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MOVIES / ON DVD / MY BEST FIEND
My Best Fiend

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My Best Fiend (1999)

78%
100%
90%
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78 %
Reviews Counted: 23 Fresh: 18  Rotten:5 Average Rating: 7/10

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 1 hr 40 mins

Synopsis: Werner Herzog directed this documentary about the puzzling relationship between himself and actor Klaus Kinski. Beginning with their apocalyptic first meeting at age 13 and continuing through AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD and their subsequent films together, MY BEST FIEND reveals the deep... Werner Herzog directed this documentary about the puzzling relationship between himself and actor Klaus Kinski. Beginning with their apocalyptic first meeting at age 13 and continuing through AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD and their subsequent films together, MY BEST FIEND reveals the deep trust involved in maintaining such a powerful love-hate relationship as the glue that keeps them from following up on their plans to murder each other. Candid and intimate interviews with Kinski's costars are interspersed with rare and compelling behind-the-scenes and behind-the-camera footage from such classic Kinski/Herzog collaborations as AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD and FITZCARRALDO. Herzog himself dryly narrates as the magnetic and destructive energy that resulted when Herzog and Kinski clashed is contrasted with footage depicting their, at times, gentle and brotherly love, in this portrait of two artistic visionaries feeding off each other. From his early days as an aspiring and intense young actor to stints as a ranting and raving performance artist taunting audiences with claims that he was Jesus, Kinski's extraordinary and extravagant persona comes across strongly in Herzog's double-edged love letter of a film. [More]

Genre: Foreign Films

Starring: Claudia Cardinale, Eva Mattes

Director: Werner Herzog
Composer: Popol Vuh

DVD Info

Release:

Mar 8, 2001

[DVD Details]

VHS Features:

  • Letterboxed - 1.77
  • Trailers - 1. Original Theatrical Trailer
  • Clamshell

Reviews

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Full Review | comment Comment
06/19/08
Todd McCarthy
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
7/10

A thoughtful and clever examination by the director of his longstanding friendship and creative partnership with the late Klaus Kinski.

Full Review | comment Comment
10/26/07
Josh Ralske
All Movie Guide
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
09/08/07
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Ratings Image
3/4

Herzog's and Kinski's collaboration was one of the strongest in cinema, and the movie does justice to that energy.

Full Review | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
Ratings Image
5/5

Herzog reveals the genius and madness of his best fiend Klaus Kinski.

comment Comment
12/05/05
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
Ratings Image
3/5

No review available.

comment Comment
10/09/05
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily
Ratings Image
2/4

It feels a lot more like a cheap shot than a tribute.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/28/05
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central
Ratings Image
3/5

No review available.

comment Comment
06/11/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Ratings Image
4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
06/03/05
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat
Ratings Image
B+

Kinski's egomania is offered up by a quote of his that the only interesting landscape on earth is that of the human face.

Full Review | comment Comment
04/09/05
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews
Ratings Image
2.5/4

The pairing of the director and actor invariably resulted in extraordinary creative collaborations. These men -- arrogant, ambitious, sadistic, fanatical, and in Kinski's case, probably insane -- certainly deserved each other.

Full Review | comment Comment
11/12/02
Jon Niccum
Pitch.com
Ratings Image
2/4

My Best Fiend is Herzog's contentious remembrance of the late actor but, while fascinating, it really doesn't add up to much.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/05/02
Shlomo Schwartzberg
Boxoffice Magazine
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5/5

Kinski wasn’t the wrath of God, but he was a damn fine actor, and this documentary so entranced and informed me, that I plan on going out and seeing every one of his films again.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/21/02
Oz
eFilmCritic.com
Ratings Image
81/100

Klaus Kinski was one helluva showman, and no filmmaker was better able to capture the explosive talent of his favourite fiend than the director of this fine documentary, Warner Herzog.

Full Review | comment Comment
02/14/01
Dan Jardine
Apollo Guide
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C

As documentaries go, this one is second-rate, consisting of almost nothing but Herzog sitting in locations at which he and Kinski once filmed and reminiscing.

Full Review | comment Comment
02/14/01
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com
Ratings Image
C+

Even if the guy is the German Marlon Brando, it's hard to sit munching your popcorn as he continually berates his fellow actors.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
E! Online
Ratings Image
N/A

A genuine love/hate portrait of Kinski that acknowledges his acting talent but doesn't hesitate to capture his notorious behavior.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
Ed Kelleher
Film Journal International
N/R

Herzog offers some evidence of Kinski's great human warmth, somewhat more of his rage of unimaginable proportions, and a good demonstration of Kinski's uncanny capacity to corkscrew his way into the frame.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
J. Hoberman
Village Voice
Ratings Image
3/5

While My Best Fiend -- does a splendid job of chronicling the high drama and creative pinnacles of their work together, it emphasizes the most public and bleakly amusing aspects of their story.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
Janet Maslin
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
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N/A

The film does become a fascinating portrait of the talented but mercurial Kinski.

Full Review | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
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