the Vietnam War. Accompanied by director Werner Herzog, Dengler describes in unusually candid detail his captivity, the friendships he made, and his daring escape. Not willing to stop there, Herzog even persuades his subject to re-enact certain tortures, with the help of some willing local villagers.
Fata Morgana (1971) [Movie] Douban TMDB IMDb WikiData
Fata Morgana
other title:
创世纪
/
海市蜃楼
…
Shot under extreme conditions and inspired by Mayan creation theory, the film contemplates the illusion of reality and the possibility of capturing for the camera something which is not there. It is about the mirages of nature—and the nature of mirage.
Fox and His Friends (1975) [Movie] IMDb Douban TMDB WikiData
Faustrecht der Freiheit
other title:
폭스와 그의 친구들
/
Faustrecht der Freiheit
…
Fox, a former circus performer, wins the lottery of DM 500,000 and can now have the life and things that he has always wanted. While he wants to climb up the social ladder, it isn't without turmoil, and being torn between his old working class roots, and the shiny new facade of middle class consciousness.
The American Friend (1977) [Movie] IMDb Douban TMDB WikiData
Der amerikanische Freund
other title:
美国朋友
/
Der amerikanische Freund
…
Tom Ripley, an American who deals in forged art, is slighted at an auction in Hamburg by picture framer Jonathan Zimmerman. When Ripley is asked by gangster Raoul Minot to kill a rival, he suggests Zimmerman, and the two, exploiting Zimmerman's terminal illness, coerce him into being a hitman.
The Consequence (1977) [Movie] WikiData IMDb Douban TMDB
Die Konsequenz
8.4 (7 ratings)
director:
沃尔夫冈·彼德森
actor:
尤尔根·普洛斯诺
/
厄内斯特·汉纳瓦德
other title:
结果
/
Die Konsequenz
…
1977 film directed by Wolfgang Petersen
Julien Donkey-Boy (1999) [Movie] Douban IMDb TMDB WikiData
Julien Donkey-Boy
other title:
ジュリアン
/
驴孩朱利安
…
Undiagnosed, untreated and generally untethered schizophrenic Julien lives with his pregnant younger sister Pearl, anorexic would-be wrestler brother Chris, sympathetic grandmother, and severely depressed German father.
The Rider (2017) [Movie] Douban IMDb TMDB Skybridge WikiData
The Rider
other title:
로데오 카우보이
/
El jinete
…
Once a rising star of the rodeo circuit, and a gifted horse trainer, young cowboy Brady is warned that his riding days are over after a horse crushed his skull at a rodeo. In an attempt to regain control of his own fate, Brady undertakes a search for a new identity and what it means to be a man in the heartland of the United States.
The Act of Killing (2012) [Movie] Douban IMDb Eggplant.place TMDB WikiData
The Act of Killing
other title:
액트 오브 킬링
/
Jagal
…
Filmmakers expose the horrifying mass executions of accused communists in Indonesia and those who are celebrated in their country for perpetrating the crime.
