(Photo by MGM/courtesy Everett Collection)

All Werner Herzog Movies Ranked

The cosmically dry, low-key hilarious Werner Herzog has transformed himself into a global treasure over the span of a six decade career. For a guy famous from cinematic pursuits involving dwarf-only casts, pushing a steamboat up a hill, hypnotizing his actors for unique performances, debating whether to murder his friend Klaus Kinski, and eating his shoe, Herzog was able to find acceptance and success right from the beginning. His first feature, Signs of Life, was a hit, and within a decade, Herzog had directed masterpieces like Aguirre and Nosferatu.

Also known for his emphatic, occasionally quirky documentaries whose wide subject range reveals a deeply curious mind, Herzog’s first feature-length doc was released three years after Signs of Life and retains a perfect Tomatometer. In fact, it would not be until 2002 that Herzog would direct a Rotten film: Invincible, which is nonetheless close to the border of Fresh.

Since 2005, Herzog has experienced a resurgence in interest in his work, though he’s always been working at the same pace and with the same left field creative maneuvers. That was the year Grizzly Man came out, an unnerving riposte to the ‘nature is our friend’ documentaries that were in vogue at the time, like Winged Migration and March of the Penguins. Rescue Dawn and Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans garnered a lot of hype for the big stars attached, while My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done — co-produced with David Lynch and starring Michael Shannon — seemed like it was going to be a shattering collaboration of oddball intensity.

His latest films have been docs: Nomad: In the Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin, a tribute to the writer and Herzog’s friend, and Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds. Now, we’re ranking all Werner Herzog movies by Tomatometer! —Alex Vo