Heart of Glass

Amazon.com essential video

In his tireless crusade to expand the vocabulary of cinema, Werner Herzog turned Heart of Glass into a bold and challenging experiment. By placing all but one of his actors under hypnosis, Herzog achieved his desired effect, eliciting performances that seem oddly detached and trancelike, perfectly appropriate to a story about 19th-century Bavarian villagers who have lost their collective vision, cast adrift and descending into madness. They've lost the life-sustaining secret to the magical ruby-red glass that was once made in the local glassworks, and their predicament cannot be solved by the mystic (Josef Bierbichler, the only actor not hypnotized) who appears with premonitions of the fate of all humankind. All of this is mere pretense for Herzog's loftier (and not altogether successful) ambition: to present haunting, mysterious images that seem directly drawn from our collective subconscious. In his visionary defiance of conventional narrative, Herzog crafted a timeless, mesmerizing allegory, and one of the most eerily beautiful films ever made. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Heart of Glass - A small village is renowned for its "Ruby Glass" glass blowing works. When the owner of the works dies suddenly without revealing the secret of the Ruby Glass, his son tries to recreate it. In order to create the proper atmosphere of trance and sleepwalking, the entire case acted under hypnosis.

Customer Reviews:

Mystical beauty..........2007-04-04

This is amongst the most poetic, mysterious, and mystical films Werner Herzog has ever given us (and for him, that's saying something). Many have recounted the story behind the production that all of the cast (except the lead actor) were hypnotized before shooting. It gives the actors another worldly appearance. I really love the soundtrack by Popol Vuh. The opening scenes from this film are amongst the most beautiful I've ever seen in a film, with Popol Vuh's music giving such a deep, majestic feel to the film. The film was based on a Bavarian legend about a glass maker who died without leaving his secrets, and the townspeople went insane aftewards. The film is really told mostly through imagery and sound. Dialogue here seems incidental. Herzog was on a tear in the 1970's, making brilliant film after brilliant film. He lost a little bit of his "mojo" after Fitzcarraldo, but since has gained it back with some amazing documentaries. This is Herzog's most underrated film, one that grows stranger and mysterious with each consecutive viewing.

On the wings of the mythic rapture!.......2007-02-08

All of us are aware about the powerful imagination and fascinating spell of this unique filmmaker. In this movie Herzog displays his portentous creativity to engage us with a new world, sort of dreamy landscapes, arresting images and steady dialogue.

The humble people of a small village attempt for all their means to find and learn the formula to make a special glass; we have a wandering herdsman, who represents a shaman in the darkness of the vulgarity and ordinariness; take all your time for watch and delight this peerless movie, that constitutes at least to my mind (I have seen almost Herzog's works) one of the most the most poetic, captiavating and mesmerizing films in years.

You won't believe what you will see in the epilogue, with those unforgettable images.

Hypnotic all the way through!

A dreamlike experience.......2006-10-03

Famous as the film where all but one cast member was hypnotized by its director, Heart of Glass is another of Werner Herzog's almost ethereal looks at damaged, alienated (indeed, almost alien) protagonists completely unsuited for the world around them. In this case it's an entire pre-industrial town where the secret of making the ruby glass that the local economy depends on has been lost, and with it the townspeople have lost all will to live and wander around in a somnambulist daze reminiscent of an entire community of Clive Owens: well, a slightly livelier Clive Owen at least, if such a thing can be possibly imagined. Only the local shepherd-cum-prophet is immune from the spell, his real prophecies a mixture of the strikingly pertinent and the truly nonsensical. Naturally, this being Herzog, a chicken does feature briefly, although whether it also is hypnotised is open to debate. It should be horribly and unwatchably self-indulgent, but the strikingly beautifully photographed tableaux and the weird poetry in its soul turns it into a dreamlike experience you drift through almost benignly despite the darkness, madness, violence and hopeless stupidity on display.

Aside from trailer, production notes and stills gallery, the main extra is another one of Herzog's excellent audio commentaries.

A Masterpiece.......2006-07-13

The essential metaphor which beats at the heart of glass, is the terrible and frightening fragility of existence. Hias the prophet, sees a future in which not only the village is engulfed in flames, but the world itself, he foresees the raise of nazism and like a good many Herzog productions the echoes of fascism reverberate. This is a village in which the capitalist dictator who owns the glass factory, can enter peoples houses on a whim and take their property, and can almost get away with murder. That murder, insanity and death should hang palpably over this film is no accident; the glass is red for a reason as it represents the very life essence of the village, with the demise of its vital ingredient, so the village slowly dies. Herzog's articulation of this mass breakdown is rendered beautifully, in a way which is quite simply painterly. Whether one considers the hypnotism of many cast members a gimmick or not, the result is perhaps the most accurately displayed example of mass hysteria committed to celluloid. There is an abyss at the centre of the film, which the audience itself finds itself walking into. A sense of somnambulism which emerges out of the screen. Structurally this is a confusing film, jumping all over the place, no regard for time or space - which gives it a dream logic perfect to the content of the film. The forces of creation and destruction are at work in this film and in many ways it is reminiscent of FATA MORGANA. Like the earlier film HEART OF GLASS is challenging and disturbing and in my opinion has the greatest opening 10 minutes in cinema. Wonderfully obtuse, wonderfully mythical - Herzog's finest moment.

A failed experiment?.......2006-02-20

'Heart of Glass' was quite the daring experiment from the extraordinary German filmmaker Werner Herzog. He hypnotized all the actors except one man; a mystic who is trying to save a village from destroying itself. The scenery is stunning and so is the music. The yodeling at the begging of the film is hair-raising and unforgettable. Other than that, 'Heart of Glass' does not make any sense, espicially the last scene. The final scene has nothing to do with the main story. The final scene has nothing to do with anything in general. Also, the hypnotized actors look goofy and silly most of the time rather than being in a trance-like state. It is a good thing when artists try to experiment like this, but in this case, I would consider the experiment a failure. Watch some other Herzog films, especially the ones with Klaus Kinski.

Average customer rating:

Secrets of the Heart a moving heartwarmer.
Secrets of the Heart
Been here before.
Pleasant quiet movie
Secrets of the Heart

Secrets of the Heart
Starring: Carmelo Gómez , Charo López , Silvia Munt , Vicky Peña , and Andoni Erburu
Director: Montxo Armendáriz
Manufacturer: New Yorker Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00004Z4SK
Release Date: 2000-11-14

Description

Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, SECRETS OF THE HEART (SECRETOS DEL CORAZON) is an elegant and poignant tale of the mysterious and magical adult world as seen through the eyes of Javi, a nine-year-old child, growing up in a small provincial town in the 1960s.

Javi believes he can hear the voices of the dead and that they whisper to him their secrets, which were left unspoken in life. At his mother's house in the mountains, he is fascinated by the room in which his father died and which his mother carefully keeps locked. But, Javi also learns that the living have their secrets as well.

As Javi begins to comprehend these secrets of the heart, he takes us on a journey where we are offered "The irresistible opportunity to see the world once again through the eyes of a child." (Seattle Film Festival)

Customer Reviews:

Secrets of the Heart a moving heartwarmer........2006-12-14

I have watched--and collected--thousands of movies. This is one of my favorites, and I am sure it will be one of yours too, providing you get the oportunity to watch it. Highly recommended.

Secrets of the Heart.......2004-07-26

This is an elegant and poignant tale of the mysterious and magical adult world as seen through the eyes of Javi, a nine year old child, growing up in a small provincial town in the 1960's.

Javi believes he can hear the voices of the dead and that they whisper to him their secrets, which were left unspoken in life. At his mother's house in the mountains, he is fascinated by the room in which his father died and which his mother carefully keeps locked. But, Javi learns that the living have their secrets as well.

As Javi begins to comprehend these secrets of the heart, he takes us on a journey where we are offered "The irresistible opportunity to see the world once again through the innocent eyes of a child."

There is no nudity in this movie.

Been here before........2002-04-29

Just as Mills&Boon's send their romantic fiction writers a list of guidelines to which they must strictly conform, so there must exist similar rules sent to countries hoping to be nominated for a 'Best Foreign Language film' Oscar. 'Secrets of the Heart' (which sounds like a M&B title) is just like every other derivative melodrama nominated by the Academy you've ever seen. It is a rites-of-passage narrative set during the Cuban Misile Crisis, centred on an 'appealing' young boy who lives with his spinster aunts (one uptight, the other an alcoholic) and an older brother with whom he attends a Christian Brothers school. His widowed mother lives at home with his uncle and grandfather, and there are dark family secrets that must not be mentioned. Tell a boy, of course, not to do something, and it's the first thing he'll do. He's like a detective uncovering the truth hidden by adult 'lies'.

The theme of secrets is initiated by his brother's story of a house neighbouring their school where a murder once took place. The Freudian symbolism of the house - with its web-like gate and the speeding train that interrupts the boys' spying - suggests that the real secret is sex. In his mother's house, in a Basque village they visit for Easter holidays, is a secret room in which his father shot himself, but the house's real 'secret' is that mummy and uncle enjoy each other's company. His brother is suspended from school for a fight with a boy over a girl who, in true rites-of-passage style, sells peephole abovetheknee views for a hefty charge. His alco aunt has an admirer from her past. So his initiation is into the world of sex, which initially seems violent, violating and bestial (when he witnesses the mating of dogs), then secret, shameful and distorted (the adults). His growth is predictably symbolised by a bridge of stepping stones he can't negotiate at the beginning - the currents they overlook claim one victim of adult sexuality, a wife who can't take her husband's abuse any more. The fairy-tale operetta the brothers star in adds a paralell narrative in which the hero (played by the young boy) negotiates puberty-symbolic dangers through Freudian motifs such as monsters in forests. There are even the obligatory scenes of the young boy learning to dance.

A film that has been preposterously compared to Victor Erice's incomparable 'Spirit of the Beehive', the hidden secrets of Francoist repression figure in 'Secrets', in the gloomily taciturn person of priest-hating grandad and his socially ostracised ex-chum.

All these predictable crises and trite reconciliations are bathed in the kind of queasily warm cinematographic glow, local 'colour' and tinkling music that makes 'Jean de Florette' look unforgivingly avant-garde.

Pleasant quiet movie.......2001-09-22

A pleasure to watch.The main character, a nine year old child appears in every single scene as he discovers sexuality in the adult members of his familiy. The VDV does not contain any features and the subtitles cannot be turned off.

Secrets of the Heart.......2000-10-18

If you like European films, you'll love this one! I saw it a couple of years ago at an International Film Festival and loved it. This is type of movie that explores human emotions: deep, slow paced and sometimes funny. Filmed in Spain in a small provincial town in the 1960's, it tells the story of nine-year-old boy, curious about the secrets enclosed in a room that is always kept locked: the room where his father was found dead. Through his relationship with his immediate family: mother, brother, aunt, uncle, he comes up with the answer.

Customer Reviews:

The Healing of a Broken Family.......2005-10-09

When Ann and Lee divorce, Lee takes his son, Daniel, and Ann raises the 3 girls, supporting them by driving a school bus, while Lee and Daniel move around the country, losing all contact with the family as years go by. The film starts with Ann having a mild heart attack, and while hospitalized, she wants to know what has happened to her son, and asks her daughters to track Daniel down. A collision of emotions and cultural differences are the result of this search, with years of hurt and many misunderstandings rising to the surface.

Written by Davidlee Wilson, who stars as Daniel, some of the scenes are over the top (the bridal showers scene for instance, though it is nevertheless quite hilarious), but most of the dialogue is very real and poignant, and the brilliant ensemble cast makes the most of it. Excellent are Tyne Daly as Ann, Maria Sucharetza as the flamboyant, slightly trampy Diane, Marceline Hugot as the down-to-earth mother of 4 Donna, Jack Davidson as Lee, and Lisa Keller as the woman Daniel is going to marry. It is Ally Sheedy as the tough, outspoken Deb, full of deep resentment for a father she has always felt abandoned her, that shines above all, and makes this little film special, and at times a wrenching experience.

Nominated for a Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, and directed by Steven Maler, "The Autumn Heart" will resonate with people who have experienced the breakdown of a family, where communication has been replaced with confusion and silence. Bravo to this fine cast of actors, who make their characters live, and draw the viewer into the story, often with tears and laughter.

"Powerful movie about the effects of divorce on adults".......2005-02-23

This ia a movie that deals with the effects of divorce in a powerful way. Everybody knows the effects of divorce on a child. But this movie explores the effects on children who are now adults. It centers around three sisters (Ally Sheedy, Marla Sucharetza, Marceline Hugot) who decide to grant what becomes their mother's last wish: locating their long-lost brother (Davidlee Willson). They find him studying at Harvard. But before bringing him to meet his mother (Tyne Daly) they decided to get acquainted with him first. They have no grudges against him, but Deb (Ally Sheedy) has plenty of anger at her father for having supposedly, abandoned his family. Ally Sheedy gives a performance worthy of an Oscar, complete with a phony accent. Deb's anger at her father apparently has escalated over the years, and she rants and raves at him, without allowing him to tell his side of the story, which reminds us that there are two sides to every divorce. Only after her mother dies does she learn the truth. The scene towards the end where father and daughter are emotionally reconciled is touching, powerful and heartbreaking, and further proof that Ally deserved an Oscar. Now Deb's anger is directed at her deceased mother, for not having told her the truth. This movie serves as a lesson that we should be honest with our children no matter their age. And if secrets are taken to the grave not much can be resolved for the living. This DVD has nothing in terms of special features but don't let that stop you from seeing this profound movie. It will be worth it.

A Real story.......2001-09-26

The Autumn Heart seems to be a real story that happens to be a movie. Ally Sheedy is extraodinary and intense in her portrayal of an angry, hurt young woman who lives with trauma and a generation of lies from her parent's divorce. This movie is not comfortable entertainment, but is a genuine and meaningful look at relationships, so you definitely have to be in the mood for the movie, but I definitely recommend it. If you haven't seen Ally Sheedy since the 80s you'll be blown away.

Average customer rating:

Do Not Get This
A quiet show, but definitely not boring
finally a different type of anime

Piano - Secret Love (Vol. 1)
Starring: Piano-Melody of a Young Girl's Heart
Manufacturer: Right Stuf
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00094ASPE
Release Date: 2005-06-28

Amazon.com

Miu Nomura, the heroine of the broadcast series Piano (2002), is a shy, well-behaved junior high student whose life has always revolved around her piano lessons. She listens to her mother (who fusses constantly), makes excuses for her perennially late journalist-father, and tries to please her aloof piano teacher. Now that she's an 8th grader, Miu is beginning to discover distractions: her best friend Yuuki introduces her to Takhashi, the handsome star of the track team. Her attraction for Takahashi adds a needed élan to her music. Like the popular Azumanga Daioh, Piano offers a kind of anime verité, aimed at a young, female audience. Miu doesn't command supernatural powers, confront aliens, or deal with the "comic" lechers that appear in so many shojo (girl's) series. The very ordinariness of the character and her life make Miu a comforting presence. (Unrated, suitable for ages 9 and older: alcohol use) --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews:

Do Not Get This.......2006-08-09

This is one of the most boring Anime i have ever seen. The story is very boring and has no twists what-so-ever. I found myself laughing because it was so bad. If you want to take a break from Anime's like Excel Saga or Rurouni Kenshin, i advise you look some where else. there is no reason for you to waste your money on this.

A quiet show, but definitely not boring.......2005-08-09

Piano is the type of show that one could easily overlook. It excels at being incredibly normal. So you would think that it would merit an average grade. However, this show has a real wow factor for me. I think it is all of the little things that make up life so carefully collected and presented in a beautiful manner that give this show a real maturity. Piano is a bit like a mirror. Its down to earth simplicity quietly draws the viewer in. The appeal here is the accessibility of the characters. Any music student or girl of Miu's age can easily relate. This show is all about the little things in life, and sometimes you just need to set back and enjoy it.

finally a different type of anime.......2005-07-25

if you are sick of aliens and shoot 'em ups, this series is great! very deep stuff here.

Secrets of the Heart (Secretos del corazón) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Spain ]

Average customer rating:

Secrets of the Heart (Secretos del corazón) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Spain ]
Director: Montxo Armendáriz
Manufacturer: Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Product Description

Spain released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. LANGUAGES: Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Subtitles), French (Subtitles), German (Subtitles), WIDESCREEN (1.85:1), SYNOPSIS: A young boy's fascination with the deaths of several people close to him spark his growth from boyhood in this Spanish drama from writer-director Montxo Armendáriz. The hometown of nine-year-old Javi (Andoni Erburu and his brother Juan (Alvaro Nagone) is a rural farming village in the early 1960s. Their father, they are told, accidentally killed himself while cleaning his gun, and the room where the death occurred has been declared off limits to the boys. Juan tells his younger brother that ghostly sounds can be heard in the room, but when Javi sneaks in and hears the unearthly moans, it's really the sound of their mother making love with their uncle Tio (Carmelo Gomez). Javi's friend Carlos (Inigo Garces) has also suffered the loss of a parent, his mother, who committed suicide. Javi and Carlos sneak into a haunted house, also rumored to be a site where spectral sounds can be heard, and they overhear something in the basement. His adventures inspire Javi to question the deaths of his father and Carlos' mother, leading to a revelation. Secretos del Corazon (1997) was the winner of four Goya Awards, as well as an Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film. SPECIAL FEATURES: Trailer(s), Interactive Menu, Filmographies, Behind the scenes,

Average customer rating:

Secrets of the Heart a moving heartwarmer.
Secrets of the Heart
Been here before.
Pleasant quiet movie
Secrets of the Heart

Secrets of the Heart [Region 2]
Starring: Carmelo Gómez , Charo López , Silvia Munt , Vicky Peña , and Andoni Erburu
Director: Montxo Armendáriz
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0002B95R6

Customer Reviews:

Secrets of the Heart a moving heartwarmer........2006-12-14

I have watched--and collected--thousands of movies. This is one of my favorites, and I am sure it will be one of yours too, providing you get the oportunity to watch it. Highly recommended.

Secrets of the Heart.......2004-07-26

Been here before........2002-04-29

Pleasant quiet movie.......2001-09-22

Secrets of the Heart.......2000-10-18

Worth seeing!

DVD:

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