Leaving August 1

Directed by Werner Herzog | 80 mins | 1979
An unfinished but influential play by the terribly short lived 19th century author Georg Büchner provides the basis for this tale of a soldier—played by vitriolic diva Klaus Kinski—driven to psychological ruin by an errant lover and a diet of only peas. Made quickly and virtually back-to-back with "Nosferatu" (1979), the film features a theatrical production design and stagey, flattened compositions; intriguing deviations from Herzog’s established style.