Signs of Life (1968 film)

Signs of Life (German: Lebenszeichen) is a 1968 feature film written, directed, and produced by Werner Herzog. It was his first feature film, and his first major commercial and critical success. The story is roughly based on the short story "Der Tolle Invalide auf dem Fort Ratonneau" by Achim von Arnim.^[1]

Plot

During

Cast

• Peter Brogle - Stroszek
• Wolfgang Reichmann - Meinhard
• Athina Zacharopoulou - Nora
• Wolfgang von Ungern-Sternberg - Becker
• Wolfgang Stumpf - Captain
• Henry van Lyck - Lieutenant
• Julio Pinheiro - Gypsy
• Florian Fricke - Pianist
• Heinz Usener - Doctor
• Achmed Hafiz - Greek resident

Production

The fortress which gives the film's main setting is a real 14th-century fortress built by the

During several shots, Peter Brogle could only be filmed from the waist up after he had been injured in a tight-rope accident and spent several months in a walking cast.[2] The man who appears as a pianist in one scene is keyboardist Florian Fricke of Popol Vuh, who composed and performed the music for many of Herzog's later films.

Themes

Many of Herzog's later films reference elements of Signs of Life. Stroszek includes a scene with a hypnotized chicken, and the main character's name is reused in Herzog's film Stroszek. The Wild Blue Yonder contains a shot of a valley of windmills.

Critical responses

The film was entered into the

Signs of Life has a 91% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.^[4]

References