The Dark Glow of the Mountains

1985 0h 45m DE

🙌

7.6

BANGER

★7.6TMDB · 32

DocumentaryTV Movie

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Werner Herzog follows mountaineers Hans Kammerlander and Reinhold Messner during their expedition into climbing the Gasherbrum mountains, which has some of the most difficult peaks to be conquered, and they'll do it without the use of oxygen tanks. Herzog also takes some time to hear about their past experiences with other mountains, their personal tragedies and the reasons why they are so involved with such activity.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Werner Herzog
Self (voice)
Reinhold Messner
Self
Hans Kammerlander
Self

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Werner Herzog
Writers: Werner Herzog
Languages: English, German, Italian, Persian
Countries: Germany

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 45-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

41 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 4 languages: English, German, Italian, Persian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Werner Herzog, shot by Rainer Klausmann. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Maximiliane Mainka shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Werner Herzog and Reinhold Messner and Hans Kammerlander carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Werner Herzog directs. Rainer Klausmann behind the camera. Maximiliane Mainka cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Germany. Dialogue in English, German, Italian, Persian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 45-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
2Shot for just $0.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
341 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Dialogue crosses 4 languages: English, German, Italian, Persian.
5Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
6Directed by Werner Herzog, shot by Rainer Klausmann. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Editor Maximiliane Mainka shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Werner Herzog and Reinhold Messner and Hans Kammerlander carry the top of the cast.
9IMDB entry: tt0087317 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 32 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.