We mentioned late last night that IFC was the lead and likely buyer of Werner Herzog's 3-D documentary "Cave of Forgotten Dreams." Now the company has closed the deal, which means that fans of Herzog's quirky visions will get a chance to see the film in a theater.

The movie, as we mentioned, and as our colleague Patrick Goldstein wrote this week, looks at the Chauvet cave in France, where remarkable drawings demonstrate early signs of human life.

The film is the first Herzog has shot in 3-D -- and, he says, his last. He generally finds that "fantasies should always be free" when one goes to the movies. But the prospect of showing the striking drawings in anything other than the full three dimensions just didn't sit well with him.

No word on when the distributor will bring out the movie. But the company did not buy television rights, which means the film won't be day-and-date in your living rooms, as some IFC films are. Of course, this one is in 3-D, so it probably will be better in the theater anyway. Plus what better place is there to hear Herzog's sonorous voice?

--Steven Zeitchik

http://twitter.com/ZeitchikLAT

Photo: 'Cave of Forgotten Dreams.' Credit: Werner Herzog Filmproduktion

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We have no idea whether these two videos actually come from Werner Herzog, or what hallucinogenic substance its reader had ingested prior to offering his, er, unusual take on these children's classics. ("A monkey has bested seven adult men -- this should give you a dim view of human potential.") But they're pretty funny just the same. Ze tiger, indeed, dreams only of death.

-- Steven Zeitchik

She is introduced in her underwear, as a nod to French sensibilities...