Werner Herzog Does Abel Ferrara

"Hey, listen to me. I'm the boss, not Aunt Wendy. When it's your time to use the bathroom, you tell Aunt Wendy to get the fuck out of the bathroom! What are you, men or mice? She's hoggin' the bathroom - call me! Call me, and I'll throw her the fuck out!"
-- The Lieutenant from Bad Lieutenant

1992 was a great year for Harvey Keitel. Reservoir Dogs and Bad Lieutenant were a double assault of major bad ass cinema. Sadly, the proposed double feature of the two films never happened because my friend would only go see one of them. It was the blizzard of 1993 and we picked Reservoir Dogs at the Janus in Washington, DC-- the theater is sadly gone like so many theaters. The first film I saw there was Watership Down. There was a pole in one of theaters that obstructed viewings. I also wanted to see Bad Lieutenant, but he would not do two films. I have already written about how seeing Reservoir Dogs and its impact on me. It had a large impact on everyone else too, but still what an awesome film.

I finally saw Bad Lieutenant the following summer on VHS and it was as wild as I had heard from everyone. Abel Ferrara does not disappoint. King Of New York was another good film. I vaguely remember Ms. 45 and China Girl. The Driller Killer was his most infamous film before Bad Lieutenant. I am a big fan of The Addiction and The Funeral. I just admire Abel Ferrara's view of the world. The idea of a remake of any of his films sounds completely unnecessary, but what if it was by an equally unique and visionary director. If anyone can re- imagine an Abel Ferrara film, then Werner Herzog is the right man for the job. I want the director of Aguirre: The Wrath of God, Fitzcarraldo and all of the rest of those crazy collaborations with Klaus Kinski to direct this film. I am very curious to see what he is going to do with it. More importantly to see if Herzog can get a real performance out of Nicolas Cage. I am not sure what to think of his casting in this or what he will be like in the Bangkok Dangerous remake. If Kinski were still alive, well he could play the part like no one else. Herzog's Rescue Dawn was very good and I think that Christian Bale would be a natural candidate for the role of the Lieutenant. This is one remake I am curious about. Come to think of it, Training Day is kind of a remake of Abel Ferrara's notorious classic. Just a thought.