Death in Texas
Movie | |
---|---|
German title | Death in Texas |
Original title | Into the Abyss |
Country of production |
USA , UK , Germany |
original language | English |
Publishing year | 2011 |
length | 107 minutes |
Age rating | FSK unchecked |
Rod | |
Director | Werner Herzog |
script | Werner Herzog |
production | Erik Nelson |
music | Mark De Gli Antoni |
camera | Peter Zeitlinger |
cut | Joe Bini |
occupation | |
|
Death in Texas is a 2011 documentary directed by Werner Herzog .
action
At the center of the film are the convicted murderers Michael Perry, who is about to face the death penalty - he was executed on July 1, 2010 - and his accomplice Jason Burkett, who is serving a life sentence. Herzog reconstructs the murders that led to the convictions, showing the guilty and justifications of the perpetrators; he describes their life stories and milieus in interviews with their families and partners, but also those of the victims and their survivors. Conversations with police officers and a prison minister reveal a picture of the US judicial system and the realities of the death penalty.
background
Herzog wanted to make a film about Straubing correctional facility when he was 17 , but never carried out the idea. Death in Texas eventually came about with funding from US cable station Investigation Discovery . Originally, Herzog had wanted to cover the cases of five death row inmates in Texas and Florida in the film, but then focused entirely on Perry. From the remaining material, the TV miniseries On Death Row was created .
publication
Although the film was traded as a political documentary when it premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival , Herzog denied political intent. In his opinion, he did not make a film against the death penalty, even if he rejects it. His focus is actually a different one.
Nevertheless, the US premiere was already set for November of that year by the distributor, also in Herzog's avowed sense, in order to show the film during the societal death penalty debate that was taking place at that time, which was based on the controversy surrounding the execution of Troy Davis and cheered for Rick Perry's death penalty record in the Republican presidential primary election.
reception
Death in Texas received positive criticism. In December 2011, the website Metacritic calculated a score of 74 out of 100 based on 27 reviews. The prominent US critic Roger Ebert named the film the third best documentary of 2011 and also included it in his selection the following year.
Awards
- London Film Festival 2011: best documentary
Web links
- Into the Abyss in the Internet Movie Database (English)