Errol Morris is a fixture on the cultural scene these days, given his status as a well-known documentary director who has also written several influential books, directed perhaps a thousand television commercials, and helped reopen the case of a man convicted of murder 45 years ago. For those reasons, it can be hard to believe that, once upon a time, he was just another guy trying to find his place in the world.
Les Blank’s short film “Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe” (1980) takes you back to those early days. The backstory: Herzog thought Morris lacked the follow-through necessary to finish a film, and proclaimed that if he did, Herzog would eat this own shoe. Morris did in fact finish the film he was working on, Gates of Heaven, and Herzog followed through on his half of the bargain as well, after Alice Waters of Chez Panisse helped make the shoe more palatable.
Or maybe that’s not how it happened at all. It’s a good story, and a charming film, so does it matter? The uncertainty about the relationship between reality and the events on film makes this short a particularly appropriate inclusion in the Criterion release of Morris’ first two films, Gates of Heaven and Vernon, Florida. Not only does the short make a historically appropriate pairing with Gates of Heaven, but it also highlights questions about what we expect from a documentary. That question is also at the heart of Morris’ body of work: Among other things, he popularized re-enactment in modern documentaries (that technique was extremely common in the early years of the genre) and has published an influential book questioning the naïve belief that photographs are a simple reflection of reality.
Morris completed his first film, Gates of Heaven, in 1978. It shows many of the traits characteristic of Morris’ later films, including the lack of a “voice of God” narrator and the director’s propensity for having his interview subjects speak directly to the camera. It also demonstrates Morris’ taste for bizarre subjects, his fondness for documenting people who have lived lives far less fortunate than his own (one major exception to that rule would be Robert McNamara), and his choice to allow his subjects to talk on and on, sometimes until they reveal themselves in ways that are not flattering. That’s the power of being behind the camera (and in the editing suite), and Morris has never been shy about exercising it.
The precipitating event in Gates of Heaven is the financial collapse of a pet cemetery (the Foothill Memorial Gardens north of San Francisco) and the subsequent need to dig up some 450 animals and rebury them in a different cemetery (Bubbling Well Memorial Park in the Napa Valley). Mostly, this film is about people talking, and your interest in hearing people go on at length, without any sense of urgency (the very opposite of our contemporary sound bite culture), is key to how much you will enjoy this film. It’s not that there’s no potential drama; among the themes that bubble up are the contrasting values of the owners of the old and new cemeteries, the sibling rivalry among the sons of the new owner, and the obvious love many pet owners hold for their pets. But the dominant feel is that of flattened affect, as if the interviews were taking place in some future dystopia where emotions have been outlawed.
This film is a landmark in the history of the modern documentary, but not one that is a particularly enjoyable watch, nor one likely to lead to one rewatching them. It’s a first film, and sheds some light on Morris’ later work, but is still a bit of a chore to get through. However, some critics who far outrank me, including the late Roger Ebert, are great admirers of this film, so your mileage may vary.
Vernon, Florida (1981)
The original story idea for Vernon, Florida was its reputation as “Nub City”, a town in which people hacked off parts of their bodies in order to collect insurance payments. Not surprisingly, those involved in the scheme did not take kindly to having their meal ticket threatened, so he got out of town in a hurry. He returned several years later to make a contemplative documentary that features, once again, mostly people talking. As in Gates of Heaven, Morris interviews people in their own world, with a sharp eye to creating a “set” from their home or workplace that becomes as much a part of the interview as whatever they have to say.
Morris found some interesting characters in Vernon, but honestly, any small town or city neighborhood probably contains just as many. Maybe that’s the point: every person is unique, if you take the time to listen to them. Even if you embrace that philosophy, however, Vernon, Florida is really slow going, particularly since the proliferation of cable channels plus YouTube and the like has given us the opportunity to visit an almost infinite variety of subcultures without ever leaving the couch. The result is that nothing about Vernon, Florida feels essential, unless you’re a Morris completist. Maybe it’s just my evil twin speaking, but I almost wish Morris had succeeded in his original intent to make a film about people lopping off their own limbs for cash, which would at least have had the benefit of novelty.
The Criterion release of Gates of Heaven and Vernon, Florida comes with a generous package of extras. Beside the short “Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe” (20 minutes), these include two video interviews with Morris (19 and 12 minutes, respectively), a clip from the 1980 Telluride Festival of Herzog praising Gates of Heaven (one minute), and liner notes including an essay by Eric Hynes. Both films are presented in new 2K digital restorations with uncompressed monaural soundtracks.