Woyzeck is something of a curiosity. The film is based on a famous unfinished play written in 1836 by Georg Büchner, who died of typhus aged just 23, having completed only four fragments of the play. The order in which the scenes should be performed is unclear, and the play was ignored for sixty years. Despite this, Woyzeck’s rejection of traditional structure, and its focus on a lowly individual’s mental state, mean it is now regarded as the first truly modern play, and a precursor to Expressionism and the Theatre Of The Absurd.

If the eminence of the play is not enough to pique your interest, then consider the film’s place in cinematic lore. Woyzeck was the third of five films made by the director-actor team of Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski, and was shot and edited in only 21 days, with shooting beginning a mere 5 days after the same team had finished the iconic vampire film, Nosferatu.

Herzog and Kinski’s films are only matched in their idiosyncracy and madness by the mythology surrounding the men themselves. This, for example, is Herzog’s account of his first meeting with Kinski, at age 12: "I was playing in the courtyard of the building where we lived in Munich, and I looked up and saw this man striding past, and I knew at that moment that my destiny was to direct films, and that he would be the actor."

Both men claim to have planned to murder the other repeatedly since their first film together, Aguirre, the Wrath of God, and their relationship seems to have been characterised by a simultaneous mutual hatred and dependence. This fascinating relationship is the subject of two documentaries; Herzog’s own My Best Fiend, and Les Blank’s Burden of Dreams, shot on location during Herzog’s famously lunatic Fitzcarraldo shoot.

It’s a fascinating background, then, but sadly the film isn’t quite as entertaining. The story concerns Franz Woyzeck, a soldier routinely misused by everyone around him. The film’s best sequence is its first, in which we see Woyzeck forced at bootpoint to do squats and press-ups until he collapses. It is here that we see Kinski at his most extraordinary; his wide-eyed tormented expression managing to be both deeply moving and absurdly comic. Watching Kinski is always an astonishing experience.

After this humiliation, we see Woyzeck shaving his Captain, and scolded by his Doctor, who forces him to eat nothing but peas for months on end, in the name of science. Speeding him along the road to insanity is his wife, Marie (Eva Mattes), who is brazenly unfaithful with a barrel-chested Drum Major.

Kinski gives an electrifying performance, and the cinematography and soundtrack are beautifully simple, with the timeless quality of fairy tale. As a result, the film is memorable, and occasionally powerful, but it’s theatrical origins are always evident, and Herzog chooses to foreground this by frontally staging most of the four-minute scenes, with a minimum of cuts and camera movement. The story is slight and depressing, with the human drama much more effective than the critiques of authority and social institutions, which feel dated and simplistic. Herzog and Kinski will continue to fascinate film lovers, but I think Woyzeck is one for completists only.

Woyzeck is released on Region 2 in the UK as part of Anchor Bay’s Herzog Kinski Collection, a boxed set which also includes Aguirre, the Wrath of God, Nosferatu, Fitzcarraldo, Cobra Verde and Herzog’s documentary film about Kinski, My Best Fiend.

Woyzeck is a high quality release from Anchor Bay, although there isn’t much in the way of extras. The transfer is anamorphic 1.66:1, which has a slight pillarbox effect on widescreen sets. The picture quality is excellent, a sharp transfer with rich colours, although I noticed a few brief colour flashes. There are no alternative audio choices, just the standard German Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack, which is the original mono, and recorded with a good dynamic range for its age.

The extras include optional English subtitles, the theatrical trailer, a photo gallery, and some informative illustrated text notes on Herzog, Kinski, and the film respectively. Overall it’s nicely put together, and an appropriately Spartan package.

(Released by Anchor Bay Entertainment; not rated by MPAA.)