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Lessons of Darkness

Original title: Lektionen in Finsternis
  • 19921992
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 54m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
6.2K
YOUR RATING
Lessons of Darkness (1992)
DocumentaryWar
This film surveys the disaster of the Kuwaiti oil fields in flames, with little narration and scarcely any interviews. Hell on Earth is presented in such transcendent visions and music that ... Read allThis film surveys the disaster of the Kuwaiti oil fields in flames, with little narration and scarcely any interviews. Hell on Earth is presented in such transcendent visions and music that one can only be fascinated by it.This film surveys the disaster of the Kuwaiti oil fields in flames, with little narration and scarcely any interviews. Hell on Earth is presented in such transcendent visions and music that one can only be fascinated by it.
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
6.2K
YOUR RATING
    • Werner Herzog
    • Werner Herzog
    • Werner Herzog(voice)
    • Werner Herzog
    • Werner Herzog
    • Werner Herzog(voice)
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 36User reviews
    • 36Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Photos11

    Lessons of Darkness (1992)
    Lessons of Darkness (1992)
    Lessons of Darkness (1992)
    Lessons of Darkness (1992)
    Lessons of Darkness (1992)
    Lessons of Darkness (1992)
    Lessons of Darkness (1992)
    Lessons of Darkness (1992)
    Lessons of Darkness (1992)
    Lessons of Darkness (1992)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Werner Herzog
    Werner Herzog
    • Narrator
    • (voice)
      • Werner Herzog
      • Werner Herzog
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Director Werner Herzog cheerfully admitted that the quote at the beginning of the film, allegedly by Pascal, was completely made up and falsely attributed to give it more weight.
    • Goofs
      In an aerial shot, the shadow of the camera's helicopter is visible (about 10 minutes, 8 seconds into the film).
    • Quotes

      Narrator: Two figures are approaching an oil well. One of them holds a lighted torch. What are they up to? Are they going to rekindle the blaze? Is life without fire become unbearable for them?... Others, seized by madness, follow suit. Now they are content. Now there is something to extinguish again.

    • Connections
      Featured in Zomergasten: Episode #7.3 (1994)
    • Soundtracks
      Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46 (Death of Aase)
      Written by Edvard Grieg

    User reviews36

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    9/10
    Must be seen to be believed
    Herzog has been making brilliant films since the late '60s, and frankly it's a bit of a pain in the arse keeping up with such a prolific director.

    However, if you are a fan of his features and staggering documentary work, "Lessons of/in Darkness" demands your immediate attention.

    The film is essentially a birds-eye view (often quite literally) of the plague of oil-choked death, fire, chaos and destruction that resulted from the brief but grotesquely internecine technological blitzkrieg of the Gulf War. Herzog, of course, takes particular interest in the seeming madness of the crews of mercernary American firefighters that are putting out the oil well fires across the deserts.

    Various points on the conflict and its aftermath inevitably bubble to the surface, but arise without overt proselytizing. The images do the majority of the talking.

    And they are eye-popping. Startling, frightening visuals that stand out even in the Herzog canon -- great vistas of blackness and glowing terror that would make any sci-fi director soylent green with envy. They are accompanied by little else: brief interstitials, an almost nonexistent, terribly serious Herzog narrative and a ghostly and elegiac score.

    The short interviews with individuals who suffered are heartbreaking, perhaps all the more so due to their brevity.

    See this.
    helpful•37
    1
    • dcavallo
    • Apr 30, 2002

    FAQ2

    • Why are the workers igniting/reigniting the gushers?
    • Why would they use an explosive substance like dynamite to extinguish the well fires? Isn't that even more dangerous?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 26, 2002 (Hong Kong)
      • France
      • United Kingdom
      • Germany
      • German
      • English
      • Arabic
    • Also known as
      • Kuwait
    • Production companies
      • Canal+
      • Première
      • Werner Herzog Filmproduktion
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 54 minutes
      • Color
      • Stereo

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