Mein liebster Feind - Klaus Kinski (1999)

Director:

Werner Herzog

Writer:

Werner Herzog (writer)

Release Date:

7 October 1999 (Germany)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography

Plot:

In the 1950s, when Werner Herzog was 13, he was sharing an apartment with Klaus Kinski, an ego-maniacal live-wire...

Plot Keywords:

Actor | Friendship | Mountain | Claim In Title | Memory

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Werner Herzog	...	Himself - Narrator / Interviewer (also archive footage)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Isabelle Adjani	...	Lucy Harker (archive footage)
Claudia Cardinale	...	Herself (also archive footage)
Justo González	...	Himself (also archive footage)
Mick Jagger	...	Himself - Wilbur (archive footage)
Klaus Kinski	...	Himself (archive footage)
Eva Mattes	...	Herself (also archive footage)
Benino Moreno Placido	...	Himself (also archive footage)
Beat Presser	...	Himself (archive footage)
Guillermo Ríos	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jason Robards	...	Fitzcarraldo (archive footage)
Walter Saxer	...	Himself (archive footage)
Maximilian Schell	...	Himself - Deserteur (archive footage)
Andrés Vicente	...	Himself (archive footage)

Also Known As:

25. tunti: Klaus Kinski (Finland) (TV title)
Mein liebster Feind (Germany) (short title)
My Best Fiend (Europe: English title)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

UK | Germany | Finland | USA

Language:

German | English | Spanish

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Singapore:PG | Spain:T

Company:

Arte

Quotes:

Kinski: I am not the Jesus of the official church who the police, bankers, judges, hangmen, officers, church bosses and other powerful people tolerate. I am not your Superstar.

Movie Connections:

Features Burden of Dreams (1982)

kinski a true villain

My best fiend is not a typical documentary maybe because Klaus Kinski was a rare actor,when you read his biography his life was a mess. Klaus maybe was most famous for his reputation than his career but in Werner Herzog films he became a legend,they did five movies some of them very impressive(Aguirre;Nosferatu...)Kinski with his eccentric personality seems to transcend his roles, we all think we know him:"he was a madman";"a genius";"a misanthropic" etc etc...but who really know him? Herzog?,maybe.For me Kinski was an enigma for that reason we are so intriguing and enchanted by him,in Germany he still the most adored actor;in U.S.A they dont know what to think of him but in the mind of cinephiles around the world he still remains as one of the greatest. Klaus Kinski turned down important movie roles,instead he did some bad films why?he just wanted to make all the films they offered him.He was a great villain not only in real life but in his films as "Jack the Ripper";Nosferatu;Aguirre,and he appears in "For a Few dollars more" as Juan "the hunchback" and even in Dr Zivago; Kinski also directed the film Paganini(Klaus thought of himself as the reincarnation of this famous violinist)He was an unique actor more indomitable than Brando and "My Best Fiend"(an amazing ducumentary)is just one piece of the puzzle on this complex artist.