My Best Fiend was made by Werner Herzog after Klaus Kinski's death and chronicles the tumultuous relationship between the director and the actor most often associated with him. Together they made five films over a 15 year period, but their connection extends much deeper into childhood, when they lived together for a short while. As Herzog dissects his friend it becomes clear that Kinski was more than a raving lunatic or mad genius. He was a man tormented by his desire to succeed and his will to dominate, a man forever impatient with those who he saw as standing in his way. What emerges over the course of the documentary is how complimentary the two truly were. Only Herzog seems capable of withstanding Kinski's fits, and pushing him to his greatest acting achievements. In his heart Kinski knew that he needed someone as equally obstinate as himself to drive him forward. This truth served as the bedrock for a friendship that would endure twin murder plots, threats of film sabotage, and wild international rumors that the two helped to spur on.
Herzog and Kinski are one of film's greatest collaborative teams. Like Kurosawa and Mifune, they brought out the best in each other. Herzog and Kinski however, also brought out the worst.
Peppered with footage of their film collaborations, My Best fiend is a very decent documentary and a nice companion piece to Les Blank's documentary;
'Burden of Dreams', about the production of Herzog and Kinski's "Fitzcarraldo", footage of which is contained here. The film is imbued with the depth of love and healthy, if violent, emotions that brought these two men together.