God's Angry Man Reviews
The following are reviews of Werner Herzog's 1980 film "God's Angry Man" that appeared at the time of its all too brief U.S. run in 1983. I first learned of its existence in 1984 when Dr. Scott, probably in a rebroadcast, referred to its U.S. showing and warned his followers that they should under no circumstances see it. He said that "the film no longer represents what I'm about," and added that he had agreed to be a subject for the film provided that Herzog guaranteed that it would never be shown in the United States. These declarations naturally piqued my curiosity, which was already substantial given my high opinion of Herzog's films and the fact that it is hard to imagine a more suitable director to make a documentary about Dr. Scott. If Herzog had ever made a dramatic film about Dr. Scott, Klaus Kinski would have been a shoo-in for the role.
The "Golden Age of Doc" was undoubtedly the late 1970s and early 1980s and "God's Angry Man" can shed important light on this lost era. The Doc of that time was flamboyant, full of energy, and a lot of fun. Today he is much more minimalist and restrained, although there are still flashes of the old Gene. Can one imagine today the Festival of Faith Bureaucratic Monkey Band, or the singing of "Amazing Grace" to the tune of "an old Irish ditty" with the good doctor wearing his Confederate hat? I have always thought that the collapse of the Church of the Open Door bid, and the internal convulsions which followed, evidenced by the departure of many Festival of Faith musicians, was a key event separating the earlier from the current era. Changes of substance, as well as style, have occurred, and it is doubtless to these that Dr. Scott was referring when he declared that "God's Angry Man no longer represents what I am about." The Doc of the GAM era seems to have been ready to declare that some of the money that was raised was destined for charitable purposes such as an orphanges and missionary work. Today, he would say that money is purely for his personal use. Given, the importance of "giving to the one who taught you" in Dr. Scott's current theology, this is an important shift.
