Cave of Forgotten Dreams

The Chauvet Caves are Werner Herzog’s latest muse in his film Cave of Forgotten Dreams. Herzog, known for blurring the line between stunning documentaries and eccentric behavior, was granted access to film the oldest cave paintings known to man–in 3-D!  The 32,000 year old work of art is “the oldest painting ever discovered…more than twice as old as any other”. Judith Thurman–author ofthis New Yorker article that inspired Herzog’s film–describes the cave’s artistic significance:

What those first artists invented was a language of signs for which there will never be a Rosetta stone; perspective, a technique that was not rediscovered until the Athenian Golden Age; a…animation…grease tourches..the principles of stencilling and Pointillism; powdered colors, brushes, and stumping cloths; and…the very concept of an image.

In short: they’re a big deal. That’s why art curators make sure they maintain their ultra-secure preservation. Herzog was allowed to take himself and three other people into the caves for making the film; he could not use any lights that created heat; all filming was shot with handheld cameras and some of the 3-D cameras were made by hand Why go to all this trouble just to see some cave walls in 3-D? Well, Herzog describes the Chauvet Caves as, “Awakening of the modern human soul”

Watch the Trailer Right Here!