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| A colorful, chaotic poster for Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo, which captures the heightened fever dream sensation that the film portrays |
Don Fitzcarraldo is an Irishman in Peru early in the 20th century, a man with a plan: The jungle around the continent's Amazon river desperately needs an opera! In this imaginary cultural hot-spot his great hero, Enrico Caruso is meant to give a concert.
Fitzcarraldo is the 9th feature from great German writer-director Werner Herzog (Rescue Dawn (2006)), based on real-life Peruvian rubber baron Carlos Fitzcarrald.
Klaus Kinski (Heroes in Hell/Eroi all'Inferno (1974)) shines with madness in the title role and stands out as a prototype of the crazy but visionary, morally unscrupulous imperialist. As fascinating, intriguing and charismatic as Fitzarraldo is, as ruthless, deeply repelling and obviously amoral (rainforest was chopped down and indigenous peoples exploited for his megalomanic project) is he at the same time.
Claudia Cardinale (La Révolution Française (1989)) is surprisingly good as Fitzcarraldo's German brothel owner lover and madwoman. - Kinski's Fitzcarraldo also seems very German, but his announced Irish heritage really doesn't seem too important at all. The last half hour of the film drags in my opinion, which is my only real complaint against it.
Thematically, the drive of intense spite and the baffling extremes of human endeavor radiate from the fantastic images (cinematography by Thomas Mauch (Die Hitlerkantate (2005))) down the mighty river and up the jungle mountain, where Fitzcarraldo orders his colossal steamship to be pulled with ropes. - Just about everyone in this deeply perplexing film seem mad.
Fitzcarraldo also metaphorically stands as a cinematic monument over the destruction that lies behind the development of Western civilization.
Related posts:
Werner Herzog: Jack Reacher (2012) - Highly entertaining, dark hero-vehicle for Tom Cruise (supporting actor)
2010 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
Happy People: A Year in the Taiga (2010) - Herzog and Vasyukov invite us to meet a remote, tough Siberian people
The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans/Bad Lieutenant (2009) or, Werner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant
Cobra Verde/Slave Coast (1987) - Herzog and Kinski's final work delves into the madness of slavery
Even Dwarfs Started Small/Auch Zwerge Haben Klein Angefangen (1970) - Herzog teases us to react with uniquely odd experimental drama
Watch a trailer for the film here
Cost: 14 mil. DM
Box office: Unknown
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[Fitzcarraldo was released 4 March (West Germany) and runs 157 minutes. The production of the film has become cinema folklore; it is chronicled a bit in Herzog's autobiographical Portrait Werner Herzog (1986), in his Klaus Kinski documentary My Best Fiend (1999) and in most depth in Les Blank's terrific behind-the-scenes documentary Burden of Dreams (1982). Initially proposed star Jack Nicholson was thrilled with the script but wanted too much money to play the lead. Herzog then shot roughly 40 % of the film with Jason Robards in the title role and Mick Jagger as a later deleted character. Robards contracted dysentery and was told by his doctor to not return to film in the Amazon. Herzog also inspired anger from the many jungle Indians hired to the production, who burnt down the set in December 1979. Recasting the lead with Kinski, whom Herzog feared would go bananas in the jungle, the film was reshot from scratch. Shooting took place from January - November 1981 in Brazil and Peru. A Catholic priest urged Herzog to hire prostitutes for the production's hired local men to keep them calm during the ordeal, which was subsequently done. Herzog insisted that the 320 ton steamship be actually pulled over the mountain manually and named himself the 'Conquistador of the Useless'. Cinematographer Mauch's hand was split open during filming of this, and he suffered through a 2½ hour operation without anesthetics. During a scavenger attack on the film camp by the tribespeople, a woman was shot in her abdomen with an arrow. Herzog assisted in the 8-hour emergency surgery and subsequently decided against a revenge attack. Filming of the ship's going through the river rapids was also dangerous, and 6 besides Herzog volunteered for the shoot, of which three were harmed in the mission. The film mixes footage from this endeavor with a miniature ship model shot in a studio. Kinski threw tantrums regularly on the set, screamed and even attacked people, it is said. One famous anecdote is that Herzog was offered by one of the Indians that they would kill Kinski for him, as they hated the actor vehemently. - Herzog declined the offer, as he needed his film in the can. Roger Ebert gave the film a 4/4 star review, equal to a notch better than this review. The film was West Germany's Oscar entry but was not nominated. It was nominated for a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, and won Herzog the Best Director prize in Cannes as well as 1/2 German Film Award nominations. Herzog was also accused of exploiting the indigenous tribespeople for his film; upwards of 1,000 of them worked on the film for about 2 $ a day under poor conditions, (which Herzog claimed were worse for them, when they were not working on his film.) Herzog returned with Where the Green Ants Dream/Wo die Grünen Ameisen Träumen (1984). Kinski returned in The Soldier (1982); Cardinale in Bankers Also Have Souls/Le Cadeau (1982). Fitzcarraldo is fresh at 77 % with a 7.4 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of Fitzcarraldo?
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