Werner Herzog recently premiered his documentary, Into the Abyss, at the Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals, to polarizing reviews. It deals with death row inmates in the time before their executions, and sounds like one of the Herzoggiest of Herzogumentaries. The distributor, Sundance Select’s original plan was to release it sometime in 2012, but now it will hit theaters in a platformed release starting in New York and LA November 11th, apparently because Herzog himself demanded it.

The decision was literally forced on distributor Sundance Selects by its filmmaker, who became “obsessed” with the subject matter and demanded they release it now — particularly as the issue has turned into a hot potato due to a recent Republican presidential debate and the execution of Troy Davis. The difficulty for the distrib was Herzog’s other current doc, the 3D Cave Of Forgotten Dreams, has been a big hit and continues in theaters, and it’s likely some of those dates will now have to be pulled to make way for Abyss.

Erik Nelson, the producer on both films, explains that there was a confluence of events. “Cave is still in theaters and we had no idea it would do as well as it has done,” he said. “You’re not really supposed to put two films out at the same time by the same director. On the other hand, what Werner wants, Werner gets. Resistance is futile. Added Nelson: “It seems now for whatever reason. everyone in the country is focused on the death penalty debate again thanks to Rick Perry and the bloodthirsty yahoos at the Republican debate, and I think Werner wants the film to be part of that discussion because timing is everything.” [Deadline]

Not that I necessarily disagree, but if you really want to be part of the discussion, maybe don’t call them “bloodthirsty yahoos” in a press release. Just a thought. (Also, as a lefty, is the death penalty battle really the one we want to fight right now? That’s probably below 50 on my list of political priorities.) Anyway, Here’s a little more info on the film, from ThePlaylist:

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There isn't a single thing about this picture that I'm not completely in love with

A dude named Sean Dunne went to the Gathering of the Juggalos this year and made a 20-minute documentary called “American Juggalo,” which he released online for free (which you can watch below). It had me hooked from the opening shots, when it started off as a sort of slow-motion, Juggalo video essay set to atmospheric music like some kind of meth-lab Koyaanisqatsi. Look, we all know they’re easy to make fun of, but it’s impossible not to be somewhat fascinated by these people (and in some cases, charmed). They’re just so open and earnest that it’s totally compelling. (That said, you will never convince that “juggalo baby casket” isn’t a hilarious phrase.)

Why aren’t there more short-form documentaries like this available in theaters? They’re almost always amazing. Anyway, I’d urge you to watch the entire thing, but in the meantime, I’ve compiled some of my favorite quotes below, and some of my favorite pictures (which are even better than the quotes) on the following pages.

[The dude at the 5:30 mark, who is by far the best part of this whole thing]
“I was drinkin’ Caribou Lou on the carnival rides. Apparently, I f*ckin passed out, and then my f*ckin homeboy shows up outta nowhere and gets me back to the tent. I was a f*ckin’ spectacle, but I don’t give a f*ck, cause that sh*t was righteous.”

“You should never put spray paint on your face.” [Said while a friend spray paints his face while smoking a cigarette]

“Somebody told me there’s nothing good left in the world, and I actually believed that sh*t until I came here and seen all the titties… all the weed…  all the fast food… I mean, this sh*t’s the bomb.”

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A lot of people will say, “Firemen, now those are the real heroes.” But I ask, isn’t the fire department just a fraternity for 30-year-olds? Superheroes which, like all superhero movies, contains an unnecessary cameo by Stan Lee, is a new documentary from newbie director Mike Barnett airing on HBO this Monday, following the real superheroes — no, not cancer doctors or hospice nurses — but weirdos who put on costumes and “fight crime.” Documentaries about weirdos tend to be the best documentaries, but I confess, I really wish it had more parkour.

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Nick Broomfield, who’s made documentaries about Kurt Cobain (Kurt and Courtney), Tupac and Biggie (Biggie and Tupac), and Heidi Fleiss (Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam), among others, is sort of a tabloidy, British version of Werner Herzog, and most recently, he turned his God-awful, droning, British stroke victim narration on Sarah Palin, for a new documentary that will be premiering at the Toronto Film Festival, for the no doubt untold millions of Palin supporters present there. There’s a new clip from it after the jump, and the crowd shot you see above comes from a Palin event in Lemoore, California (fun fact: that’s a couple towns over from where I grew up, I used to play basketball there). Between Sarah Palin spouting idiotic talking points (DEATH PANELS! FAT CATS!) and Nick Broomfield’s Kermit the Frog-gargling-oatmeal narration, it seems that the goal here was for no one to watch this ever. Which is really the preferred response to anything Palin-related. Great job, everyone, let’s break for lunch.

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Alison Willmore of the AV Club recently reviewed the Sarah Palin documentary, The Undefeated, and it’s a good thing she was there, because I’d sooner spend 90 minutes reviewing scrotum tazers (do they have those, you’re probably wondering? I don’t know, try a google image search). Nonetheless, the film represents an interesting narrative challenge, in terms of how to create a full-length film about how great someone is using dubious evidence. The director must be a former local news guy, because it seems the solution they came up with was basically “B-ROLL, MOTHERF*CKER!”

“The near-two-hour runtime is fleshed out with filler shots that are the video equivalent of clip art—discussions of the need for budget cuts come with a glimpse of money being set aflame, and talk of Palin being attacked in the press is accompanied by footage of an angry crowd shouting at the camera. These inserts get wilder and more dreamlike as the film goes along—lions hunting down and eating a zebra, a man with his head in a hedge, two businessmen smiling at each other while hiding weapons behind their backs, a knight getting shot with an arrow…”

Ooh, lions eating a zebra, that’s one of my all-time favorite stock footage videos. It’s up there with “fat people walking around the beach shot from the neck down” and “husband exasperated by carton of milk.”

It’s difficult, if not impossible, to imagine anyone who isn’t already a devoted Palinite seeking out or sitting through The Undefeated, which makes its distance from its subject all the more befuddling. The film features no interviews with Palin—she’s heard via snippets from the audiobook of Going Rogue, and seen only in news clips. Other than an opening montage of childhood photos, there’s nothing about her background or early life. The film sticks to her political career, presumably with the thought that it will reinforce her accomplishments in the arena, but in the process, it perversely provides a reminder of that career’s limited scope.

“Going Rogue.” Man, I’d forgotten about that. I love that title. It makes me imagine her getting spooked by flash bulbs and goring a reporter. That’d be a way better movie.