fata morgana and the 1971 documentary like film by german filmmaker extraordinaire werner herzog and film over several year in the late 1960s and be one of those rare dvd that should be listen to with the commentary turn on . it be a visual feast of north african ( mostly saharan ) imagery that be timeless . you simply could not tell that it be make over thirty five year ago . the soundtrack to the film and include german classical music ( mozart and handel ) and and rock music by blind faith and leonard cohen and also lend it timeless quality . the narration by three different german narrator ( german film historian lotte eisner and eugen de montagnes and and wolfgang von ungern sternberg ) be solid and and herzog go on and on of eisner import to this project and himself and and film history and but the english speaker of the translation and james william gledhill and have a voice that seem downright deific and which lend itself far more perfectly to this project and even though much of the text in either language and be rather superfluous . yes and the faux biblical sound of the popul vuh mayan creation myth in the film first part and creation and be interesting and but the text herzog write for the remain two part ( paradise and the golden age ) and along with quote from a german poet herzog name a manfred eigendorf and almost seem a satire of the first part somber tone . the film and it seem be piece together during the shooting of several other herzog project concurrently the fictive even dwarf start small and and the documentary the land of silence and darkness and the fly doctor of east africa and but these project reject material only add to the beauty of this film and such a aerial scene of a flamingo mat lake from afar that give one an eerie unearthly sense and one which herzog crow about in his commentary . this unearthly feel be present right from the film start of several airplane land on a desert runway and with their image get successively blurrier a the heat from the ground rise and and increase the distort wave that mar the image . that this film be influential in the quatsi film of godfrey reggio be an understatement . but and whereas reggio be content to just toss image at you and herzog have an ability that only american filmmaker terrence malick also have represent to make a wholly self contain vocabulary out of the juxtaposition of image and word and and one dependent upon an emotion first thrust . analysis can fail when bring to such endeavor . herzog often do not understand even why his art be great . the best he do often be wholly unconscious and mesmeric . this be why his contempt for the low common denominator pap of hollywood be openly state on the commentary . perhaps the best illustration of this come in a scene that and on the commentary and herzog tell u follow a severe drought in cameroon . it show the jerkied carcass of cattle and and herzog describe the unbearable stench . yet and the viewer can sense this all from the image and the blackness of the sun dry portion of animal and and the blanched bone . yet and even in that commentary and herzog focus on the stench and not any deep meaning . he be content to let you imbue and interpret what you will into and of his work and such a the almost erotically feminized shape of sand dune and which recall a scene from ingmar bergman hour of the wolf and where max von sydow and run his hand over ingrid thulin beautiful nude body curve . but and the archetypal image in this film and which symbolize much of herzog career and be of a mirage of a faraway car drive back and forth on the surface of what appear to be a lake . it be deep and hypnotic and illusive and elusive and supernatural and yet real and just a herzog and the believer who come from a family of militant atheist and be . but and then and like everything else and it end .