"The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner" was released in 1974. According to the sources, Herzog saw Walter Steiner on TV after his taking the last place in a ski jumping competition and decided to make a movie about him in which Steiner won the world championship. And it was possibly the filming that made Walter win.
The name of the movie refers to a woodcarver, however the movie shows ski jumping -- Steiner's main activity which he devoted his whole life to. It is shot as footage and the director sometimes appears on camera to comment on what's happening. There is an interview with the character which reveals much about Walter as a person as well as a jumper. The movie is centered on a big event, the world championship in Yugoslavia. Before that we are shown Walter's preparation, dozens of bad jumps and injuries - he even goes to the competition having just recovered from one of them. The culminating point is Walter's three jumps at the championship. The first one is preparatory and successful, and then he gets a small injury during the second one which makes him wonder if he is able to perform once more. Still, he makes the final jump only to not frame Yugoslavia and to prove to himself he can do it.
Walter Steiner is the kind of man who doesn't care about the result. He says he could have jumped higher but knew life can't be exchanged for a record. For Steiner it is the moment of flying that is most important and not the result he gets. He even jokes that they want him to beat the record and jump higher and higher every time but he lowers his standards instead.
Herzog shows a lot of failed jumps of other sportsmen before Walter's performance. These shots terrify and make us ask ourselves if this is going to happen to our character as well But the ending shows that Walter's perseverance is not in vain - he leaves Yugoslavia having not only won the world championship but also overcome himself.
At the end Steiner tells a story about a little raven who he was raising as a child. Every day Steiner watched other birds mock the raven for having lost the ability to fly and he had to shoot him. This story is highly symbolic because Steiner would have never forgiven himself if he wasn't able to jump. He only gets the sense of absolute freedom from jumping. This state is his ecstasy. He says, "I ought to be all alone in the world, just me, Steiner, and no other living thing".
After the film we start to understand why he is also fond of woodcarving - he is moved by forms, grace and curves. A beautiful figure comes out from an unshaped log, it breaks free just like Steiner finds freedom during a jump.
As for the techniques used, slow motion is worth noting; using it Herzog shows every single movement of the jumper, his total focus and tension in the whole body just before the landing. The shots are sometimes hand-held which creates the effect of presence. Soulful music sets the mood but isn't very noticeable by itself.
The method of filming involves experiencing dramatic situations along with the character. The camera allows us to be near Walter right after the jump when he is attacked by fans and paparazzi longing for his autograph, it is there when he's training persistently and starting over and over when he fails. It is even there when Steiner spends some time in solitude in a forest to recover from a bad jump. The camera is an unseen character of the movie, through it we see records being beaten and history being written.
Herzog makes a movie about a seemingly ordinary person. Steiner attracts the audience with his sincerity, simplicity, calmness and focus. But on the inside he is in a perpetual conflict with other people and with himself.
The movie lets us partly into Steiner's world. As we approach the ending, we begin to see his motives, the reason why he has chosen that career, what drives him and what he lives for. Steiner has dreamed of flying since he was in school so we can conclude that ski jumping is the most important part of his life, something he has always aspired to and continues to live for.
In my opinion, this film is important for the history of cinema, just like all other films by Werner Herzog. The movie shows an internal conflict along with an external conflict and the way they influence each other and observes a rich inner world and a delicate constitution of a sportsman. What's more, it tells us what extraordinary abilities an ordinary man can possess and proves that there are no limits to human powers.
The name of the movie refers to a woodcarver, however the movie shows ski jumping -- Steiner's main activity which he devoted his whole life to. It is shot as footage and the director sometimes appears on camera to comment on what's happening. There is an interview with the character which reveals much about Walter as a person as well as a jumper. The movie is centered on a big event, the world championship in Yugoslavia. Before that we are shown Walter's preparation, dozens of bad jumps and injuries - he even goes to the competition having just recovered from one of them. The culminating point is Walter's three jumps at the championship. The first one is preparatory and successful, and then he gets a small injury during the second one which makes him wonder if he is able to perform once more. Still, he makes the final jump only to not frame Yugoslavia and to prove to himself he can do it.
Walter Steiner is the kind of man who doesn't care about the result. He says he could have jumped higher but knew life can't be exchanged for a record. For Steiner it is the moment of flying that is most important and not the result he gets. He even jokes that they want him to beat the record and jump higher and higher every time but he lowers his standards instead.
Herzog shows a lot of failed jumps of other sportsmen before Walter's performance. These shots terrify and make us ask ourselves if this is going to happen to our character as well But the ending shows that Walter's perseverance is not in vain - he leaves Yugoslavia having not only won the world championship but also overcome himself.
At the end Steiner tells a story about a little raven who he was raising as a child. Every day Steiner watched other birds mock the raven for having lost the ability to fly and he had to shoot him. This story is highly symbolic because Steiner would have never forgiven himself if he wasn't able to jump. He only gets the sense of absolute freedom from jumping. This state is his ecstasy. He says, "I ought to be all alone in the world, just me, Steiner, and no other living thing".
After the film we start to understand why he is also fond of woodcarving - he is moved by forms, grace and curves. A beautiful figure comes out from an unshaped log, it breaks free just like Steiner finds freedom during a jump.
As for the techniques used, slow motion is worth noting; using it Herzog shows every single movement of the jumper, his total focus and tension in the whole body just before the landing. The shots are sometimes hand-held which creates the effect of presence. Soulful music sets the mood but isn't very noticeable by itself.
The method of filming involves experiencing dramatic situations along with the character. The camera allows us to be near Walter right after the jump when he is attacked by fans and paparazzi longing for his autograph, it is there when he's training persistently and starting over and over when he fails. It is even there when Steiner spends some time in solitude in a forest to recover from a bad jump. The camera is an unseen character of the movie, through it we see records being beaten and history being written.
Herzog makes a movie about a seemingly ordinary person. Steiner attracts the audience with his sincerity, simplicity, calmness and focus. But on the inside he is in a perpetual conflict with other people and with himself.
The movie lets us partly into Steiner's world. As we approach the ending, we begin to see his motives, the reason why he has chosen that career, what drives him and what he lives for. Steiner has dreamed of flying since he was in school so we can conclude that ski jumping is the most important part of his life, something he has always aspired to and continues to live for.
In my opinion, this film is important for the history of cinema, just like all other films by Werner Herzog. The movie shows an internal conflict along with an external conflict and the way they influence each other and observes a rich inner world and a delicate constitution of a sportsman. What's more, it tells us what extraordinary abilities an ordinary man can possess and proves that there are no limits to human powers.