The Great Ecstasy of the Woodcarver Steiner

This is a clip from one of my favorite Herzog documentaries, The Great Ecstasy of the Woodcarver Steiner. It’s about Walter Steiner, the world-class Olympic ski-flying champion from Switzerland, who is also a talented carpenter.

Sometimes Herzog’s documentaries feel somewhat forced and inauthentic, as if Herzog is trying to make more out of them than what they really are, and his subjects seem to be aware of it (The White Diamond and How Much Wood Would A Woodchuck Chuck come to mind). In other cases, what he hopes to capture doesn’t live up to his expectations, such as La Soufrière. But usually Herzog succeeds in creating brilliant documentaries that feature captivating and inspiring subjects. Steiner is no exception, and the soundtrack by Popol Vuh has a kind of other-worldly sentiment that the best of Herzog’s films evoke.