Quotes from Werner Herzog

The power of a volcano when it erupts is so evident, so visible, so palpable.

I prefer to be alive, so I'm cautious about taking risks.

I'm politically interested, but I have no particular talent as a political beast, stepping out and running for office.

I like to direct landscapes just as I like to direct actors and animals.

I find it interesting that there are impostors out on the Internet pretending to be Werner Herzog.

We ought to be grateful that the Universe out there knows no smile.

Public life is constantly aware of the volcano.

I know whenever it comes to be really dysfunctional and vile and base and hostile on screen, I'm good at that!

If you do not have an absolutely clear vision of something, where you can follow the light to the end of the tunnel, then it doesn't matter whether you're bold or cowardly, or whether you're stupid or intelligent. Doesn't get you anywhere.

I do have a clear vision, and I do see things that are existing in my quote-unquote spirit, but that doesn't necessary make me a very spiritual person.

You should bear in mind that almost all my documentaries are feature films in disguise.

I have nothing against 3D films but I do not need to see them.

I could not become an American citizen. I would not like to become a citizen of a country that has capital punishment.

Let's put it this way: art house theaters are vanishing. They have almost disappeared completely, and that means there's a shift in what audiences want to see. And they have to be aware of that and be realistic. It's as simple as that.

Yes, the pyramids have been built, but if you give me 300,000 disciplined men and give me 30 years, I could build a bigger one.

Civilization is like a thin layer of ice upon a deep ocean of chaos and darkness.

I live my life outside of the glitz and glamour of the red carpet events, and so you'll never see me there. I'm never at parties.

It happens sometimes that the material itself carries things you have not fully planned. The footage has its own right, its own life, its own vibrancy and energy in it.

The world reveals itself to those who travel on foot.

I think there are specific times where film noir is a natural concomitant of the mood. When there's insecurity, collapse of financial systems - that's where film noir always hits fertile ground.

Of course subjects are changing, and since I started so early in filmmaking, I did my first film at age 19, of course you grow up with your films and you are not trotting the same path all the time.

There are certainly laws and elements that make a film more accessible to mainstream audiences. If you've got Tom Cruise as a strongman, I'm sure it would have larger audiences, but it wouldn't have the same substance.

I like and I love everything that has to do with cinema, writing, directing, editing, creating music, and even acting.

I despise formal restaurants. I find all of that formality to be very base and vile. I would much rather eat potato chips on the sidewalk.