Herzog's most controversial film to date. Some of his greatest admirers find it stilted, heavy-handed, indigestible. Some find it his most personal and profound vision of the impulse towards catastrophe and collective madness which has characterized the human race over the centuries. The mid-section of the film tells the story of a 19th-century German town that loses the secret of making its unique ruby glass. The townspeople turn to madness, murder and magic in a desperate effort to regain the pure ingredient they have lost. The beginning and end of Heart of Glass are incredibly photographed eschatological visions that rank as possibly the most awesome passages in Herzog's career.