The Research Of Werner Herzog’s Documentary "Ecstatic Truth" From The Perspective Of Phenomenology

Just as Phenomenology undefineds constant slogan,"Towards the things itself" Werner Herzog(hereafter referred to as Herzog)always adheres to the reality of "Ecstatic Truth" in his documentaries.The "Ecstatic Truth" is Herzog’s reflection on the "authenticity" of documentaries.It is different from the "truth" on the surface of things shown in "Cinéma vérité",and it is a kind of "truth" on the philosophical level.Herzog believes that what he pursues is the deep "philosophical reality" of the thing itself,and this level of "truth" can only be achieved through "Ecstatic Truth".In order to achieve the "Ecstatic Truth",Herzog’s documentaries are quite different from traditional documentaries.He uses a lot of "subjective intervention" and "fiction" techniques in the documentaries in order to restore the "truth" of things.The bold use of "subjective intervention" and "fiction" makes Herzog’s documentary transcend the "reality of accountants" presented in "real movies" and reach the "Ecstatic Truth" at the philosophical level.However,the use of these techniques has broken the traditional documented aesthetic ideas,making its documentary becomes the focus of debate in the documentary academic circles,and some even questioned that its documentary is not a documentary at all.Therefore,this paper aims at explaining the rationality of "Ecstatic Truth" in Herzog’s documentaries by means of "phenomenological reduction",explaining the significance of "Ecstatic Truth" in Herzog’s documentaries by means of "transcendental reduction" and "essence reduction",and discussing Herzog’s "subject" in documentaries by means of "essence intuition",an important method of "essence reduction".The application of the techniques of "observation intervention" and "fiction" plays a positive role in exploring the rationality of "truth" in documentaries.Through close reading and analysising of Grizzly Man,Lo and Behold,Reveries of the Connected World,The White Diamond,Die gro?e Ekstase des Bildschnitzers Steiner,Land des Schweigens und der Dunkelheit,Into the Abyss and other films,this paper interprets the "real ecstasy" from the perspective of phenomenology.At the same time,it proves that Herzog’s unique creative techniques play a positive role in restoring the "truth" of documentaries from the perspective of phenomenology,so as to better understand the unique documentary aesthetics displayed in Herzog’s documentaries,and expound the role and Enlightenment of Herzog’s documentaries in "Ecstatic Truth".It is also hoped that it will open a new outlet for the study of documentary authenticity.