Woyzeck

Released Aug 24, 1979

1h 22m

Drama

List

86%

Tomatometer

14 Reviews

76%

Audience Score

2,500+ Ratings

Having fathered an illegitimate child with his lover, Marie (Eva Mattes), feckless soldier Franz Woyzeck (Klaus Kinski) takes odd jobs around his small town to provide some extra money for them. One of them is volunteering for experiments conducted by a local doctor, who puts Woyzeck on a diet of peas. This serves to drive him close to madness, and the discovery that Marie is conducting an affair with the local drum major exacerbates the situation. Pushed too far, Woyzeck resorts to violence.

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Richard Combs

Sight & Sound

What Herzog does is to make his own contrary film inside the original, elevating Jonathan Harker from functionary to dual protagonist.

Mar 17, 2020

Full Review

Vincent Canby

New York Times

Woyzeck is, if possible, ever more mysterious by the time we reach the end than it is at the beginning.

Rated: 4/5

May 9, 2005

Full Review

Keith Phipps

AV Club

Handsomely mounting each scene, the director has trouble attaining any forward momentum, though he achieves some powerful moments while trying.

Feb 3, 2003

Full Review

Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

Kinski lends burning charisma...

Nov 10, 2023

Full Review

José Ramon Pérez Ornia

El Pais (Spain)

Woyzeck's tragedy and crime is one of the most beautiful crimes in the history of film. [Full Review in Spanish]

Aug 7, 2019

Full Review

Cole Smithey

ColeSmithey.com

Rated: 4/5

Sep 26, 2005

Full Review

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Alec B

I sort of understand the mixed response here but that's still impressive since you'd think any attempt to adapt the play to the screen would be doomed to fail. One of Kinski's more subdued performances which is something to see.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/10/24

Full Review

Georgan G

This film is like spoken poetry showing the futility of the poor. Woyzeck is treated horribly by all those above his station in life. As he goes insane, his delusions turn violent. The slow-motion murder scene is pretty amazing and the best part of the picture.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Adapted from Buchner's fragmented play, Herzog's "Woyzeck" feels predictably sparse and unfinished; qualities which reinforce an air of peculiar mystery and puzzlement while watching. One can imagine Herzog delighting in the maddening impenetrability of Buchner's dialogue, perhaps so constructed as to invite active participation from the astute viewer by means of creative interpretation. Indeed, it's as though Herzog is exploring the dadaist associations with language while simultaneously using it to express the enigmatic conditions of the soul; an approach which at times requires great patience from the viewer as well as a willingness to depart from any and all logic-oriented preconceptions of the work. While "Woyzeck" is far from a great film, those who are open to the experience may find themselves watching with the kind of bemused curiosity best suited for a work that has been enticingly left unfinished by its author.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

william k

Werner Herzog's adaptation of Georg Büchner's classic play was filmed an d cut in 18 days, and the quick-shot production does show in the minimalist settings, but Klaus Kinski's intense, over-heated performance remains quite memorable.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Superb film by Werner Herzog. This is a classical, often repeated story, about a good hearted, feeble-minded simpleton, abused by everyone, who decides in despair to take revenge against those that oppress him. It's a cautionary tale never to underestimate anyone. Today it would probably be canceled, due to its subject-matter, which only adds to its worth. The photography is astonishingly raw, as it is typical of Herzog's films from that era, contributing to its realism. Kinski's performance is absolutely breathtaking, mangnificent, he can really inspire life into the character (especially with his expressive eyes).

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

Audience Member

An excellent version of Büchner's fragment with terrific performance. The placid scenery beautifully contrasts Woyzeck's disrupted pace.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

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Werner Herzog

Director

Klaus Kinski

Friedrich Johann Franz Woyzeck

Eva Mattes

Marie

Wolfgang Reichmann

Captain

Willy Semmelrogge

Doctor

Josef Bierbichler

Drum Major

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Synopsis

Having fathered an illegitimate child with his lover, Marie (Eva Mattes), feckless soldier Franz Woyzeck (Klaus Kinski) takes odd jobs around his small town to provide some extra money for them. One of them is volunteering for experiments conducted by a local doctor, who puts Woyzeck on a diet of peas. This serves to drive him close to madness, and the discovery that Marie is conducting an affair with the local drum major exacerbates the situation. Pushed too far, Woyzeck resorts to violence.

Director: Werner Herzog
Screenwriter: Werner Herzog
Distributor: New Yorker Films
Production Co: Werner Herzog Filmproduktion, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen
Genre: Drama
Original Language: German
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 24, 1979, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 26, 2016
Runtime: 1h 22m
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: 35mm

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