Often hailed as one of the most innovative filmmakers of all time, Werner Herzog, known for Grizzly Man and Aguirre, the Wrath of God, recently shared his viewpoint on Margot Robbie’s Barbie. Last summer, Barbenheimer broke the internet, as both Oppenheimer and Barbie went on to become commercial and critical successes, with the latter becoming the biggest film of the year.
However, the acclaimed filmmaker revealed that he had yet to watch Oppenheimer, but he did watch the opening 30 minutes of Barbie, and Herzog didn’t seem too keen about his experience.
Margot Robbie’s Barbie Can Take Viewers as Close to Hell as It Gets per Werner Herzog
Joining Pierce Morgan on the Uncensored show, director Werner Herzog compared the opening minutes of Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, starring Margot Robbie, to hell. Even though he revealed that he had yet to watch the entire thing, stating that he would form an opinion once he experienced the whole film, the director said for a movie ticket “you can witness sheer hell, as close as it gets.”
“I have not seen Oppenheimer yet, but I will do it. Barbie, I managed to see the first half hour, and I was curious. I wanted to watch it because I was curious. And I still don’t have an answer, but I have a suspicion. Could it be that the world of Barbie is sheer hell?… I don’t know yet, Piers Morgan, give me a moment to watch the whole thing… I have to watch the whole thing first.”
While Piers Morgan, who previously spoke ill of Barbie, chimed in, stating “the whole thing, and it is hell,” it doesn’t seem Herzog was comparing his experience watching the film to hell. Although the director didn’t expand on his comments, it could be that Herzog was seemingly speculating about the Barbieland in the film being sheer hell, which makes more sense.
Greta Gerwig Doesn’t Seem to Mind Much Her Oscar Snub From Best Director’s Category
Reflecting on her and Margot Robbie’s Oscar snub this year for Best Director and Best Actress, Greta Gerwig expressed, “I wanted it for Margot,” but she is happy with the film’s accomplishments. As for her own snub from the Best Director category, Gerwig didn’t seem to mind much, as she was still nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay. She told Time Magazine:
“A friend’s mom said to me, ‘I can’t believe you didn’t get nominated.’ I said, ‘But I did. I got an Oscar nomination.’ She was like, ‘Oh, that’s wonderful for you!’ I was like, ‘I know!’,”
It’s easy to see why many were left disappointed by Gerwig’s snub this year, as the film could’ve easily gone wrong in the wrong hands. But despite its exclusion from these two categories, Barbie is still charging the Academy Awards with eight nods under its belt, and fans will hope the Margot Robbiee-led film gets the recognition it deserves.
Barbie is available to stream on Max.
