Currently there is a version of Measures Against Fanatics on you-tube, which was how I got to see this short Werner Herzog film from early in his career. It's about horse racing, or rather the people who take care of the horses, and how to, apparently, protect them from the 'fanatics' of the title. Unfortunately, it's hard to really give a totally quantifiable rating to the documentary, because the version currently available, despite being in excellent picture and sound quality, has no subtitles in English (and being that I'm not up on my German much at all I could only pick out a few words here and there based on what I've heard in other movies and elsewhere).
As far as visuals go it's not bad, though there's not a whole lot Herzog can go in photographing such things like horses walking around and their protectors talking (though it is cool to see one of the horses walking around). It seems to mostly be dull even without knowing entirely what the context is usually in, but there are still some noticeable Herzogian moments, like when the one trainer or whomever proceeds to break blocks of wood with his hand. Or with the mere presence of the old man, who always seems to be interrupting the dialog the person answering is having, always with his say. The music is also ironically cheerful, which makes funny in an off-kilter sort of way.
It is worth watching, if you're a Herzog fan like I am, though knowing a little German might help add a little extra enjoyment.
As far as visuals go it's not bad, though there's not a whole lot Herzog can go in photographing such things like horses walking around and their protectors talking (though it is cool to see one of the horses walking around). It seems to mostly be dull even without knowing entirely what the context is usually in, but there are still some noticeable Herzogian moments, like when the one trainer or whomever proceeds to break blocks of wood with his hand. Or with the mere presence of the old man, who always seems to be interrupting the dialog the person answering is having, always with his say. The music is also ironically cheerful, which makes funny in an off-kilter sort of way.
It is worth watching, if you're a Herzog fan like I am, though knowing a little German might help add a little extra enjoyment.