Watch The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner For Free

Truly Dreadful Film

Perfect cast and a good story

Absolutely the worst movie.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

This is maybe the statement which describes Swiss ski jumper Walter Steiner the best. Back in the 1970s, he had to start lower than his competition and yet he won easily most of the time. Had he started where they did, it would have been too dangerous as he may have had jumps of around 180 meters. And despite this massive talent, Steiner still had to work as a carpenter, so he would have enough money. If you know a bit about ski jumping (and -flying today), you will understand better about the perspectives. They improved the material so much in the last decades that the current world record stands at over 250 meters. I heard in another documentary that Herzog was ambitious to become a ski jumper himself, but then picked the profession of filmmaker after a serious ski jumping accident by a friend of his. Well, without that friend's crash, we may not have Herzog's excellent contributions to the world of movies today, so all's good I guess.Here, he tries to examine the mind and psychology of somebody who risks his health, maybe his life, so many times. There is certainly a reference about being free as a bird. The competition of ski jumping on the biggest hills is called flying for a reason. The film runs for 44 minutes and Herzog was in his early 30s when this was made. Steiner was in his early 20s. Steiner also got a small cameo in another Herzog film from the same year. It's also funny to see how the athletes had to prepare the skis themselves. Unthinkable today.Maybe this is still the most famous ski jumping documentary, or movie in general, of all time. I thought it was worth a watch for seeing the differences compared to today (I was very interested in it a while ago, but don't watch it today anymore) and because of Herzog's narration which is as strong as ever. The title is slightly pretentious and sometimes he is a bit over the top in terms of drama when he says it is unsure if he will ever jump again and then he jumped the same day, but oh well. I still enjoyed the watch. Recommended.

Ecstasy is an interesting short documentary about champion ski jumper Walter Steiner made by Werner Herzog. In 45 minutes Herzog manages to reveal more about the feelings of the competitor and a sport than most documentaries twice its length do. Herzog's cameras capture both the grace and gruesomeness of the jump as Steiner meets with failure and success. Steiner is quite candid in assessing himself, revealing insecurities and doubts. Herzog's cameras much of the time seem to be in the right place at the right time without being intrusive. He does however belabor the point with repetitive slow mo wrecks of the earth bound skiers. Decades later this compact and uniquely informative sports documentary can hold its own with any made since then.

Herzog can dazzle, challenge. He's one of only two German filmmakers I think are worth watching. Yes, that goes all the way back.Even now, his formula of conflating fiction and truth, documentary and stylized narrative, risk and art still works, even when he's mostly just referencing himself. But he can still do some crazy stuff that doesn't work, at least for this viewer.What we have here is a celebration of an athlete. Herzog tries to make him a warrior of life. There's a supposedly poetic metaphor of his pet bird who had to be shot because he couldn't fly, and that was because its peers picked on it. Get it? There's the bit of him being a sculptor of merit, but when this man speaks of his art and what we dissolves that. And gee, he's German, and we hear a long diatribe about bad judges, not because they are bad, but because they are Yugoslav!No, he's the center of attention here simply because he takes risks. His art is in how far he is willing to go beyond safety. I would have liked a film (or even a sculpture) that this jumper did of Herzog. But this way, this thing we have, is a miss of huge proportions. We need Herzog as a risktaker, not as an admirer of one.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

After the madness of Aguirre the Wrath of God, Werner Herzog turned his attention to the greatest ski flier of his day Walter Steiner. Herzog follows Steiner as he get ready for and competes in an international competition. The film is less about the man, I know very little more now that I've seen the film, than it is about what he can do, and that is fly very far on skis. Steiner is so good that he starts farther down on the ramp than the competition and still blows everyone else out of the water.While the film is very good, and at time exceedingly beautiful, it is ultimately a film made by a fan in celebration of his hero. Its really quite amusing to see the seemingly unflappable Herzog reduced to being a rather human sports nut. Herzog is in love with his subject and what he can do and it shows, thankfully in a positive way.Despite being a very rough film in many ways it still captivates in its rawness. There is something about the imagery and Steiners achievement that makes it all worth watching.