All language subtitles for Gods Angry Man - 1983

GOD'S ANGRY MAN

DR GENE SCOTT
TELEVANGELIST

A FILM BY WERNER HERZOG

This is Dr Gene Scott
live from his TV studio

in Glendale near Los Angeles.

"When I yell," he says,
"I want to be heard."

"God's honour is at stake every night.

"This is not a show. It's a feast.

"A feast of a fading religious
experience."

His show, one of many religious
broadcasts on American TV,

is a veritable one-man show,

apart from the occasional
musical interlude.

The singer is Jake Hess.
The younger lad is his son.

Dr Scott is a controversial figure,

constantly at odds with believers,
officials and courts.

He's usually embroiled
in up to 70 lawsuits at once.

Charges against him range
from embezzlement of funds,

to defamation, extortion
and tax evasion.

Scott runs three television stations

in Los Angeles, San Francisco
and Hartford, Connecticut.

He's live on screen between
eight and ten hours every day.

The telephone numbers of his stations

are often displayed on screen
for his audiences.

"Four and a half years
in front of these cameras

have taught me a lot.

"Every time we have a great, exciting
victory at our religious festival,

"it's tougher at the next festival.
That must not happen tonight.

"I turn to you and some of you
have not missed a single show

"in four and a half years."

"Sometimes I kid
that most of the media in the USA

"say that people worship
the great God 'Two sides'.

"If they're down on the beach
reporting that the sun's rising,

"they'll always add a little line
saying that it didn't.

"I don't have a bland audience.
They're either for me or against me.

"At first they thought I was a madman.

"But I always take a firm stance

"no matter what subject
is under discussion."

"So I polarize people
because I take a stand.

"Some people say

"they've been waiting
to hear exactly what I have to say.

"Other people want to go
through the TV screen

"and pound me on the nose."

"If I take a stand, I can guarantee
how most people will react to me."

- Have you ever been threatened?
- "Often."

Could you tell us
about one of the incidents?

"The authorities in New England
decided to seize our property

"and subject it to tax,

"stating that we were a TV station
and not a church.

"I barricaded myself in for 48 hours.
It was raining and snowing.

"The street outside was blocked.

"Young people lay across the path

"and the sheriff arrived
to seize our property.

"I had a table set up
for Holy Communion and said,

'They'll have to climb over that
to get in.'

"The sheriff couldn't get through.

"And to save face
he took the coward's way out.

"They drove to a town ten miles away

"and occupied our broadcasting offices.

"They were empty
apart from a poor diabetic man.

"I've had doors kicked in,
I've been threatened.

"I've had to travel with bodyguards."

"Things got really ugly
during those tax battles.

"People didn't properly understand
the essence of my message.

"They thought I was against
the unions or the homosexuals.

"I became a target.

"My shows are broadcast
late at night

"and some late-night viewers
are pretty whacked out.

"That's why I'm never alone."

"We're here today
to give our friends an idea

"of what our son was like growing up.

"Firstly I'd like to say that he's been
a wonderful son to his father and I.

"We couldn't have wished
for a better son."

"One of the fellas
on the staff here said to me,

'We want you to tell us
something really nasty he did.'

"He was about two years old.

"I was making icing
for a chocolate cake.

"He was always excited
when I made chocolate cake.

"He reached up to the cake,
on his tiptoes

"and stuck his finger in the cake.

"So I slapped his hand, he fell
to the floor and started to scream.

"He wanted to hold his breath
until his face got blue.

"He turned completely blue.
I whirled the cold water faucet open.

"It wasn't long
before he started breathing again."

"While he was getting his PhD
at Stanford University,

"he'd come home at weekends
to help me with the church work.

"He was struggling with something.
He'd somehow lost his faith.

"And then he was reborn,
as I'm sure you've heard

"when he talks about his faith
and the resurrection.

"I think he's proud of his dad
as his dad is proud of his son."

"May I say one more thing?"

"Our son is the kind of person
ordinary people can understand.

"Sometimes people study
and then talk right over folk's heads.

"Our son has his feet on the ground.

"I remember a time
when he was in seventh grade

"and his teacher sent me a little note
with his report card.

"His report card was all As.

"And the note said, 'Do you know
that you have a genius for a son?'

"So we're very proud of our son."

Scott broaches his regular
evening theme - money.

He asks to be supported

as the Philippians supported
Paul the Apostle.

"As long as I can walk
face-to-face with the Lord

"I don't mind putting my faith in you."

"But I'd keep the government
out of this church.

"I'm asking again
for that vote of confidence tonight.

"I think I'm the only pastor in the world

"who gets his vote
in the form of weekly checks.

"We're under fire.
The papers are spreading lies.

"I've told you we'll be here
until Jesus comes, and we will."

"15 minutes went by. I have
a message here like many others.

'Darling,
because Dr Scott asked us to,

'I've been trying to get
my call through for five minutes.'

"We don't have
enough telephones tonight.

"So I'm going to extend it
into the next hour."

"I'll give you another 15 minutes
to decide what to do for the next year.

"And there's more coming in.
Here's 360.

"Pledges for a year.

"2400.

"1200. 240.

"2400, and so on.

"Even up to 12,000 dollars in one go."

"Keep calling. The lines may be busy,
but don't stop calling."

"Now we're going to hear
'The Four Statesmen'."

"The lyrics go,

'Lord, oh Lord,
I want to go to Heaven.'

"900. 3600.

"1800. And so on.

"Here's another check
for over 12,000."

"Thank you, Lord,
for saving my soul."

"Thank you, Lord,
for bringing me home."

"We're approaching a quarter
of a million dollars in 36 minutes.

"We'll go another 45 minutes

"and see if we can't get over
a quarter of a million."

"This could be a million dollar night."

"3600 dollars. 1200.

"Wait a minute, Joe.
Bring those back."

"We've already crossed
the quarter of a million.

"And now we want
to try for 300,000.

"In exactly 45 minutes.

"All it takes is another 50,000 dollars."

"You've seen me on television.

"That occupies
about 30 hours a week live.

"And like any other pastor
I preach to my parish on Sundays.

"I'm the elected president
of a 2000-strong parish

"and hold quarterly board meetings.

"I attend meetings,
I'm responsible for the vice presidents.

"I'm a delegate
and pastor at another church.

"It's located in northern California
with 9400 members."

"I have to deal with the mail load.
I give spiritual guidance.

"I visit sick people."

"The people shouldn't
feel neglected by their pastor,

"but my father's still active
and can help me out."

"I run a mausoleum in Berkeley.

"The mausoleum provides
this limousine and also my salary.

"The churches run a publishing house

"which owns a lot of subsidiary
businesses.

"A real estate firm, a travel agency,
and other operations."

"The travel agency
is relatively inactive now.

"We used to run teaching tours
of Bible lands every year."

"if you want joy, come to Jesus."

"If you want peace, come to him."

"if you want happiness, come to Jesus.
Come to him."

"For the last four and a half years
I've been doing a little less.

"I've stood between three and ten hours
live in front of the camera.

"During the last year, I've been able
to take Wednesday or Thursday off.

"But that's very recent."

"So I work non-stop,
anywhere from three to ten hours,

"except for Sundays."

"On Sundays I hold two live services,
each lasting two and a half hours.

"Plus sometimes a three to five hour
television festival."

"I'm in the celluloid world
of Los Angeles.

"I probably have the widest audience
of actors and people in the industry.

"They can't believe what they see.

"For them, standing in front
of the camera means you're acting."

"One of the magazines locally
summarised it like this.

'Scott's raw anger every night
has something refreshing about it.'

They say,

'Here's another poor son of a bitch
with the same problems as us,

struggling for survival, '
and they identify with that.

"Everything else they see on TV

"creates an artificial environment
at home.

"They see how I fight tooth and nail
to save my organization.

"And how I struggle against
the same obstacles they face.

"Pressure from the government,
lack of understanding and ridicule.

"You go through life
and try to fend off the flak.

"I do it in front of the camera
every night."

"I'd like to be..."

"Let me tell you
what makes me happy.

"Get me on a jet

"heading for a town 8,000 miles away
where nobody knows me.

"I'd like to go somewhere

"without having this constant
life and death struggle."

"I'm too good to be really bad
and too bad to be really good.

"Actually I'd like to do
some hellish things."

"I can't walk by a guy kicking a dog

"without going up to him
and kicking him in the ass.

"This gets me into constant trouble
with the authorities, like I am now.

"I can't let the church down."

"I don't like this struggle.
Many people think I look for challenges.

"But the challenges come looking for me.

"And I spend my life like a surgeon

"who is always called out
for the most hopeless cases.

"My dream would be to lie on a beach,
read books and do exactly what I like.

"I'm always running away
from the experience

"of being a pastor's son.

"From what people expected of me.

"I dream of a time when this church
is no longer burdened by debt.

"Where I'm voted out
in a vote of confidence

"so I can go to Australia
with a clear conscience,

"become a professor
at Plato University

"and go outback and hunt rocks.

"That's probably exaggerated,
but it's what I'd actually like to do.

"To get away from this mess."

- Would you like your own house?
- "Yes, very much."

- Would you like to have children?
- "Yes, I'd like that very much.

"That would be the greatest joy
in my life.

"I never talk about it in public.

"I'm so disgusted
by religious organizations

"who show orphans to collect money.

"Before I came here,
I supported three orphanages

"as part of my church duties.

"I can't have kids of my own.

"I'm sterile.

"I had mumps when I was 19.

"I've adjusted to it all my life.

"I made up for it
with the orphan kids.

"In an orphanage in Brazil
I once picked up a sandwich

"a kid had dropped on the floor.

"And he looked at me
and said in Portuguese,

"'He's my Daddy.'

"I love kids.
Kids and dogs seem to like me.

"And as long as that's the case,
I feel safe."

Dr Scott has appealed
for donations again,

but his audience
is less forthcoming this time.

"I will not be defeated tonight,"
he says.

"Five telephones are available.

"And one person has the key."

"Not one more word tonight

"until that thousand comes in."

"Do you understand that God's work
hangs on 600 miserable dollars?

"And you sit there glued to your chairs.

"How long must I teach you
the principles of spiritual warfare?

"30,000 means nothing now."

"22,400 dollars pours in.

"But 600 dollars kills us.

"It has nothing to do with money."

"One person hanging onto
a miserable 600 dollars.

"But people who name
the cause of Christ

"and sing 'l Surrender All'
will let God hang over peanuts."

"What is this but a festival of faith?

"What is faith
but hanging on to the impossible?"

"The network ought to be shut down."

"What is Christianity?

"Games, gimmicks, words, massage

"or life and death?

"Last night I said you'd have to tie
me down with ropes

"to calm me down.

"Carnal Christians,

"when it gets close to victory,
you duck out!

"Husbands and wives out there
sitting glued to your chairs,

"I should kick you both in the butt.

"If one of you has fallen asleep
in front of the TV,

"someone should jump
on your stomach.

"This is war!

"We ought never to bog down.

"Come on, Joe. I won't hit you.

"What? Only 400 to go?
Why didn't you do it earlier?

"I don't care
what Gene Scott looks like.

"God's honour is at stake.

"There are people that grab a hymn book
and promise to go on a great crusade,

"saying, 'I'll go wherever you want,

as long as it doesn't cost me
a few measly dollars.'

"Now we're well over.
But after I yelled at you!"

Dr Scott,
do you have any private wealth?

"No, nothing.

"If you can find any property
I own in the world,

"then you can keep it.

"I don't have any real estate,
property, stocks or cash.

"No bank account, no house.
I own nothing.

"Everything's owned by the church.
It pays all my expenses.

"The church can vote me out.
It's not some pseudo-operation.

"I'm enough of a realist
to know they could do that.

"To appease your curiosity,

"my possessions
consist of this black bag.

"No one apart from me
is allowed to look inside.

"There's four zippers on it.

"When my friends and relatives
send me a birthday card,

"someone else looks at it first.

"I'm never alone.
I don't have any privacy.

"This bag is mine."

Can we have a look
at what's inside?

"No.

"I hope somebody thinks there's
ten million dollars in gold bars in it.

"It gives me dignity
to have at least something

"I don't have to expose to everybody.

"Maybe there's dirty socks.

"I hope when I die,
government bureaucrats get to me

"and salivate themselves sick
getting into this bag.

"It's a kind of joke.
It may be my memoirs.

"This bag is all I possess."

"I have a life insurance worth millions
payable to the church.

"In fact, I'm worth more dead
than alive to them right now."

"I came with a unanimous vote
to get this church out of debt,

"but I'm also the guy
who goes to jail for it.

"Last February,

"when I refused to give the authorities
a list of our private donors,

"I was handed a jail sentence.

"Like a journalist
who refuses to name his sources.

"I'm 50 years old
and I'm in good health,

"but at night
I want to quit sometimes.

"If you ask me if I'm 100 per cent
sure of my faith,

"no, I'm not. As a philosopher,
I can't even prove I exist."

Do you ever cry?
Are you a man who cries?

"Yes, I almost cried a minute ago
when you asked me what I dream of.

"This misunderstanding
makes me very sad.

"Everybody thinks I'm a fighter,
but I hate fighting.

"But if you push me and tread
on my principles, I get pretty wild.

"I don't think anyone should be a boss.

"People who want to tyrannize
are abusing their authority.

"I don't want to be anyone's boss.
I have my own boss in heaven.

"Yes, I cry a lot of times.
About once a week, I cry it all out.

"Mostly when I'm on my own.

"I don't think I'm a cry baby,
but it just bursts forth.

"And I suppose the thing I cry
the most about is misunderstanding.

"I believe I'm the most honest guy
on TV.

"I don't use Jesus to peddle lies.
I don't use lies to win people over.

"I encourage Christians
to be Christians,

"yet I'm the guy being attacked."

- You seem to be very lonesome.
- "Yes, sure.

"I mean, who can I have as a friend?

"Every friend is a potential enemy
until this work is finished.

"I guess I'm lonesome sometimes,

"but I think I'm more of a loner
than I am lonesome.

"I have my staff all around me
who I like being around,

"but I don't have
any really close friends.

"Yes, I'm lonesome."

Nearly every evening on his programme,

Dr Scott ridicules his adversaries,
judges or government authorities.

Here he's mocking the FCC

who want to revoke
his broadcasting license.

He brands them as apes

and demonstrates
how to hit a bureaucrat on the head.

"Watch his eyes protrude.
Look at that.

"Then he starts to squawk."

"The right end is always pointing
at the camera."

Dr Scott is giving the FCC
a monkey salute.

He's mocking them now.

"We'll Win.

"Now give the FCC their monkey salute.
You should see this at home."

"A bureaucrat
is already talking to the press.

"That's our government for you."

The song is about a rich man

who refuses to share his wealth
with anyone.

When he knocks on Heaven's door,

he's given a rusty old halo,

second-hand wings
and a patched up old robe.