Werner Herzog making a documentary on cave art

[Beau]

Just caught this article on the Guardian that the celebrated filmmaker is going to be making a documentary on cave art, and when I read where, thought it may interest Laura and others:

Herzog has apparently been given permission to film inside the Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc cave, a site in the Ardèche department of southern France that contains the earliest known cave paintings, dating back at least 30,000 years. Even more intriguingly, Herzog is planning to shoot much of the film in 3D.

The Chauvet cave, discovered in 1994, cannot be accessed by tourists, as the French authorities have deemed the risk of degradation to be too high, so Herzog's film might be the only opportunity for the rest of humanity to view the site. The paintings depict lions, panthers, bears, owls, rhinos and hyenas, suggesting a vastly different fauna at the time of the paintings to that of modern France.

There's a ton more at the link, but I'm already intrigued due to the subject matter and Herzog's record with making some pretty stunning documentaries, including Grizzly Man. Also check out the link for a few embedded vids of Herzog talking about the film and how he "talked his way into being allowed in the caves".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2010/apr/13/werner-herzog-cave-art-documentary-3d

 

[Bernhard]

Interesting. Thanks for posting. I like Herzog's film work, especially his documentaries.

 

[Laura]

Very much looking forward to it though I have some plans to get inside some of the caves myself this season.

 

[Adaryn]

Very much looking forward to it though I have some plans to get inside some of the caves myself this season.

You should check out the Cave of Niaux, in Ariège!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_of_Niaux
http://www.pyrenees-decouverte.com/en/visites/prehist/niaux/index.php
http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/chauvet/other-caves.php