Discussing Skateboarding with Filmmaker Werner Herzog
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.ย. 2024
- Werner Herzog is a pillar of cinema-a pioneer known for his prolific output, quick wit, and uncommon approach to film. He’s a guy who brings a true sense of uniqueness to an industry increasingly overrun with superheroes. But what does he have to do with skateboarding?
Technically speaking, nothing. Werner has no background in skating. But I believe he is one of us.
He preaches maxims like getting the shot by any means necessary, carrying bolt cutters everywhere, and thwarting institutional cowardice with guerrilla tactics. His entire career has been built on a DIY approach to life, his craft banged into existence through decades of trial and failure.
Because Werner’s approach to living and filmmaking mirrors the ethos of skating in so many ways, I decided to track him down to chat about the similarities and differences between our two worlds.
Interview: Ian Michna ( / ian.michna )
Edited by: Rob Fraebel ( / nobington )
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that was a clean one - Werner Herzog
this has to be the top comment
Bump
Beat me to it! 🤘🏻
Also my take away. Werner’s playing dumb, he’s sat in on plenty of sessions in his day.
He got shot with an air rifle during a TV interview and it didn't phase him one bit.th-cam.com/video/HrRNM9cMBDk/w-d-xo.html
I would absolutely devour a Herzog skate film.
holy fuck yes, had no idea how much i needed this til today
"....and yes, they go up ndown, another failure ashtonishing, hurts elbow - there's a clean one - another failed attempt at humanity but still going, outstandingly marvelous - a clean one ....
Strongest of the strange isn’t far off!
"Why does he skate? Does zie skateboarder fear the ground? Is he disgusted with zie asphalt that he needs 4 wheels and a wooden plate between himself and zie aspalt? Does he flip zie board to zee if the ground is still there?"
@@MassivecarcrashI’m loving it already.
I want Werner to look at whatever I'm doing and whisper, "So many failures. It's astonishing."
The feels.
Herzog is more interested in dedication in the face of failure and adversity than he is in a success story.
yeah but if he ever said "that was a clean one" to anything I've done I would cry
AMEN!
🤣
He should narrate a skate competition. "In this cramped and rotting structure it appears that we have here a group of people who only come to accept small successes over an impossible mountain of failure. We can observe them recklessly fumbling about the course like mice who know they are soon to be fed to a python. Only one small glimmer of hope comes when a rare window that is not certain death appears, and a trick is landed. And that was a good backside tailslide by Ishod the Weary."
Please make it happen.
That was the best post I eher read thanks
Great comment would read again.
Completely unrelated but Antonio Banderas should announce US foreign policy.
I once told someone the opposite of what I really thought.
You guys have to make a t-shirt quoting him:
"That was a clean one." - Werner Herzog
If they did I would buy it
yesssss
I think he said keen instead of clean which to me makes an even better shirt
Take my money
C'mon Jenkem, shirts and stickers
The one dislike is from David Blaine
bahahahah
And 5 times from klaus kinski
"Fuck David Blaine. All my homies hate David Blaine" -Werner Herzog
bwahahahahahaha!!!
“What you are doing is special, bordering the sacred.” What a line
It's absolutely sacred
"Yes, that's kind of my people."
-Werner Herzog on Skateboarders
Yet….
"Bordering the sacred." Holy fuck.
It's refreshing to see a legend being so humble and respectful of another culture. But he also basically said he liked skaters for their lack of ego and willingness to overcome hard challenges for themselves instead of for the attention.
“I do know this, David Blaine is not to be trusted...”
Somehow, even common knowledge comes off almost as profound a takeaway as that gem of a quote.
That’s a Herzog if I’ve ever Herzoged
Frontside
@@seymourglass26 Right, which is less and less true for the new generation of skaters.
"that was a clean one"
he IS one of us....
No joke probably the coolest piece you've done. That was rad.
my exact thoughts
Agreed
@@raichu56k Definitely. As a skateboarding fan AND a Herzog fan, I've been glued to this video. Would've been awesome to see Herzog make a doc on skateboarders and their profession's philosophy of trail and error.
Whatever you do, if you get Werner Herzog to be in it, it will be the best thing you've done.
This young guy actually did a pretty good job of interviewing Herzog 👍
You just get brutal honesty with the Herz
Listening to the Russian Orthodox music paired with skating as Werner Herzog mentions the connection to the 'sacred' really struck me in an emotional sense. I've often pondered and studied what different cultures and religious peoples refer to as their "connection to the sacred", whether it be meditation, prayer, physical forms of worship, and I completely agree that skateboarding is a sacred and emotional headspace that we all seek to achieve whether we realize it or not. I jokingly refer to skating as my yoga, but in all actuality it is most definitely an activity where I seek mental refuge and it is a healing place for me. If I've had a terrible day, skateboarding helps. I clear my mind and focus on one thing and one thing only. Anyways, this probably sounds borderline ridiculous, but I felt it in my chest when Werner made that observation.
It is a deep meditation, especially when battling a trick. The sooner the you can tap in to that, the sooner you will benefit from it in aspects of your life outside of skateboarding. For example, I have a lame throat/vox condition that has required surgery where I have to be awake during the op…one of the few things that calmed my nerves enough for the doc to do his job: closing my eyes and replaying/reliving a line that I had been working on at my local park the previous week. I realized after the op that I was definitely mediating.
As someone who is garbage at skateboarding, but a much better musician, i concur completely with this. Anything that provides healing and refuge after a bad day is a sacred thing. This was an awesome video that I thoroughly enjoyed.
I dont't think that this sounds ridiculous at all. My gf, who was a Skater when she was a teenager (and still skateboards occasionally when time allows it) had anger issues due to family problems, and for her, skateboarding was clearly a way to deal with the stress. It struck me when you mentioned that it can be a form of mental refuge and a healing place of sorts , she feels the same way about it.
completely agree, you should check out Paul O'Connor's book 'Skateboarding and Religion'
Amen. A shitty day during which I get to skate, is a good day.
this right here
Moh powah baby
ramchargers
Based
jenkem x herzog x donut: absolutely based crossover
Nolan, that you?
Jenkem posting content none of us knew we needed
When he said he saw skaters & thought "these are my people" I've never felt more proud.
He absolutely, 100% gets what skateboarding is all about.
Werner Herzog got it 100% correct: "Russian Orthodox Church Choirs" to parallel the "Space and sacrality and what you are doing is special bordering on the sacred". For me it is the moments of flowing physical poetry and cresting weightless dance that makes Skateboarding & BMX so internally beautiful and magic and fulfilling, and when you stop that satisfaction does not dissipate, it just says with you, so radly!!!
Thank you, thank you, thankyou for this cool video : )
Are you by any chance familiar with the Canadian skateboarder Dan Pageau? (there are some decent clips on TH-cam) His brother Jonathon Pageau is a Russian Orthodox icon carver and his other bother Matthieu Pageau wrote an incredible book on symbolism in the Book of Genesis.
It works even better with slo-mo footage
It's so great to hear Werner say that, celestial
“What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! In form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an angel! In apprehension, how like a God!
@@dala4706 the human condition, Werners work is to put a mirror up to us, good day to you and wish you all the best on your path, blessed be xoxo
"have you fallen in love with a camera before?" "no"
Such a great question.
correct answer for most filmmakers i'd say lolll
😂
haha hi kendawg
Can the VX people please take this to heart? I was a full-time professional skate filmer in the VX days. It was just a camera. My cell phone blows away the VX1000 and I'm telling you with gospel certainty: Nobody would've used the VX back then if my iPhone existed because it's better in every way, and you can get a baby death lens for it. Kids today have a sort of nostalgia for a camera because it looks awful. That's fucking weird. It was used heavily used back then because it was slightly better than the other handled camera, the Canon GL1 but the difference was marginal. They'll all just cameras.
In the ad for his filmmaking Masterclass he said something about filming footage along these lines "we were like thieves, and the footage we filmed was our stolen goods." That image fits so well on the entire skate filmmaking scene as a whole and it resonnates with me so much, it shook me quite a bit when I first heard it.
"What you're doing is special, bordering the sacred." Damn, I feel that so much there are tears in my eyes. Couldn't vibe with this guy's insights more.
I legit cried
Artists understanding other artists
I would've gladly watched 30 more minutes of this
someones gotta clip "Zat was a clean one"
On it
Edit: done
"Have you fallen in love with a camera before?"
"No" loool this was great
Poor Kelly Hart lol.
I’m 100% sincere when I say this, but in spite of it not being Jenkem or Herzog’s intent, this video actually changed my life in a profound way. Herzog mentioning Russian Orthodox choir as appropriate skateboarding music made me interested in checking out the broader Orthodox Christian choral traditions, and I fell in love with the reverence for God and musical richness on display in them.
This led me to actually attend an Orthodox Divine Liturgy for the first time in June 2022, and from there I found even more beauty in their Eucharistic communion, the stories of the saints, and so much more. I was baptized into the church in July 2023, and in a very strange way this video is the seed of that entire process.
Also, I will share a story from a Desert Father which shows the unexpected parallels between the Orthodox view of repentance and the trials of skateboarding:
“A young monk said to Abba Sisoes: “Abba, what should I do? I fell.” The elder answered: “Get up!” The monk said: “I got up and I fell again!” The elder replied: “Get up again!” But the young monk asked: “For how long should I get up when I fall?” “Until your death,” answered Abba Sisoes. “For a man heads to his judgment either fallen or getting back up again.””
Thank you for the whole read, wild! Congrats!
Wow! What a story
What a beautiful story! Also I read it in Herzog's voice.
Got any more music recommendations?
I actually really dig that music behind the clips at the end.
I better see more Russian Orthodox Church music in skate parts now 😤
I don't think I've ever cried at a skate video before today....
He was on point with the music went perfectly . Very interesting we all needed that we just didnt know it !
"We all needed that we just didn't know it" is a good way to sum up Herzog's entire body of work!
There's a clip in Grizzly Man where he's holding a VX 1000.
Hahaaaa it's true!!
this is the first thing i thought of when he mentioned the VX1000
haha damn they should've shown him that screen grab. He would've been hyped knowing we use the same camera
He said have you fallen in love with it, not have you used it.
Death Lens.
This would be really cool as a series, perhaps involving other artistic professions such as photographers or sound artists and get their insight into it.
Please leave Jeezy Weezy out of this.....🙄
dude you should do it yourself, don't wait for someone else to do it for you.
@@bozooe I would love to but wouldn’t want to take away from Jenkem. Jenkem if you see this then hit me up, I have a degree in photography!
@@TrillFilming BRO it was YOUR idea, don't let them take it away from you.
There was a film... “Short Plays”, where various directors filmed soccer. This would be so cool but for skateboarding!!
This is the most bizarre, fever dream level video topic I've ever seen. Jenkem really just puts out the best stuff.
I don't even know Jenkem and I'm a fan of him and of skateboarding now
"so many failures" its like hes speaking right to me
His answer on the question of soundtracks for skateboard films is worth the entire interview. Would love to see that kind of out of the box thinking applied within a skateboard film.
Werner Herzog saying “that was a clean one” need to be a sound bite!!!
Holy moly werner herzog and skateboarding!!why did TH-cam show this to me 3 years late!!?????
I have lost track of how many times I have watched this and recommended to others. It's a beautiful take on life. Tears me up every time.
This is AMAZING. As a lifelong skateboarder, and a film editor by trade, this was such a sick interview to land. Welcome to skateboarding, Werner!!!!
“What you are doing is special, bordering the sacred.” .........He gets it
I almost shed a tear when the Russian Choir came on... Just beautiful! Herr Herzog is the man! Thank you for this supreme interview!
this is golden, so many awesome quotes in 4 minutes, 'that was a clean one' - 'so many failures it's astonishing' and 'bordering the sacred' are the standouts !!
As a german I'm so proud of Werner Herzog. You can see that even though he is not very familiar with the topic he instantly caught it's essence and admires it authenticity and also rawness. And that's what Werner Herzog is all about.
Doing shit on the streets for nobody, just for yourself, ready to go through pain and suffering just to land a clean one. That's his philosophy of art.
That is one of the beauties of athletic achievement. It's authentic. You either did that trick down the handrail or you didn't. Mommy and daddy can't buy you a 360 flip. You have to earn every advance you making skateboarding, and you have to do it the hard way. There are no shortcuts. Money and friends and certain things can help, but I have yet to see the $100 bill that can flip out of a manual trick for you. All these things can do is lead the horse to water. They can't make it drink..
@@jasondashney There was a documentary about street culture and skating couple years ago. I was born in 95 and grew up with skating and graffiti. One of the philosophers in the documentary said that skating had a completely new approach to athletic performance.
You didn't skate for a gold medal or for a certain score that can be measured. It was a spiritual experience to acquire skill over the time and you realized your own ability to grow. That's something nobody can take away from you. Sometimes it even had a "ora et labora" vibe. Finding peace in your practice.
@@pikpik42 if you don’t find peace in your practice, you’ll never be any good. Skateboarding as a failure rate that almost immediately kicks out, people who don’t have it in their heart.
@@jasondashney i know that
Watched over 20 of this man's amazing, weird movies, most especially "The Great Ecstacy of Woodcarver Steiner" (highly recommend). I've been saying for years that he should make a movie (or movies) about underground, alternative sports/arts, i.e. skating, breaking, and/or freerunning. Nobody has a filmmaking eye for the surreal and uncanny - in his words, "ecstatic truth" - like this man.
Super tight. Thank you for bringing this conversation into existence
Jenkem you guys are the BEST!~ Thanks large for this insanely creative video 👊
YEAH Matt, make some RAS KITHCEN boards PLEASE!!!
@@randydube1423 damn would be wicked!
@@RasKitchen Maybe collab with Blue Tile Lounge or Olive skateboards if you can't find a source to get them pressed. I'll buy 5 decks right off the bat, no joke.
Amazing!!! Fucking cried, sounded just like my Grandpa when he said “im puzzled”. Thanks guys
Werner Herzog reacting to Mark Gonzales. Love.
I'm 50 and this vid made me go town a Herzog rabbit hole probably for the third or fourth time in my life. Definitely a skater's soul.
Whoever's idea it was to do this piece, deserves a large bonus. Really interesting look from a brilliant mind!!
As a skater and a filmmaker of 20 years and a fan of his work..
This video was amazing!
One of the things that great skaters and this great filmmaker have in common is that they can see ordinary parts of the world around them (landscape, terrain, whatever you want to call it) and imagine amazing things. Then they make those things real.
That was beyond legit!
Who knew this would be so wholesome.
Impressive interview by Ian M. I’m in the same boat with Mr. Herzog on not familiar with the skateboarding world, but after this interview, I have a much better appreciation to the young folks trying endlessly to perfect their craft. 👏🏼👏🏼
The fact that you put this together is incredible, shout out to everyone at jenkem especially whoever comes up with these Concepts
Oh wow Herzog's music choice at the end was brilliant!! Now I want an entire skateboarding doc with that music narrated by Herzog 😤😤
This is one of the more authentic things I've seen on TH-cam in a long while. It not only felt refreshing to watch but also ignited my passion for life. Well done.
Whoever is coming up with the concepts for Jenkem's content deserves a raise
I keep coming back to this video, what a special little moment in history
He said “That was a clean one.”
Holy guck that was awesome!
I got to think he was briefed a little on skate jargon and improvised that. That isnt colloquial to say at all.
Really a wonderful segment. As a 'mature' skater (40+ years) and fan of Herzog (separately) this hit several positive notes at once. But it was too short! This could def lead to a new series of interviews with non-skaters in the arts. (dancers, other directors, performance artists, urban space theorists (they would LOVE to talk about street skating ala Gonz)). Regardless, an original and insightful interview.
Edit: Check out Australian artist/skater Shaun Gladwell for another take on these art/skate relationships.
"Into the Abyss" is one of the best documentaries I've ever seen, Werner Herzog is seriously a genius and this is amazing he was down to this with Jenkem.
him saying "that was a clean one" was the hardest thing i've ever heard in my life
wish this was longer
I just watched 'Aguirre The Wrath of God'. Although I have been familiar with Werner's work for some time now I am still astonished that this happened and gives me tremendous joy as a skateboarder. Maybe its validation from a person I would never assume would be involved all the same, thank you jenkem. :)
Yet another reason to love Werner Herzog.
He's a gift that keeps on given.
What I love is how unexpected and good this interview was. That is very Herzog.
This is the interview we didn't know we needed. Thank you.
What a great idea interviewing this man ✨
When he said “that was a clean one” you know he’s into it
I keep coming back to this video. So many people within skateboarding have tried and failed to put into words what it is about. And here comes Herzog with a few simple observations to just make everything fall into place.
Skating to Orthodox church choirs from now on.
"bordering the sacred."
Werner ist der Beste! Seine Auffassungsgabe ist genial. Also props to Jenkem for the idea and also beeing able to get somebody like him for the interview.
This is so awesome. I loved going to film school and learning about Werner Herzog. I would get high as fuck right before film screenings and i remember watching Grizzly man and Lessons of Darkness just completely blown away
fucking love this meeting of generations in a completely humble and genuine way
Werner is a treasure. From this, to his cameo as self in "The Boondocks," to the nightmare production of "Fitzcarraldo" to working enthusiastically with Harmony Korine, his interests are pure and impossible to pin down. He's lived and worked as he saw fit. I only hope I can do the same.
"Buttery"
His use of simile is second to none. A true artist and storyteller to the core.
i didnt catch werner saying buttery once in this video
@@oui2611 Thats pretty cool dude ill definitely remeber for as long as I live
Great talk! Well done Ian and Jemkem. - And well done Werner Herzog
Dopest piece you've done. 2021 looks promising for you guys.
Herzog is an absolute legend. It's extremely admirable the level of reverence and admiration that he gives to the sport. If he ever wanted to make a skating video, I would buy that in a heartbeat.
This is so cool. I can actually see how Werner would be interested in the human aspect of skateboarding. Way cool interview to land
As I photographer, I’m pleased Herzog so promptly said “no” to the question: Have you ever fallen in love with a camera? It’s so common to be gear-obsessed, and he’s definitely not.
First the olympics now Herzog. We made it.
Oh my god... And people say youtube is trash... This was absolutely incredible! Love the interview, great questions, what a guy!
I love this. I would love more stuff like this in the skate video world. Connecting skateboarding with art, sociology, philosophy , and other “serious” subjects. I think skating is very similar to these subjects
One of the few people who could talk about any subject and you would want to listen.
entertainment for high society !
I simply can not believe what I just saw. Hezog on skateboarding... mind blown to pieces
this is beautiful. in so many levels.
It’s a testament to skateboarders about the resilience they have for their craft. Despite failure, despite pain, despite frustration, they press on, they keep trying, and when they succeed they continue to build and grow. Learning how to accept failure and keep trying is a lesson that we all should think about. I don’t skate, but I can only image the euphoria of landing a trick that has troubled a skater so many times. That has to be Nirvana. Good on you, skateboarders. Great segment 🙂
Amazing. Plz post the extended cut if there is one.
This is it. The peak of skateboarding content. Nothing will ever be as good as this ever again.
It's bordering on the sacred
What the -- never thought my love of cinema and my love of sk8 would merge. I used to skate to my filmmaking lectures in college so I often had my skateboard with me while watching Werner Herzog films and documentaries. It never occurred to me that his rejection of the establishment and skateboarders rejection by the establishment would fit together so well, but it makes sense. No gods, no masters.
The dude gets it. Rad.
Werner "that was a clean one" Herzog
As someone who is almost 50, a writer, a painter, a photographer- skateboarding is my high-art. And thank you Werner! *A.
Simply amazing, this has awoken a need for a werner herzog skate film
“That was legitness” has now been replaced with “zaht vas a clean one” in my lexicon
This is great, this is why Jenkem is this best skateboarding platform
WERNER HERZOG...? MORE LIKE WERNER PUMP UP THE HERTZ-DOG!!!! HIS “CLEAN ONE” COMMENT WAS SOME LIT ELECTROMAGNETIC FIRE WAVE TYPE SHIT...