Into the Abyss (film)
| Into the Abyss | |
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| Directed by | Werner Herzog |
| Produced by | Dave Harding Amy Briamonte Henry Schleiff Sara Kozak Andre Singer Lucki Stipetic (executives) Erik Nelson |
| Written by | Werner Herzog |
| Starring | Werner Herzog Michael Perry Jason Burkett |
| Narrated by | Werner Herzog |
| Music by | Mark Degli Antoni |
| Cinematography | Peter Zeitlinger |
| Edited by | Joe Bini |
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Production
company |
Investigation Discovery
Creative Differences Werner Herzog Filmproduktion Spring Films More4 Revolver Entertainment |
| Distributed by |
IFC Films Sundance Selects |
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Release date
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Running time
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105 minutes |
| Country | United States United Kingdom Germany |
| Language | English |
Into the Abyss, subtitled A Tale of Death, a Tale of Life, is a documentary film written and directed by Werner Herzog about two men convicted of a triple homicide which occurred in Conroe, Texas. Michael Perry received a death sentence for the crime.
The film was first shown on September 3, 2011, at the Telluride Film Festival, and had its official world premiere on September 8, 2011, at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. After strong festival showings and a surge of interest in the issue of capital punishment in the United States, Herzog requested that the film be rushed into general theatrical release, which occurred on November 11, 2011.
The film profiles Michael Perry, a man on death row convicted of murdering Sandra Stotler, a fifty-year-old nurse. He also confessed to two other murders which occurred in Conroe, Texas. Perry was convicted of the October 2001 murder eight years before filming; the crimes apparently committed in order to steal a car for a joyride. Perry denies that he was responsible for the killings.
Perry's final interviews for the film were recorded only eight days before his execution on July 1, 2010. The film also includes interviews with victims' families and law enforcement officers.
The film does not focus on Perry's guilt or innocence and features a minimal amount of narration, with Herzog never appearing onscreen, unlike in many of his films.
Herzog had long considered making a film about prison inmates. In fact, Herzog at age 17 had intended to make his first film about the maximum security Straubing prison in Bavaria. This concept was never realized, but the idea remained dormant until Into the Abyss decades later.
The film is financed by American cable TV channel Investigation Discovery, who gave Herzog financing and creative freedom.
The film went through several working titles during its production. For a time it was called simply "Death Row", and this was later elaborated to "Gazing Into The Abyss: A Tale of Death, a Tale Of Life". The television broadcast of the film and the related series was briefly referred to as "Werner Herzog’s Final Confessions", but eventually aired with the title On Death Row.
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