Product Description

Incident at Loch Ness chronicles the story of the making (an unmaking) of acclaimed director, Werner Herzog's film. Herzog's stated intent was "to explore the origin and the necessity of the monster" rather than to look for the creature itself. Shocking, controversial and strangely humorous, the film raises many questions about where reality ends and fiction begins.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #44981 in DVD
• Brand: HERZOG,WERNER
• Released on: 2005-03-01
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .22 pounds
• Running time: 94 minutes

Amazon.com
Nothing is quite as it seems in Incident at Loch Ness, an entertaining pseudo-documentary comment on cinematic fakery. Conceived and directed by Hollywood screenwriter Zak Penn, this half-clever ruse begins with a master-stroke by casting German director Werner Herzog as himself, preparing to film a documentary about Scotland's mysterious Loch Ness monster. As this film-within-a-film is chronicled by a documentary crew led by renowned cinematographer John Bailey, "producer" Penn rises to apparently impossible heights of ineptitude, until it becomes obvious (indeed, it's the film's near-fatal flaw) that there is no "reality" here at all--just a very amusing pile-up of falsehoods. Penn's onto something good here, and Herzog is by far the film's greatest asset, maintaining a credible commitment to the ruse with a hilarious and fiercely believable performance. Still, the ideas at play are better than Penn's execution of them, so you'll have to play along, in Blair Witch fashion, even after the film's ploy becomes clear. Penn and Herzog provide a worthwhile commentary track, adding another layer of observation to Penn's multilayered con game. --Jeff Shannon

From The New Yorker
Less a mock-documentary than a mock-turtle soup of a documentary. The cinematographer John Bailey is shooting a portrait of Werner Herzog, the soulful, disaster-prone German director, at the same time that Herzog and Zak Penn, a crass American screenwriter-producer, go off to Loch Ness to make a film about our spiritual need for monsters. Once at the loch, it appears that Penn, the producer of the "film," is surreptitiously trying to surround Herzog's vague artistic yearnings with the elements of a commercial movie, such as a Playboy model operating the sonar. At that point, both crews run into the actual monster, Nessie herself-huge, slimy, and nasty-who attacks their boat. Or so it seems. The entire thing is actually an elaborate and convoluted put-on that allegedly raises serious questions about fact versus truth, but in reality the movie offers neither. As the fictional Penn-Herzog project heads into disaster, there are a few laughs, but most of the time we watch as Penn, unattractive and sneering, plays the heavy while the poor, distracted Herzog methodically exploits and destroys his reputation. -David Denby
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

DVD extras
I didn't know what to expect when I was given this dvd as a Christmas gift. I enjoyed the film very much, mostly due to Werner Herzog's performance. He shines despite Zack Penn's best efforts to steal the lime light. Although I didn't get all the jokes, I found myself laughing throughout most of the film.

What I was most happy about was all the dvd easter eggs. Without giving it away, I'll say the commentary by Werner and Zack was by far the most entertaining commentary I've heard.

BEST NON-CHRISTOPHER GUEST MOCKUMENTARY EVER
I used to be such a huge fan of Christopher Guest's movies but it seems to me that recently, they've all started to feel exactly the same. The same actors, the same jokes... I'm bored. That's why I was pleasantly surprised when I came across this movie at a film festival. If you like mockumentaries, this is like a breath of fresh air. It's the story of how Werner Herzog tries to shoot a documentary on the Loch Ness Monster but everything goes horribly wrong.

Part of the brilliance of the movie is the use of Werner Herzog as the lead character. As a fan of his, I never could have imagined that he would have appeared in a film like this. The film sends up Herzog's reputation of being demanding and violent on the set perfectly... for example, in this movie, demonic producer Zak Penn pulls a gun on him (echoing the near-legendary confrontation between Herzog and Kinski in Aguirre). There are a lot of moments like this for the cinefile who knows enough about the director to be surprised and amused. Kudos to Werner Herzog for being such a good sport.

I should also point out that I have no interest in the Loch Ness Monster, but this movie kept me riveted by focusing less on the monster and more on the loons who think the monster is real. Special mention must be given to the ridiculous and insane Cryptozoologist who almost steals the film. Basically, anyone who is a fan of Werner Herzog or just wants some good laughs must see this film. I am definitely looking forward to Herzog's next adventure...hopefully in search of Big Foot or something...

Clever
Clever mockumentary by Zak Penn and featuring director-legend Werner Herzog on his quest to make a true documentary about the human need to believe in myth. It takes off as your standard "making of" fare, but then it twists into something entirely different as Zak Penn begins filming a super model and the ship encounters what appears to be the real loch ness monster. A number of the crew members are humorous and provide some good material, such as Michael Karnow as the Crypto-Zoologist who is convinced that nesse is the real deal from the get go, and Werner Herzog is in excellent form as he imitates his own obsessed megalomaniac self. The film definitely caught me off guard the first time I saw it, the fakery didn't become apparent until the plot became especially perpostrous as Penn pulls a gun on Werner, forcing him to film an idiotic model of nesse. However, it came across as a tad gimmicky the second time around.